|
|
|
Nories Enters the High End Trout Market with Their Trout Program Stream 63
|
Date: |
8/24/08 |
|
Tackle type: |
Rod |
|
Manufacturer: |
Nories |
|
Reviewer: |
Cal |
Total Score: 8.58
-
ULTIMATE ENTHUSIAST AWARD!
Introduction: Most of our coverage of "Enthusiast" tackle from across the pond is concentrated on products related to bass fishing, but today we take a slight departure from that and look at a very refined piece of equipment by Nories offered both in Japan and Australia and built to target native stream trout. Introducing the Nories Trout Program Stream 63.
|
Nories Trout Program Stream 63 Specifications
|
| Material |
Carbon + Boron Blend |
| Length |
6' 3" |
| Line Wt. |
3-8lb test |
| Lure Wt. |
2-8g |
| Pieces |
2 |
| Guides |
Fuji Ti SiC |
| Power Rating |
UL |
| Taper |
Fast |
| Manufacturing Country |
Japan |
| MSRP |
46,000 JPY |
Impressions: It's no secret the clean lines and detailing that are typically found on Japanese built bass rods, but this attention to fine detailing and craftsmanship is certainly not limited to just this one genre of fishing tackle - quite the contrary. The Nories Trout Program Stream 63 is an unbelievably clean, simple, yet elegantly composed piece of equipment and one that rivals any rod in my arsenal. It comes in a custom tailored rod sack with two individual sections built to fit each of the rod's two pieces specifically.
Introducing the Nories Trout Program Stream 63
Lab Tests: This stick is a classified as an Ultra Light, a category we stop short of testing as most people know pretty much what to expect from a UL stick so comparisons to other, similar sticks are not really necessary. Instead, we put this product right into the review queue and added it to our pile of test products specifically gathered for a TackleTour editor road trip to the Eastern Sierras, a chain of mountains on the border of California and Nevada.
Nories goes after the high end trout market with their series of UL powered boron/graphite spinning rods
A new trout line deserves a new badge.
Real World Test: Our destination? Crowley Lake in the eastern Sierra's of California near the high country towns of Mammoth and Bishop. Crowley is known for its aggressive and hard fighting rainbows along with some cutthroat and brown trout. It is an incredible trout fishery and the perfect place for us to test the likes of this exotic trout stick by Nories, but of course, what's an exotic rod without an exotic reel?
Procured specifically to match up with our Nories stick, this limited edition Daiwa...
To help us put the Stream 63 through our typical field testing paces, we procured a Daiwa Exist Nativecustom 1003H with the help of our friends at JapanProFishing. This reel is built with a slightly higher gear ratio than the standard Exist 1003 (5.2:1 vs 4.7:1), but of course, the real reason we went through the effort to acquire this reel was its potential to match the Stream 63 with its green accents. Once in hand, we spooled up the Nativecustom with some 5lb Sunline Shooter Invisible, a line I've been wanting to sample for a couple of years now.
... the Exist Native Custom 1003H
Casting: The target waters for the Stream 63, are obviously small, flowing, mixed current, backcountry waterways with tight pockets and small, shadowy alcoves that require precise presentation and delicate casts in order to be successful. Unfortunately, while Crowley Lake is known as an excellent trout fishery, it is, of course, a lake and not exactly the type of water for which the Stream 63 was built.
Casting duties with this high end combo...
So while I did not test this rod in the conditions for which it was designed, nevertheless, I appreciated the way this rod felt during a cast and it handled baits like the 3.5 gram Ecogear VX35 very well. Lob casts seem to worked better for distance than did over the shoulder snap casts but of course accuracy was better with the latter casting technique and the Stream 63 felt pretty darn precise with its fast taper and composite blank.
... certainly as easy as it gets.
Sensitivity: Speaking of the blank, I'm not certain if it's the boron and graphite composite, but this rod fishes like a one piece stick. Once I put it together, set it up, and started fishing, I totally forgot I was fishing with a two piece stick until it came time to wrap up our trip and pack our gear away. Pretty incredible even for an ultra light rod. The joint at the center of the rod was neither bulky or really noticeable while using the stick.
I could feel little lipless blade bait coming through the water quite easily with the Stream 63
As you can see from the photograph above, the Ecogear VX35 is a small, lipless blade bait and you can easily feel the blade doing its vibrating dance in the water through this stick as the bait is retrieved. It was pretty much like throwing a Lucky Craft LV500Max on a Loomis GLX stick. Every little tick or snag in the weeds could be felt and discerned from a fish bite while retrieving this bait in the water.
This nice, wood reel seat, together with the attractive anodized aluminum locking hardware is reminiscent of a fly rod
As a more refined sensitivity test, I took the Ecogear VX35 off the rod and rigged up with some Berkley Powerbait to see how subtle pickups are communicated through this rod. Well, the combination of UL fun and the stiff, boron/graphite composite blank certainly delivered. There was nothing subtle whatsoever about any of the bites received with this rigging. The tip on this rod is lively and very sensitive.
A nice, clean, sculpted cork foregrip and matching winding check.
Next Section: But what about power?
|
|
|
|
