I’m intrigued by the Barclay “the scout” 60 2wt. Feedback appears sparse, especially a comparison with the 6’6” “gila special”.
Any thoughts on either the scout or gila welcome, especially a head to head comparison by those lucky enough to cast them both.
In a perfect world I’d buy them both, but in the real world only one can come to my house.

I have the 6'6" 2 wt and the 6'8" 3 wt. I only use the 2 wt if it is really calm, only with dries #14 or smaller, and if the fly is a bushy pattern a #14 can be a chore. The 2 wt is a niche rod and the 3 wt is more versatile for me. I fish both with 406 DT lines. The 2 wt is fun to fish, no doubt. Chris knows his stuff.

Was lucky enough to get the prototype model from Chris. It's a great rod.
I believe mine is technically a 5'11". I tend to find a 6'6" rod about right for most of the streams i fish, but its always the rod that goes with me for the really small rivers with tighter casts.
Funny enough these are mostly the lowland becks, with bigger trout, it's been hooped over on a good few occasions but has handled several fish over 12 inches no problem. Only had my tippet broken once, on a big trout which ignored the nymph several times before taking it and going straight round a submerged tree which I saw too late.

I fish mine with a 3wt line and it casts great, I suspect it'd be even better with a 2 especially for longer casts.
I wouldn't call it a specialty rod at all, but I prefer short rods.

I have Chris's 602 and new 644, and have had the opportunity to cast and fish his 683 and new 703.

Most of my fishing is on pocket water in streams less than 10' wide and in most instances with an abundant tree canopy overhead. Here, the wind is often mitigated, casting distances rarely exceed 20', and 90% of the time I am fishing a size 14 or 16 bushy attractor pattern. For my purposes, the 602 is a fantastic rod. It flexes throughout the blank but most prominently about 65-70% of the way up from the grip with a pretty stiff tip section that helps load the rod. The act of casting requires remarkably little effort and the rod can be overpowered pretty easily, but gentle casts give accurate and delicate presentations out to about 25' in my hands. The 644 is largely the same action but will penetrate wind a bit better and carry heavier flies or dry-dropper rigs without fuss.

The 683 and new 703 (which I liked with a 4wt line) are very different actions; especially with the 683, the action is much more progressive with the rod flexing throughout the blank but starting in the tip section rather than in the upper mid section on the 602 and 644. Both the 683 and 703 take more line to really feel the rod load, but still deliver short casts nicely. They do have the ability to cast farther than the 602 and 644 and for that reason could be considered more "well-rounded" rods that would be useful on streams that may be a bit wider and/or more open and exposed to wind.

All of these rods are beautifully constructed and I have enjoyed fishing them all. While I don't think there is a small-stream in the southeastern Appalachians where the 683 would struggle in any way, the 602 is the rod I have enjoyed fishing the most.

In short, the 602 is more of a niche rod than some others, but if most of your fishing takes place in niche environments, that niche rod can become a nice general purpose rod. Wish I could offer some feedback on the Gila Special, but hope this helps!

Edit: to clarify, the 602 will definitely cast beyond 25’, I just think it’s particularly nice in that range.

very nice!!

Great topic. I am lucky to have 3 Barclays: 68; 66; and new 804 para.

The 66 and 68 are very different in action and fishing focus for my NC streams. I use the 68 for practically anything on smaller streams. It can cast a 4 line with a small streamer or a dry only on the 3. The 68 can bullet loops under the rhododendron.

The 66 is a pure dry fly rod; the exception being a dry dropper with a small midge or glass bead nymph. It throws more open loops than the 68 and delivers very softly. It’s not as easy to cast tight loops under brush. However, this rod has a very serious fun factor.

I recently bought the 804 para from Chris. It’s unbelievable. My first time casting it was fishing it and it blew me away. It has the feel of the 66 with the practicality of the 68; the extra reach an added bonus. It is rather tip heavy, so needs a stout reel to balance.

Hope this is helpful. Chris is a wonderful person with a passion for building tools that summon us to beautiful, wild places.

I may be the only person out there who has not thoroughly enjoyed the Scott F2 653. I briefly owned one last year and never could quite make friends with it. It is a lovely rod in terms of length and appearance, but the tip is too soft (IMO). Interestingly, I greatly enjoy the newer Scott F Series 583. It casts brilliantly for me, short and long and has a ton of punch for its size, as others have reported. Not as versatile as a 6'6", but a neat rod. Just goes to show, different strokes for different folks. Now I'll duck for cover, as they say.

p.s. I really like the Barclay Synthesis 79 GP from the Synthesis Series and the 64p, but I have not cast the Scout.