Scott Session 8’6” Fly Rod Review
It’s not that I needed another fly rod but if I was to choose one it would be a fast action, 8’6” 4 weight. Fast action rods cut through the wind better with faster line speed. I still feel the best length of fly rod in Pennsylvania is 8’6”. It’s easier to maneuver through the forest and brush than a longer length and still able to be very useful on small to medium size creeks and rivers for trout fishing. A 5 weight is ideal and I have a few, so I wasn’t interested in another. When you get into the more expensive rods, they are usually lighter and the hardware they use is premium.
I could have ordered one online and hoped it fit my style but what better than is to get one in hand and try it out? This is what I was able to do at a fly shop that sold Scott fly rods. I got to test cast a 9’ 4 weight Session rod and it performed great. I had the salesperson add an 8’6” Session to his spring order and waited for them to call me to pick it up.
The Scott fly rods are made from inside to out in Montrose Colorado, from blank to on the shelf ready to cast. Without going into the more technical engineering, it’s the basic rod that I see and can feel.
Starting with the butt section the reel seat has double locking nuts which is a plus. Two main things I always love having in a fly rod is a wooded insert and a cork grip. The Session has a box elder insert and, what they call a new cork grip design. Casting the rod the cork grip felt comfortable in my palm. In their words “They also feature Silicon Nitride stripping guides and low glare light wire snake guides for a premium component package that’s a perfect match to the high- performance blanks.” The Scott Rod Company doesn’t paint their blanks for glamour or eye-catching pop. The natural finish is translucent when you get up eye close. They also come with a hook keeper and alignment dots. The thread wraps are dark contributing to the non-glare blanks.
Now for performance.
The rod itself is very light in hand and compared to my 5 weights and 9 footers I’m sure I can fish this all day without fatigue. Casting weighted Woolly Buggers was no problem putting the bugger where I wanted it to go. I know I read somewhere the Session rod, besides fast action and fast recovery speed, it has a soft tip. I can only compare this to the ‘Winston Feel’ when casting. The Session rod top section isn’t as soft as a Winston, which roll casting a weighted bugger in short proximity was almost impossible to achieve. With the Session rod I had no problem in doing so without much energy. As far as casting dry flies was easy putting the dry fly where I wanted without much finesse. With the faster line speed my dry cut through the wind without a backlash or steering the fly far from where I wanted to place it. Even from the first cast I had no problems adjusting to the action quickly.
I fished the Session rod on the day I picked it up for around 5 hours. At times, through the wind and calm weather. By the end of the session, I felt no fatigue in my casting arm. As far as playing the fish I caught, I felt I wasn’t straining the rod playing the trout against the current. Still the most noticeable feature was how light it feels and how easy casting it. I caught a few trout on streamers and 3 trout on a small #18 dry fly during the 5-hour session. I’m well satisfied with my purchase.
My first trout caught on the Scott Session on a Triple Threat Streamer.
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