Jacobus Fly Rod Review

Big thanks to Jacobus Rods for sending us one of their custom fly rods for review, and to Peter Larose for putting it through the paces and providing his thoughts! 🙂

Jacobus Fly Rod Specifications:

• Jacobus 6wt Pro Series 9FT 6WT 4 Piece Fast Action IM10
• Gun Metal Grey Pacbay Guides, AAA Cork Handle, Aluminum Reel Seat
• Cordura Rod Tube with Four Compartments

Jacobus Fly Rod Review:

They say that actions speak louder than words, so rather than beginning this review with an impressive array of superlatives and awkward analogies, I’m simply going to state that this 9’ Jacobus 6 wt rod I recently tested is getting my “red case” treatment. Which means it’s taken pole position in my quiver as my first “go-to” rod when hitting the BC Interior stillwater this spring.

I compared the Jacobus against a couple of mid/entry level rods in a similar price range – an OL EZ Cast 6wt 9’ and my backup classic 6wt 10’ Dragonfly Kamloops, as well as a couple cast swap with my buddy’s higher end Sage One 6w 9’6”.

My first few casts were in early March over a still-frozen local waterbody on a recon mission. A family of curious onlookers tried to avoid eye contact but were clearly intrigued by this strange scene, so I just played along and said “it’s OK I’m using a full sink line” (which was true). 🙂

In all honesty those first few casts were probably the furthest I’ve ever tossed a fly, especially with the large stonefly pattern being fished naked – the stonefly line, not me – it was far too cold to commune bodily with the coming freshet. The line loaded easily, and while most of the flex was nearer the tip, it did load quite a bit into the mid-section also. I would say it is definitely on the medium action side for a fast action rod, but not quite medium action with the corresponding line weight. But it still managed to get impressive line speed and made the casting feel effortless.

To really put it to the test I had it out the following week over stillwater in its more navigable liquid form, and tried a handful of line and reel combinations. I began by under-lining it with an SA 5 wt line. It loaded easily and managed to produce very fast line speeds. The action was faster with the lighter line, but it still loaded sufficiently for solid casts and didn’t too stiff for the lighter line. I also tested it with a sink tip 6wt line when the winds picked up. I landed a few fish in the 2-3 lb range that day and the rod’s sensitivity really shined through without feeling under-gunned with the more aggressive Blackwaters.

The next outing was another windy day and I tested it with a 7wt textured SA indicator nymph tip floating line, and found that it performed best when over-lined a bit. This produced a bit more flex through the mid-section and slowed the casting stroke but still generated a ton of line speed and resulted in long and effortless casts. When the winds really started howling we had to tuck close to shore and the setup was perfect for making roll casts into the sheltered shoreline.

Fishing this quality piece of innovation made me reflect on one of the best things about being middle-aged in this time of rapid technological advancement: our toys get lighter / stronger / faster / better at a rate that outpaces our bodies’ getting older / fatter / slower / weaker. If I were the CEO of Jacobus I’d call this rod the Jacobus Time Machine.

To top it off, the rod looks and feels great, with a sexy matte black finish with gold thread and very good quality cork for the price point, with only a bit of in-filling.

Jacobus Fly Rod Review Summary:

The “TLDR” as my kids say (too long, didn’t read) aka Coles Notes Summary:

• A versatile and responsive rod that will make a beginner or intermediate fly caster feel like a pro.
• An effective balance of flex / sensitivity that makes casting easy and effortless, with enough mid-body stiffness and progressive tip action to produce very fast line speeds.
• High quality and attractive construction that feels very good in the hand.
• A winner at the price point, clearly out-performing similarly priced rods and competitive with more expensive rods in the $300+ price range.

For more information check out Jacobus Rods here. 🙂

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