Echo?

[mike_richardson]

Anyone ever fish with these. Had a fly guide at work show me his 10 ft. Echo ion. I love the matte finish of the rod. How are they on the stream.

Thinking of the:

Carbon

or

Ion

 

[Ramcatt]

personally Echo is my least favorite major rod company... even more so than St. croix

everything about them feels cheap and underwhelming
the cork
the blank
the flex

 

[beerbyrnes]

I have a tough time telling the differene between my echo2 saltwater 6 wt. and a xi2. I'd agree the lower other rods seem a bit cheap. Don't think I would own one for a trout rod.

I fished a 10 7wt ion in Erie a few years back for a day and it did the job well.

 

[Lonewolve]

In the spey arena , especially those in the know on the Great lakes tribs {larger tribs} and the Pacific Northwest an Alaska.Echo rods are considered great rods and will throw,mend,and drift flies with the 700-1000 dollar models,and your wallet wont be screaming. also the customer service is excellent.
I can't speak about their Trout rods, i have been told that they are every bit as good as their Spey models.
I also know there is quite a following on the Lakes with their Switch models.I also cant answer for them.
I personally wouldn't hesitate from buying a Echo.The handles i have casted are cork an composite i like the look an feel myself an feel it does't detract from the fishability or looks at the least bit.If i build a rod it will have the cork/composite handle i really like them.
just my 2 cents your milage may vary!

Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace

 

[gibsygoldtop]

I am really impressed with my Echo. So much so, that I may end up with another. I have the Carbon 4wt.

The finish is really nice. Matte brown is a real nice color. Overall, I think the rod is built well and should last many years of use.

Customer service is great as well. I broke the tip and had another with in a week.

 

[IdratherbePhishing]

I've messed with them in stores. Almost bought it instead bought a glass rod. But seemed nice

 

[greenlander]

My Echo spey rod is fantastic. A bit heavy, but otherwise fantastic. I've yet to figure out the SR spey rod I have, however. I've only had it on the water once, though, so clearly I need more time with it.

 

[Pittflyguy]

I own a Carbon 9' 5wt and an Ion 10' 7wt that I use for the tribs. I have nothing but great things to say about both of mine. If you are comparing them to 700 or 800 dollar rods I would hope that they will provide you with some of the finer appointments that you don't have in this class but as far as the value prop I think it is a ton of rod for the money.

I think everyone is going to have an opinion or partiality to what they fish with. The great thing about rods today is so much of the technology of high end rods have trickled down into the 2-300 range that just wasn't available a few years back at that price point.

I am sure some Redington, TFO, etc.... fans could say some of the same things. I like the understated nature of the matte finish. Most importantly, I find they cast nicely, mend well, and handle fish fighting as you would expect for a rod in the mid to mid-fast speed.

Hope that helps.

 

[mike_richardson]

Thanks guys I really liked that gray matte finish. I am not a flashy guy. I was looking at learning to build rods but could not find their blanks anywhere. I may have to dig in the company.

 

[osprey]

Mike , you can tell by your pics that u r far eenough along to build a rod or two , i've built a dozen , Clouser can get u the blanks and a few things that will make it easier. Give me a holler. If u can tie a decent fly , you can build a rod i think.

 

[mcwillja]

I use an echo ion 10 ft. 7 wt for steelhead and love it. Not sure how the lighter weights are for trout but can't beat them for steelhead.