Elbe Rods

[Halfstone]

Also have look at the Xplorer Pro-cast(R300-500),i used one in 4wt during my fishing stint at Somerset East in November.Finding my 6wt a bit of an overkill for the Little Fish River,Allan Hobson kindly loaned me his Xplorer Pro-cast 4wt and the rod performed well handling one and a half kilo sm yellowfish with ease and these rods handle just as much abuse as the Elbe.A better rod in my opinion for the first time beginner than the Elbe.

[Gwydion]

ok, so I went to a tackle shop today and had a look at the elbe rods as well as the sensation 9wt rods.. I took the sensation rod for a spin and im very impressed! It had a good action and I could cast very far with it, without having to break my arm to get my line out.. the elbes` arent bad either! the rod is a bit heavier and harder to cast but not bad at all for a cheapo rod! The sensation is going for R480 and the Elbe is going for R280.. All and all I like the sensation more and the reel casing looks a lot better.. But I wont hesitate to take the Elbe too if need be.. especially for the price!

[Herman Jooste]

I've been reading this thread with much interest. Firstly I must say that I'm glad that you took the time to test out the el cheapo rods.
I have 2 Elbe's a, 5/6# and a 8/9#. The 8/9 is still my salty rod and up to about april this year the 5/6 was my favourite Vaal rod.
I then had a Stealth Bomber 10 ft 5# rod "fall into my lap". This is now my favourite Vaal rod, and believe me it has as much backbone as the Elbe, with the additional foot and half reach.
THere is however no comparison when it comes to price though. Elbe around R300, Bomber from R1700 - R2300, depending on where you shop.
The Redington el cheapo's are around R400 and in my opinion are a brilliant buy at the price. A good quality blank with about the same "level" reel seats, guides and finish as the Elbe. For someone who dosn't like fast actioned rods have a look at the Redington.

[Halfstone]

Hi Herman
I bought two Elbes about four years ago 6wt 9' and 8wt 9',the 8wt was dispatched by a #2 woollybugger jig.My 6wt has served me well,casting #3/0-5/0 bassbugs to barbel and recently had a beating of note while I was giving casting lessons in a community hall to raw newbies(the rod was dropped twice onto the floor),the same newbies trying to yank(and they were not mere gentle tugs either) wrapped flies out of trees during a river fishing session.So my 6wt has proven it's salt worth in that regard,but it's a bit top heavy for long periods of fishing,even a full morning session is unbearable at times.One thing is certian an Elbe is a far better rod than a fast turbo-charged action Silstar metal pole!(I see Gani's are trying to get rid of their Silstar stock at a rediculously low price,R99 if I remember correctly)I don't know much about Sensation rods so I won't comment.May I ask, what length is your 5/6 Elbe 9' or 8.6'?

[Herman Jooste]

Hi Herman
I bought two Elbes about four years ago 6wt 9' and 8wt 9',the 8wt was dispatched by a #2 woollybugger jig.My 6wt has served me well,casting #3/0-5/0 bassbugs to barbel and recently had a beating of note while I was giving casting lessons in a community hall to raw newbies(the rod was dropped twice onto the floor),the same newbies trying to yank(and they were not mere gentle tugs either) wrapped flies out of trees during a river fishing session.So my 6wt has proven it's salt worth in that regard,but it's a bit top heavy for long periods of fishing,even a full morning session is unbearable at times.One thing is certian an Elbe is a far better rod than a fast turbo-charged action Siltar metal pole!(I see Gani's are trying to rid of their Silstar stock at a rediculously low price,R99 if I remember correctly)I don't know much about Sensation rods so I won't comment.May I ask, what length is your 5/6 Elbe 9' or 8.6'?

It's 8' 6", Elbe only go to 9' on the 8/9 if I can remember correctly. My 8/9 is 9'. That rod has a special place in my heart and memory, it brought a 12.5 kg Carp to the net, from a pool in the Vaal within 10 minutes. ( Straight leader of 5.5 kg Maxima Utagreen, and the same for the tippet )

The Elbe rod IS an el cheapo, however if you want BIG muscle and do not need to protect 5x+ tippets, and , don't need to cast to the ends of the earth but need to throw a heavy fly into the wind then it "could" be the answer.

