Stone Fly 390 Rod ReviewThe longest in Fountainhead's Stone Fly series, the Stone Fly 390 is a very interesting rod. Rated a 7:3, it shares its middle and upper sections with the Stone Fly 330 and 360. After I had realized that the upper sections were the same as the 5:5 330, but before I had fished the 390, I was a little confused about the 7:3 rating and a bit concerned that what I was holding was a 5:5 rod with a handle extension. Well, let me just say that after I fished the rod for a while (and it only took a little while) my confusion cleared up and my concerns were alleviated.
Stone Fly 390 and Rainbow Regarding the 7:3 rating, as I have written several times before, the rating system tells you where the rod bends, not how much force is required to bend it. A 7:3 rod doesn't have to be a stiff rod. (Although it could be - the Backpacking Light Hane is an example of a stiff 7:3.) To be rated 7:3 it just has to bend primarily in the upper 30% of it's length. The rating means that 70% of the rod is relatively stiff and 30% is relatively soft. What the designer of the Stone Fly series of rods has done is taken a fairly short, fairly soft 5:5 rod (the 330) and added another stiff section to it, creating the 6:4 360; or added two stiff sections to it to create a 7:3 390. The bend is about the same, but with additional sections added on the butt end, most of the bend from a percentage of total length standpoint occurs in the upper 30% of the rod. A shorter 5:5 does in fact become a longer 7:3 with the addition of a couple stiff sections at the butt. A "5:5 with a handle extension?" Well, no, because there is a smooth transition from the softer tip sections to the stiffer butt sections, and a big enough fish would certainly bend the stiffer sections as well. What you end up with is a sensitive rod with lots of tip action and a surprising amount of backbone in reserve.
Rods bent from weight of 10 pennies
It certainly seems that the comment about goldilocks rods on the Stone Fly 360 rod review should have been reserved for this page. Perhaps I could have set up the photo above with the rod tips aligned rather than the grips, but even now it is easy to see that the bend in the Stone Fly 390 is pretty much between that of the Amago and the Ayu. What you can't see in the photo, though, is what the rod feels like when you cast it. It feels like a rod with a very soft tip with progressively more backbone as you put more resistance on the rod in the form of a heavier line. The soft tip lets you cast a very light line. What is a bit surprising is that as you move to heavier and heavier lines, the rod bends further and further while casting but because of the stiff butt sections, never feels like it can't handle the line. The first time I took the 390 to a stream, I cast everything from Charles Cotton's ultra light horsehair line, and cycled through the light, medium, and heavy hi-vis hand tied fluorocarbon lines, the light and heavy hi-vis level lines, my "standard" weight horsehair line, a couple weights of artificial horsehair lines up to and including a prototype 19' artificial horsehair pesca alla Valsesiana line I'm working on for an Italian customer. The rod handled them all, although the 19' line did feel a bit heavy. I think it would do well with just about any line you'd want to use. That was the second time I'd fished the rod, though. The first time was on a pond for bluegills and bass. Although the reserve backbone will allow you to cast a relatively heavy line, and thus wind resistant flies, the soft tip sections would not make this rod my first choice for bass fishing. With bass, their bonier mouth can make it a bit harder to get a good hookset. Sharp hooks (and barbless hooks by the way) make that a bit easier, but the slightly firmer tip on the Amago, and its 10" length advantage, would still make it my first choice for a warm water rod. (My Stone Fly 390 measures 12' 10" while my Amago measures 13' 8" - a 10 inch difference.) Despite the greater length, the Amago is actually a little bit lighter than the 390. The center of gravity on the 390 is closer to the grip, though, so while fishing it feels lighter.
Small bass caught on single horse hair tippet Where the soft tip sections on the 390 really shine, in addition to casting a very light line, is in their ability to protect a very light tippet. Sometimes I carry things to extremes. I like fishing a horsehair line, and from time to time I'll use horsehair tippets (tenkara line > two hairs twisted together > one hair > fly). The bass above, though not large by any means, was landed on a one hair tippet. The soft tip sections also allow even a modest fish to put a very satisfying bend in the rod. I would love to catch a fish that would bend this rod down to the grip. That would be some fish. Although the Stone Fly 390 will cast Charles Cotton's extremely light horsehair line, the slow, smooth casting stroke of the Ayu does it a bit better. With even a slightly more reasonable line, like the light hand tied hi-vis fluorocarbon line, the 390 does very well indeed, and that proved to be my favorite line with the rod. The line turns over beautifully, is light enough that it is easy to keep off the water (especially with the 13' rod), and is so light that the slightest tick or hesitation from a subtle strike is easy to see. As with the other rods in the series, the Stone Fly 390 comes with a rod sock but not a hard rod case. The butt cap is metal, with a slot to tighten or loosen it. A quarter fits in the slot pretty nicely. The rod does not have quite as much damping as either the Ayu or the Amago, so it does continue to wiggle a bit longer after you stop wiggling it, suggesting to me a different blank lay-up (which together with the rod case and the differences in their warranties could explain a lot of the price difference). The rod comes with a 15 day inspection and return privilege (in "as new" condition). Spare tips are not available. In case of breakage, send the rod to Fountainhead, which will replace the broken section, check for any other damage, and return the rod for $25. For bass fishing or hopper/dropper fishing on big Western rivers, or for pesca alla Valsesiana, where the added length and the stiffer tip would help to turn over four sakasa kebari, I would choose the Amago. For a silky smooth casting stroke, or for ultra light line fishing, the nod would go to the Ayu. For the in-between though, the not too heavy, not too light, the not too stiff, not too soft, the Stone Fly 390 might be your goldilocks rod. If you have questions about the Fountainhead Stone Fly 390 or any of the other rods I've reviewed, please go to the
contact us
page.
|
