SNEAKY BLINDER

A PREMIUM ROD AT MID-TIER PRICING? EWAN NAUDE WAS NEVER A SCOTT AFICONADO BEFORE TESTING THE NEW SCOTT WAVE 8-WEIGHT BUT, WITH PAY-DIRT PERFORMANCE AT A REASONABLE COST, HE MAY JUST HAVE CONVERTED TO BARTCHIISM*.

Photos Ewan Naude, Garth Wellman

Ithink it was Confucius or maybe Ye who said, “They must often change, they who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.”

I’m not one to fall in love with my fishing tackle. Of course I get a good dopamine hit when something new arrives and it’s all bright and shiny, but what’s bright and shiny eventually fades and all that matters is that said item does its job. If my chosen gear, be it a rod or a rain jacket, treats me well, I’m very unlikely to make a change just for the sake of it. I typically mate for life but, as some of my farming friends say, “Sometimes a bull jumps the fence”, and the Scott Wave made me leap.

For some reason, up until this point, I had never even cast a Scott rod. It wasn’t a conscious choice, I had just never crossed paths with the brand although my Feathers and Fluoro mates, Peter Coetzee and Fred Davis, crow from every rooftop when it comes to all things Scott. It was Fred who put out a message to our group asking if anyone would like to test the new Wave. Taking Confucius/Ye’s words to heart and in desperate need of a fishing gear dopamine hit at the end of a brutal year, I purchased one. An 8-weight rod is well suited for estuary fishing and with the Christmas break agonisingly close, I was keen to test this rod on the Eastern Cape’s estuarine river dwellers. I have no doubt that this rod will also be the perfect largemouth/Clanwilliam yellowfish streamer tool.

Having spent the past few weeks with this rod I can honestly say that I feel a sense of sadness that I’ve let so many fishing years go by without knowing the brand. I say “knowing the brand” because it’s not only about the tackle but what they stand and strive for that captured me. It’s a company run and staffed by passionate fisherpeeps and the fact that every rod is unique, right down to the handwritten Scott insignia, is pretty special. Of course, they are a commercial enterprise but their passion for rodmaking and putting anglers at the centre is so refreshing in a world where bottom line tends to trump all. They tell a story and the fact that they make exceptional fly rods almost seems like a bonus.

The Wave is marketed as a mid-tier rod and is priced accordingly at around $675. After fishing this rod for a few weeks there is absolutely nothing mid-tier about it. It performed as well, if not better, than some of the outand-out premium rods I own and the components from the cork to the guides are of premium quality. I love the understated simplicity of the unsanded blank and how the reel seat works with the simple blue wraps. I guess the question is then, ‘What would make this rod a ‘top-tier’ stick?’ I don’t really know, to be honest. Splitting hairs, perhaps it’s the guides but, in my view, the Wave should be seen as a premium rod. It’s just that it’s an affordable one.

I pared the rod with the Lamson Guru -7+ reel (another sneaky deviation from my standard Shilton reel purchases) and a Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Infinity Salt floating line. I mostly fished estuaries over the December break and spent a lot of the time fishing heavily weighted Clousers on a long leader. This “jig-and-drop” method is a great trigger for many species if fished correctly, and it has served me well. The rod performed effortlessly casting the heavy flies, even in a stiff wind. The method used didn’t call for accurate casting on a regular basis but when I needed to aim at something specific I did feel that accuracy was good, even at long distances. I was surprised at how fast the blank was, which suits my casting style and worked well for me.

I got to test the casting ability of the rod way more that the fighting ability, but I did manage a few fish and was particularly chuffed with a good dusky kob caught on a weighted, jackal fur shrimp meant for a deepwater grunter. Although not a monster, the fish did put a proper bend in the rod and I could feel the backbone when applying pressure. I don’t doubt that this rod would stand up well to much bigger quarry.The only “criticism” that I have is that the rod fishes slightly lighter than I’m used to in a fastaction 8-weight, but is perfectly well suited for general estuary work. This didn’t bother me, but those anglers used to rods that are heavy for their weight may struggle with this. As mentioned, when buying the rod I had yellowfish in mind and I think it will make a great crossover into freshwater for this species. I look forward to swinging some streamers in river tailouts with the Wave.

The Wave is a premium rod at a mid-tier price. It looks great, fishes great and there really is very little to criticise. I’m certainly keen to try some of the heavier rods and I hope they match the 8-weight for performance. In researching the brand I genuinely got a warm fuzzy feeling, and I like warm fuzzy feelings.

In the classic Australian cinematic masterpiece, The Castle, lawyer Dennis Denuto references the “vibe” of the Australian constitution. In summing up, Scott is about rods but in Dennis’s words, “It’s about the vibe of the thing.” I’m glad I jumped the fence and experienced what I’ve missed out on for so long.