I got the guys from the clave here and they prefer the 6' 2/3 Steffen over the 5'8" Scott,saying the Scott feels like a short rod.I own both and once you get a little line out it's fine.The guys liked the 6'6" F2 over the new F hope that helps.......Aurelio

Interesting

Thanks Aurelio. Your consistency for the Steffen and Scott says a lot. So always interested when a rod has the potential to upset the long running favorites. Especially pack rods.

Was that the one that was on eBay? I think you outbid me!

I have that same custom rod, love it!

Isn't the F2 653 the 'Japan Special' that was initially only made for the Japanese Market?

Ah, that was the F2 723...

https://thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot ... ecial.html

Welcome, B-Fish, and thanks for a good report on the Scott rods!

Thanks for the reviews, funny enough these posts just popped up after reading through the whole thread today. Seen a couple of the newer f series knocking around for sale recently.

I can't decide which of the F583 or F663 to buy, I wish I had bought the previous F2-653 while it was available for sale instead.

Ixoye,
I picked up the f583 and f663 last summer and fished both most of the season.. wouldn't get too bummed out about the f2653 no longer being on the market. The f663 or f583 are both comparable rods that will perform just as well. The pluses of the f583 is that is a great pack rod. It's also a very smooth casting rod that can fit in places other rods can't. I swear it got a cannon hidden in tip top. The only thing I don't like is that at times it can seem to have too much power, That rod can bee difficult when in close. It does have a not so shiney slide band which is great on these rods.
I fish a lot of small to medium sized streams and the 663 is perfect for them. The 663 is two different rods when a wf3 or dt3. It's ssssllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooowwwwn with a wf. With a dt it is a magic wand cast go exactly where I want them unless user error creates a bad cast and I still think the rod partially fixes it.

Both great rods, hope this helps with your dilemma, My advice would be look what application you plan on using it for and pick the rod that best fits with those attributes because although from the same series, they are two totally different rods


Colin

I just gotta share this.. I’m super impressed with my F series 723/5. I got a custom version with the cap and ring grip. I think this may just be the most versatile trout rod I’ve ever fished. Period.

First for casting... I found a 3 wt double taper to be a bit heavy for my liking, so I tried a 2 wt dt. The rod changed from getting bogged down to becoming med/fast action with good line speed. Turning over leaders of 12 feet. This rod has just enough length for stealthy long leaders making it good for still and slow water as well as creeks. The other line that works very well for me is a 3 wt Royal Wulff triangle taper. It loads into the butt more, but with less mass at the front of the line it doesn’t bog down like the 3wt dt. Using these lines I’m able to fish up to 40 feet out (without wind) and sling shot cast tungsten beads up to 3/16 if necessary. Versatile? I think so. Thanks Scott.

Now for the neatest part of this rod I’ve found. The tip section is so light that it will load with 10lb monofilament plus tippet and no line at all out of the rod tip. Casting 15-20 feet of “leader” in spooky spots is very useful. I also own an F2 602/3 and F 724/4 and neither do this quite as well. It works, but the soft tip section of the 723/5 allows the leader casting to be smoother, more accurate, and more graceful somehow in my opinion. The rod is just that fine and soft. Each fin flick is felt with 4” fish as well.

Lastly, this rod has enough guts in the butt section. The blank itself is close or identical to the 4 wt 724/4 in thickness. ( I put them side by side) Having a “4 wt” butt section is great for fish fighting making the rod comfortable on fish to 18”. I recently caught a 25” rainbow in heavy water and although very under gunned I was able to fight it off the butt of the rod with 6lb tippet and run to land the fish a pool below of where I hooked it. I wouldn’t use this rod catching fish of that size regularily, but it’s nice to know that if a “whale” bites I’ll have a chance.

Overall, it’s glorious for fish from 4”- 18” and casts 2wt or 3wt lines. It’s incredible the range it has while still being extremely sensitive. This makes the 723/5 my new favorite.

Can you post some photos of the two reel feet? preferably together? How long are the feet?


Tom