information on cnd rods

[bradain]

I would like to hear from those who fish cnd rods

[DLoop]

What are you interested in hearing about regarding these?

[tweedside]

Originally Posted by bradain

I would like to hear from those who fish cnd rods

Bradain,
Firstly welcome here! I am a Carlow man but retired in Scotland.

CND rods are exceptional in that they are proper fishing rods designed by a master and further they are designed as spey-casting rods. I have had a few and if I had to chose a single model to fish the Suir from Knocklofty / Ardfinnan down to Carrick I would without doubt choose the Steelhead Specialist at 14'4". It will handle any fish you will find in Ireland and will be at home anywhere from Delphi to the Suir. Perfect for the Slaney....in fact the perfect all round Irish rod. It is exceptionally line-tolerant and I have used everything from DT9 through med head lines to a 10/11 75' head Carron held a few feet inside the tip. I believe that there is/was an Irish importer, but I would go to Snake River Outfitters in Idaho US and ask for one custom made in America. The ONLY thing I am not happy with is that the reel-seats are too small restricting your choice of reel to modern smaller foot reels. If you phone/email them I am sure that you will find that they are THE most helpful of people. Likewise Poppy at the Red Shed Spey Shop who got me a 16'2" Solstice is great and a stalwart of this forum giving sound practical advice on all matters Spey. [They are both sponsors of this site and you can find the full list immediately under the Spey Clave logo at the top left of this page.]

Having mentioned the Solstice as well, you will find that rod great with floating line, though I would not want to fish mine with a sunk line. They are SO light and willing. Same remarks re. reel fitting applies. But if you buy a custom they may put a better, anodised fitting for a surcharge.

Give my love to Knocklofty where I caught my biggest salmon on 17 March(!!!)1967....it was 22.5lbs and came from the pool immediately below the road bridge to Newcastle. Also to Landscape and Kilshealan / Powlakerry where I fished throughout the 60s/early 70s.

Good luck now.

[I-LETEMGO-TOO]

I have been using a Skagit Specialist in New York when casting with tips and a 15'2" Solstice when dry lining. I dont honestly have a great deal to compare against other than TFO deer creeks which are also very nice sticks.The cnd is extremely light in hand and very powerful with a full deep flex and excellent recovery (Solstice) and the Skagit is very powrful and excels at lifting some of the heavier tips needed in the tribs of New York.What is also nice is the length of the Skagit, its not so long that you cant be standing under overhead trees while trying to cast, who wants to be standing in the run anyway. My Solstice is a bit long for the tribs of New York for that very reason. Hope this is helpful. One final note I did cast the Steelheader albeit for a short period of time and found it a bit too much rod for my liking.Perhaps on a larger river where tips were necessary but not where I fish predominantly.

[fishmhard]

Ive owned a solstice 14'3" , and 16' 1" and cast the 15' 2" and owned a Specialist Salar, and steelhead and northfork specialist.
All but 2 were awsome for me. All Iv'e used are classy rods that perform very well depending on the application . But like many rod series' they have different characteristics within the series, as far as the rods I've tryed goes , IMHO . You need to define what you want in a rod, then you can get better feedback-

[coldsteel]

for the cost = there are some nice rods out there with better action and components. JUST ANOTHER OPINION

[slyfox]

I own the Salmo Salar Specialist, which I have used for Atlantic Salmon on the Spey and the Panoi and sea run Browns in TDF, as well as Kings and Chum Salmon in Alaska, usually casting long-belly floating lines. This rod will handle long casts and big fish, but I find in my advancing years that I prefer a shorter, lighter rod. So, based on my favorable experience with the Salar, about 5 years ago I bought the Northfork Specialist. This rod is light in hand, but is an absolute workhorse, and will cast anything from long-bellies with dry flies to skagit shorts with heavy sinktips and large weighted flies. I like its look, fit & finish, as well as its casting and fishing action. I have caught fat sea runs with it up to 24 lbs, and have never felt undergunned. I also own Meisers, Sages and a TFO. These are also great rods, but I don't think you can go wrong with a CND.

[fish0n4evr]

good things to say about CND rods. I've owned four myself; the 15'2" Solstice, North Fork, Steelhead, and the Salmo Salar Specialist. I've cast the Thompson Specialist, and the 12'2"(Trout) Tracker, all thanks to Aaron Reimer in Carnation and Brian Paige in Monroe, WA. I kept the Steelhead Specialist and the Solstice longer than the rest. Every one of these rods are great. All of them tend to follow along traditional lines with their progressive actions. They are light and aesthetically pleasing. The components have a clean, no-frills functional design. In spite of my friends referring to the "puke-green" finish of the Specialist line-up, I consider it a "Steelhead green": reminds me of rivers dropping back into shape after heavy rains.

[kush]

Steelhead green - I like that. The colour's origin is based on the colour of the Sagebrush along the Thompson River in November. The first rod of the line-up was the Thompson Specialist and Nobuo Nodera thought it would be cool - personally I was not sold on it - but very soon I came to love the colour. This seems to be the case with most of the Specialist owners I have spoken with - it is a badge of distinction and honour.

If imitation is a form of flattery, I noticed that some of Echo's rods are done in the Specialist Green - I saw them on a rack the other day and had to check them out as I was not aware we had any new Specialists... alas it was just the colour

[fishmhard]

U can have my Classy Steelhead specialist when you pry it from my cold dead body... I love the color, and the story of how it was derived is very cool!

[Ol Rich]

I have three CND rods, Oceana 9/10 for Puget Sound salt, Solstice 16' 1' which I believe is one of the best CND rods and a Thompson Specialist for when I want to "reach out and touch someone".

I have fished the Steelhead Specialist which others have recommended. It is an amazing rod. You can about pick any reel from your case, put it on the rod and go fishing. It seems to handle an extreme range of lines.

Rich

[MJC]

If a person is interested in casting a midhead without doing a lot of stripping then I would have a look at the 14' and 15' CND Expert rods.

They have an easy casting traditional action, along with downlock reelseat, and classic good looks. Also I was able to get my Hardy Salmon #2 and #3 with brass reel feet in the reelseats without a lot of cussing.

Most people can match them number for number with a 65' line and have a sweet setup for a river like the Clearwater here in Idaho.

[kush]

Poppy is right. The CND Expert Series rods are an almost forgotten gem. If your style allows the rod to do its work these rods are a pure joy to cast... and the price is hard to beat as well.

[Nooksack Mac]

I don't haunt claves and classes as much as I used to. But of the dozen-plus spey rods that I own, the 13' 4" 7/8 Solstice and the 15' 6" Salmo Salar are two of my favorites, rods so fine that I don't even think about replacing them in the medium and large categories. BTW, the Solstice, though splendid with a semi-long belly floater, hurls normal sunken tips and flies just dandy with a 7/8 Rio Midspey, and big, weighty stuff with a 500 grain Skagit.

[Ian Broadie]

I have:
12'6" 5/6 Black Spey - awesome trouter and small salmon
13'4" 6/7 Solstice - I can fish 80% of the year with this rod, super big water and Chum salmon being the exceptions
13'8" 9 Skagit Specialist (one of the custom builds from SRO emerald green blank and very pretty) which is my rod for super heavy stuff

All are very different and very nice at the same time. If one likes a slower action and super smooth casting you can't go wrong.