Change isn't always so bad.

by Les Albjerg
(Caldwell, Idaho)

A few weeks ago I was taking stock of my fly-rod spoon inventory and decided it was time to fill in the holes. Yes, I do lose spoons too! Low and behold, Daiwa isn't making the .4 gram spoons anymore! My heart sunk! I was upset! Why Why Why ranted in my brain as I have really enjoyed the challenge of learning this technique of fishing and Daiwa ruined my fun!

Good thing some thoughts are fleeting, and the wheels still work up in the old bean! I do have two Forest Chaser spoons in .6 grams. Reading further, I saw that Chris isn't going to leave us hanging and he has brought in the .5 gram Rodio-craft BF Blinde Flanker Spoons. I ordered some.

I had about two hours Saturday to get some fishing in. Time to do some comparing. Earlier in the week, I caught some fish on the new Rodio-craft spoons. Actually, I have only fished the gold so far. Like most humans, I don't like change. I don't like having options taken from me. However, at the outset, let me just be upfront. The Rodio-craft spoons are better than the Daiwa spoons in my opinion. So thank you Daiwa!

The Daiwa spoons fish just fine, but the Rodio-craft fish better. Actually the Forest Chaser .6 gram spoons fish almost as well and the Rodio-craft. All fishing was done with a TenkaraBum 40, 3.5 level line, tippet ring, and 6.5x tippet. The line was 4 meters and tippet of 18 inches. So why am I so impressed?

I was fishing my favorite spring pool for planters, so in the clear spring water, I could see what was happening. Not a privilege you always have fishing. The Rodio-craft spoons have a much better flutter than the Daiwa spoons. The shape of the bend in the spoon is better.

As Chris has often said, be prepared for a strike when the spoon hits the water. This was very evident with the Rodio-craft spoons as they flutter down and could really move the fish! Manipulations of the spoon are easier with the Rodio-craft spoons. I'm working on an article on what I have learned. These spoons resist planing up to the surface much better than the Daiwa spoons. The Rodio-craft spoons don't spin as easily as the Daiwa, and you get a nice tight flutter as you swim the spoon. Over-all, you can just do much more manipulation with the spoon. The Forest Chaser .6 gram spoons are very similar, but I found the Rodio-craft to be a little more smooth in the retrieve.

The only downside is the tip it is a very pointed, so you need a loop knot or a snap or a micro swivel to get the best action out of the spoon.

The Rodio-craft spoons catch fish! My first time out, 4 fish out of the first 5 casts. Saturday was a "many" fish day. I could get the Rodio-craft spoon much deeper than the Daiwa Vega spoons, so I was able to make presentations to spots that I couldn't before. It is the shape that allows the deeper presentation not the extra .1 gram of weight. If you have fished these light spoons, you know getting them down is the challenge. So, as much as I don't like not having the Daiwa Vega .4 gram spoons available, the Rodio-craft are a step up in my opinion and have opened areas where the Diawa spoons are impossible to fish. Now we just need more colors!

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.