It has invariably been called a " Broom Stick, Poling Pole, Lengthened Wading Staff,Shortened Pole Vault Pole, " amongst other more nefarious descriptions on these vary forums, and perhaps, depending on personal choice, rightly so.

There again, as in everything in life, it's "what blows your hair back" that matters.

[Halfstone]

I see the latest Pro-Series goto 9' from 7wt upwards,but you can still get a 6w 9' in the Slipstream range of Elbe.The Slipstream action is a bit softer than the Pro-Series but it's still stiffer than the Xplorer Classic2.

[Herman Jooste]

I see the latest Pro-Series goto 9' from 7wt upwards,but you can still get a 6w 9' in the Slipstream range of Elbe.The Slipstream action is a bit softer than the Pro-Series but it's still stiffer than the Xplorer Classic2.

I have not seen the Slipstream as yet, but will go have a looksee. I need a backup/replacement for my 7# rod for the LM next winter.

Seeing that you raised the Exploder rods, I use the Classic 1 ( Spaghetti Stick ) in winter for SM yellows on dry. The softer ( read slap ) action allows for a fair presentation with dry flies ( my presentation being getting the fly within 2 metres of the action ) and also helps with the sometimes savage surface hits that are becoming the norm at that time of year.

[E.T.]

I have not seen the Slipstream as yet, but will go have a looksee. I need a backup/replacement for my 7# rod for the LM next winter.

Seeing that you raised the Exploder rods, I use the Classic 1 ( Spaghetti Stick ) in winter for SM yellows on dry. The softer ( read slap ) action allows for a fair presentation with dry flies ( my presentation being getting the fly within 2 metres of the action ) and also helps with the sometimes savage surface hits that are becoming the norm at that time of year.

Oom Herman

You are being modest. We all know that you are being sponsored by Elbe. So no need being modest in saying you havent seen the Slipstream. I bet you have a whole closet full of different Weights at your house.

You have done so much for the brand over the years that I even heard rumours of you getting a Tata Telcoline with massive Elbe signwriting down the side of the Bakkie saying Tata and Elbe are proud sponsors of Herman Jooste.....

[Halfstone]

Nothing wrong with the Xplorer Classic 1 "spagetti stick" at all.I tend to miss a lot of fish when fishing with my Elbes,hence the reason why I use my trusty old subtle 6wt Daiwa Osprey 70% of the time,my strike rate is almost double that of the Elbes but as usuall that comes with a bit of a price tag in leaders,flies and the occasional smash-up.A couple of years ago I took an Elbe and a Phlueger fly rod(both 6wt),cut the rod tips off about 6-8 inches from the top and then inserted attachable 1&1/2' 3wt tip sections onto the rods.The result was a 6wt rod with a short 3wt tip section which was great for my striking rate but it was'nt so great for casting when you needed a long line,especially when casting heavy sinking lines.As a result I was limited to half a line casting distance,beyond that accuracy became an issue even with a double-taper 5wt floater.I hav'nt attempted to do anything similar to date.It's not always easy to get the best of both worlds

[Andre]

Nothing wrong with the Xplorer Classic 1 "spagetti stick" at all.I tend to miss a lot of fish when fishing with my Elbes,hence the reason why I use my trusty old subtle 6wt Daiwa Osprey 70% of the time,my strike rate is almost double that of the Elbes but as usuall that comes with a bit of a price tag in leaders,flies and the occasional smash-up.A couple of years ago I took an Elbe and a Phlueger fly rod(both 6wt),cut the rod tips off about 6-8 inches from the top and then inserted attachable 1&1/2' 3wt tip sections onto the rods.The result was a 6wt rod with a short 3wt tip section which was great for my striking rate but it was'nt so great for casting when you needed a long line,especially when casting heavy sinking lines.As a result I was limited to half a line casting distance,beyond that accuracy became an issue even with a double-taper 5wt floater.I hav'nt attempted to do anything similar to date.It's not always easy to get the best of both worlds

Not surprised it won't cast, it's like putting mini tyres on a tractor.....