Tim Rajeff (both of them actually) are like the Payton and Eli Manning of flyfishing. Just an analogy, their competitiveness probably exceeds the Mannings as do the number of championships hehe. Neither are tolerant of a bad rod, nor would they tolerate selling one. Echo rods have been in the best price / performance point for years.
What model... are you looking at striper rods? Let's try one and finish this thread conclusively.
Echoes have received good reviews, no personal experience, but I remember Fish and Fly gave the 5 wt very good marks against all the high end rods. I went to Rajeff's site and the Echo2 has been superseded by the Edge, maybe that's what should be researched. Harry Koons couldn't say enough about the saltwater models, said he liked them better than his Sages, sadly invoking his name.
Jon
I have an Echo2 9' 5wt. I must say, I really do like it and it does compare well with my other 5wts, including a Sage z-Axis. The rod is finished very well, and while I understand the value of single foot guides, I personally like the snake guides better, from a purely aesthetics point of view. The rod casts well in all conditions, and I find it is both accurate and powerful. The Fish and Fly article said to throw away the distance tip and only use the accuracy tip. Not sure I agree, I am comfortable with both tips and use the distance on wider rivers and windy days. Good rod, and I am suprised Echo stopped making them.
I have an Echo2 9wt and have found it to be an excellent flats and small Tarpon rod. I use the "D" Tip when fishing and have only cast the "A" Tip on two occasions but find the difference minimal. Great fit and finish with excellent castability. Absolutely no complaints.
I have an Echo 2 10 weight that I used for baby tarpon and snook in Belize. The Echo 2 rod casts well and was comfortable to use while casting repeatedly from dawn to dusk. I did not notice much difference between the the two tips. One tip appeared somewhat quicker.
I also used an Echo 2 12 weight fishing for giant trevally. Compared to some 12s I have tried, the Echo 2 actually is not too bad to cast for extended periods. Some 12s tend to be designed primarily as lifing, rather than as casting rods. Tim Rajeff designed a 12 you can cast and still have reasonable lifting capacity.
I was disapointed to see them discontinue the Echop 2 line of rods. Does anyone have any experience with the new Echo 3 rod line?
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