Scott G-Series

In 1976, San Fransisco was ground zero in the world of graphite fly rod design. Golden Gate Casting Club member Jimmy Green with Fenwick hand just recently introduced graphite fly rods to the consumer public, Tom Morgan was the new owner of the R.L. Winston Rod Co., and Harry Wilson who had started the Scott Fly Rod Company in a basement on Cook Street just a few years earlier introduced the world's first 9-foot 4-weight graphite rod.

Wilson called it the G rod, and with its groundbreaking internal ferrule it quickly became the foundation product that built the entire Scott Fly Rod brand. In 1993 Scott moved its factory to Colorado, and in 2006 the G was re-engineered to become the G2. By today's standards, the G2 was a slow, deep-flexing rod. It developed a cult-like following in the Rockies because it was easy to load at trout-fishing distances, and amplified your enjoyment of even small and medium-size fish.

With the recent introduction of the G-Series, Scott can lay claim to having the longest-running continuous graphite fly rod series even if it's the name only, because the G-Series is a completely different animal. Like the G2, the finish on the G-Series is brown with gold trim, and the rod is miraculously easy to bend. With the G-Series it's easier to be accurate because you're never trying to muscle your way through it. Your hand talks, and the rod listens.

The new G-Series is much lighter than its predecessor. More important, with modern material, technology, and design elements borrowed from the Radian and Meridian series, the rod recovers (comes back to the straight position) much quicker than you'd expect from such an easy-loading rod, even when your reach out to distances beyond its intended range like 60 and 70 feet. It also tracks straighter and comes to a stop with less wobble than the old G2, which means you'll hit the target more often with less frustration and fatigue.

It's hard to redesign an American classic, because like a Ford Mustang or a favorite pair of Levis, so many people have fond memories that it leaves little room for improvement. But Scott has hit a home run with this one. It's retro in all the right ways, but gives you a bigger window to work in terms of distances, wind, fly size, and the species you can tackle. It's a rod that will be winning fans and catching fish for another decade.

$845| scottflyrod.com

To find out more about why the spine of a rod is important, and to learn how to find the spine of your rod blank, see the 2018 Fly Fisherman Gear Guide.