Castable 12 wt. ?

[Tony Buzolich]

Is there such a rod ? A castable 12 wt.. Maybe a good tarpon rod would be called castable? Have you got one you REALLY like?

The reason I ask is I broke mine again on my last Christmas Is. trip. This is the THIRD time with this same rod. The rod is a TFO BVK. It casts wonderfully. It is very light in hand, and I've handled several big GT's and tuna on it. But now I'm afraid of it busting again.

I sent it back to TFO again for warranty repair and they promptly called me back. I told them about the repeated breakage and asked if I could exchange it for ANY other 12 wt. they might have. They said they still had sections for this rod but it was being discontinued in the bigger sizes 9wt.,10wt., and 12wt. (I wonder why?)

I'm not bashing TFO about this rod. I actually liked it, but three times is too much.

So, they offered me a 12 wt. Mangrove in exchange for the BVK along with a $35.00 warranty charge. Seemed reasonable.

Has anyone out there fished a big Mangrove? Or what do you favor as your CASTABLE 12 wt.?
Tony

[ErikB]

Tony,
I have had the same problem with my BVK 12 weight and broke it twice on tarpon trips.
I have since purchased a Scott Merdian in 11 and 12 weight and no issues so far.
I got a break on them or maybe would not have paid full retail.
If you ever get a chance to cast one you may like them.

Erik B

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I used a 9' 12 weight Sage Xi2 with a big floating line to cast big poppers for Dorado out of Loreto on some really calm days once.

I would use my body, bending at the waste, to make one back cast and shoot the line, casting with the wind.

I don't like to false cast big rods, especially with big flies.

I don't think there are any good casting 12 weights.....


The best deals are discontinued or slightly used 12 weights on our classifieds or close out sights.

We hardly ever sold a new 12 weight high end rod until it was discontinued.

__________________________________

Right now Tim Rajeff has some really affordable Echo salt water fly rods you should look at.

https://echoflyfishing.com/project/boost-salt/

.

[Darian]

I have two 12 weight rods that I've used at La Ventana. First is a Cam Sigler, 9', 3 pc rod that has plenty of back bone but is soft enough to cast. A bit heavy if using a large, heavy reel (Abel Super 12), tho. The second is a Sage Xi3, 9', 4pc rod. Has a fore grip but it doesn't appear to impede casting. Lighter than the signer but still plenty of backbone.

The Sigler has been retired for now as it doesn't fit in any of my rod carriers....

[mems]

Aloha Tony, as a TFO rep let me come to the rescue. For a fighting fish rod, I like the TFO bluewater. For casting the new Axiom II is a great choice. The Mangrove is beefier than the BVK. The other one I have is the EDGE 12wt and it is like a 10wt but has good backbone for GT's and is easy to cast. I have a BVK 10 wt I use for mahi and it is fine on fish up to 30lbs. Hope this helps, sorry you had trouble with the BVK, great trout and bonefish rod ,not really designed for ahi and ulua. Don.

[Carl Blackledge]

Is there such a rod ? A castable 12 wt.. Maybe a good tarpon rod would be called castable? Have you got one you REALLY like?

The reason I ask is I broke mine again on my last Christmas Is. trip. This is the THIRD time with this same rod. The rod is a TFO BVK. It casts wonderfully. It is very light in hand, and I've handled several big GT's and tuna on it. But now I'm afraid of it busting again.

I sent it back to TFO again for warranty repair and they promptly called me back. I told them about the repeated breakage and asked if I could exchange it for ANY other 12 wt. they might have. They said they still had sections for this rod but it was being discontinued in the bigger sizes 9wt.,10wt., and 12wt. (I wonder why?)

I'm not bashing TFO about this rod. I actually liked it, but three times is too much.

So, they offered me a 12 wt. Mangrove in exchange for the BVK along with a $35.00 warranty charge. Seemed reasonable.

Has anyone out there fished a big Mangrove? Or what do you favor as your CASTABLE 12 wt.?
Tony

Tony,

First off let me say two things about 12 wt fly rods, first I don't care what brand anybody else uses and I don't try and push my choice on anybody else, second thing is I can buy ANY rod I want and as many as I want, Now after that being said, I was always mostly a Sage guy and the last Sage's I had were 3 Sage xi3 12 wts, I was at the Outdoor pro shop one day and started looking at the Loomis NRX 12 wts OMG just handling that rod was a killer experience, so I bought one and took it to Mexico to test drive, well let me say I sold all of the Sages and bought 3 more 12 wt Loomis NRX, When you cast this rod it's like casting a 9 wt with pin point accuracy, super light weight, very strong and you can bend the hell out of it, just like the Sage ( it's not brittle ) I am sure i caught somewhere around 500 Dorado a 1/2 dozen sails and maybe a dozen Marlin in the Month I was in Loreto. I think the bottom line is the light weight, the all around performance of this outstanding rod is just stellar. This year in Loreto ( I leave in two weeks) I will also have a brand new Sage Salt HD to play with, I am always looking for the next dream rod and of right now i Think the NRX is it, and did i mention how wonderful it cast?...My NRX rods are not for sale...Good luck on what ever you buy

Carl Blackledge

[Lew Riffle]

Switching to the Bluewater is your simplest bang for the buck solution. It casts as well as the BVK and has the butt to handle tuna.

[Carl Blackledge]

Lew,

A lot of the guys in Mexico use the 16 wt heavy duty TFO Bluewater as a trolling rod (meat stick) Jake Jordan re-designed them a few years back to be 4 piece, I am not sure how that big stick would cast? I have a 8 foot 16 wt Sage for trolling, and if i wanted to I can cast it like a 12 wt. My 2 cents-
Carl Blackledge