Gear Review- The Echo Base

I recently bought an Echo Base.  No, I am not referring to the Rebel's stronghold on Hoth (also called Echo Base) which was featured in The Empire Strikes Back.



Instead, I purchased a new 9 foot, 6 weight fly rod, from a company named Echo.  If you are not familiar with their rods, you are not alone.  I didn't know much about them either until Matt up at Rainbow Fly Shop suggested I give an Echo a try.  It fit the characteristics that I was looking for in a fly rod at the time and it was in my price range.  I was looking for a tip-flex type of rod that was around $100 and tried out some other new rods as well as some used rods that came from higher end companies.  Don't get me wrong, Echo makes some high end rods that incorporate some fine craftsmanship that will appeal to a more affluent taste.  However, if you are familiar with this blog, thus making you familiar with me, then you know...that's not my style.  So I bought a base model that Echo offers, hence the term, Echo Base.

Now before I go any further, let me be perfectly clear that I am not getting paid for this post and I was not asked by any company or business to post about Echo fly rods.  I have some positive things to say about this particular model and wanted to get any misconceptions out of the way from the get go.

Now that we are clear, let me just say that I love this fly rod!  The first time I cast it, I was fishing a small jig under an indicator at Liberty Park Pond in Sedalia, Missouri.  I was curious how the rod would cast the duo of a heavy (at least in terms of fly standards) fly with an indicator along for the ride.  I was not disappointed.  It did not feel bulky or clunky in the least and my casts were long and effortless.  I'm not saying it felt like an Orvis Helios rod or a custom bamboo rod, but it sure felt smooth and powerful.  When I went to make some further casts, it seems like the line wanted to explode out of the end of the rod when I was shooting line to hit a distant target.

Now there are two disclaimers that I need to make here.  1. I am not a great caster.  I have some bad habits I still need to work through and have never had any formal casting instruction in my life.  2. The line I was using on this particular day was not of the highest quality and had some kinks in it.  I mention that, so I can state this...you might not like this rod as much as me so don't rush out an buy one on my account!  I am just saying that this rod fits my needs and casting style, and it might fit yours as well so it might be worth checking out Echo if you are in the market for a new rod.  Finally, it has a lifetime guarantee which is AWESOME because I am notoriously hard on my hunting and fishing equipment.

I paired my rod with a cheap click and pawl reel.  It's drag system has one setting and is low, which is just the way I like it.  A step above free spool is fine with me!  If I hook a big fish, I want to cup the reel and decide how much pressure to apply to a fish on the fly (pun, totally intended) so I don't sink a lot of money into reels.  In all honesty, I buy used reels or cheap reels off of amazon or walmart.com.  I could keep ranting on my disdain for expensive and high tech fly reels, but we will save that for another time.