Anyone know if/where I can get a hold of a Hardy Ad Swier Pike Teaser rod? I understand they have been discontinued and I'm finding it hard to track anything down on the 'net.

I'm looking for the 9 weight.

Dougie

They come up on eBay from time to time. I have just listed a Hardy Elite 9' #9 on eBay. This, having used both, was IMHO a BETTER rod. It also, unlike the Swier (or the Saltwater Fly which was the "twin" of the Swier) has a lined and braced tip ring.

Why? Because the Elite was designed primarily as a saltwater rod for large, fast running gamefish. A lined tip ring was thought to give better performance. The Elite was a three piece rod with spigot joints.

If you wish to reply I would be happy to sell this off eBay, for cash. I am five minutes from J21A (THornton Reservoir) or J21 of the M1 (Leicester/M69 Junction).

eBay listing number is 140066618183

I also have to sell, not listed on eBay a Sovereign 2000 #8 reel with two spare spools that I purchased with this rod. Fitted with Ultra3 #9 WF Floater, WetCel 2 #9 WF Medium Sink and WetCel IV #9 WF Fast Sink.

The last being deadly on trout with a large lure or even three lures such as a Mrs Simpson or etc.

None of the above show any true signs of use. Inspection is welcome. You could come away with a Christmas bargain. I would take £500.00 for the rod and the reel with its lines and two spare spools.

We need to be careful what conclusions we draw here. The Ultralite Plus 6 weight and 15ft standard ultralite I sold on Ebay yesterday had a lined tip ring, and so does the the 7.5ft standard Ultralite #4 I am not selling, not expecting anything really hard fighting on the burns i fish with this lol.
The Elite replaced the Ultralite Plus in the range.
However the 15ft Origin and 6 weight Origins I have, which replaced the elite in the range, do not have lined tip rings, the lining or not of tip rings just reflects a point in time change of hardy's design approach and not specific targeting of rods for particular use. BTW my Loomis Crosscurrent GLX saltwater rod does not have a lined tip ring either, infact the butt rings are not lined either !

However depending upon the flies to be cast most 9 weight reservoir rods will do a reasonable job, as long as its not blowing too much, as a pike fly rod or saltwater rod. Obviously the rod strength is not dictated by the size of pike as they dont fight particularly hard lb for lb.

I have an adswier teaser, the 10 weight, which I also used with the crosscurrent in India, I think its a great rod and of course a 4 piece so it fits in a reasonably sized suitcase. I am not selling it I am afraid, I plan to abuse some peacock bass with it shortly.

Cheers

__________________
Cheers

Topnotchblanker

http://fishingeverywhere.spaces.live.com/

Yes, same with my Ultralite and Deluxe Classic. Yet for some reason the Elite 9' #9 is the only rod in the Elite range (and that does include the two salmon rods) that has this lined and "braced" tip ring.

I did ask Hardy why it was the only one and they did confirm that it was to do with better performance on large saltwater gamefish. And friction when the fish was taking line.

But, as you say, with regard to usual weight rods, and Hardy's new range, including salmon, they all now just have plain hayfork rings. Odd!

Them hardy rods cost quite alot.

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Cromie

Dougie - what made you consider a Hardy Ad Swier Pike Teaser? That rod was designed by Ad Swier a number of years back; he designed it to chuck monster Pike-Bunnies (dead budgies). Since then rod technology has moved on and modern light-weight fly tying materials have become readily available ...

... I use #8 weights for most of my Pikeing, when the wind allows it I drop down to a #6 or even #5 weight.

Without wanting to tread on anyones toes, I would like to add that you should be able to pick up a new middle-of the range modern 4 piece rod for about 200quid. (I even know of some good rods which cost a lot less than that).

Hi Baltic.

I understand Ad Swier uses these huge flies and he designed the rods especially for these in 8, 9 and 10 weights. I was looking for the 9# as a comprimise. My current rod is a Fox 11# but is just too much of a brute and not really required for using the, as you rightly mentioned, lighter flies nowadays.

I was looking at other manaufacturers but don't want a 'strong Trout rod' or an 'overly stiff' SW rod - I want a 'Pike' rod and Ad designed the Teaser for that sole purpose.

I am however, open to other alternative suggestions.

Dougie

Pike flies are no lighter nowdays as they were. Yes you can use synthetic flies, i also use them, but it is not a smart idea to limit yourself on them only. Traditional materials can produce very good pike flies and if you are serious about fly fishing for pike, you don't wanna be without those. Plus even synthetic flies in bigger sizes have a pretty big air resistance.

I've been using rods from #6 to #11 for pike and if i would have to pick a single rod it would definetly be a #10, 9". I sold my #8, and 99% of my pike flyfishing is with #10. Pikes like big and fat pray so it is reasonable to use such flies. Majority of my flies is between 20-30cm range. Plus you decrease (but not prevent) the number of small pikes. Personaly i have no interest in catching and damaging small pikes.

Casting big pike flies wih #10 is much more comfortable than with #8. #10, good strippin basket, #12 shooting heads and knowledge how to cast with such outfit, and you can use 20+cm big hairy fat flies and cast them all day without a problem.

Once a friend of mine and i went pike flyfishing. I was using the above outfit and he was using #8. After 2 hours he was tired, while i could go on for a day. When he tried my outfit he was absolutely surprised as , as he put it "throws the fly itself". The trick is in correct line. Shooting head (or any other similars constructed line, in general you need mass concentrated in front, to get fast line with good turning capability of big flies) is a fast line and using a line with big mass decreases the need for high line speed. So you can actually cast big flies in relaxed fashion, letting the big mass of line do the work for you. If you use lighter line, you must keep the line speed high, so you work a lot.

Fast heavy line, minimal number of blind cats (one, two, just to get the head out), and good shooting basket to prevent tangles in line and that's it.

Personaly i would not go under #9.

I used to have this Fox #11. It is a broomstick. Very powerfull (too much if you ask me), heavy, with fat grip. I did not like it. Get a new rod and remember, your tackle must work for you and not the other way around. And lighter is not always easier.

Just my 2 cents.

Jure

Most the flies I use are a mixture and one which is mainly tinsel with articulated solid bodies and resemble jacks) but once wet are actually hard to lift off the water ( I am 5ft 6 and worked at a desk all my life) , but once up then the hardy does its job. I tried an 8/9 GRX three piece for a while, coped with a mouse rat but these flies crushed it lol.

If you want to pull 38 tons up hill from a standing start do you use 300bhp of lorry diesel or 300 bhp of subaru sti prodrive engine ? Thats why deadbait rods are slower than distance carping rods.

if the action is slower then the you have longer to apply the required energy and as power is energy per second you can get away with less power output. But a faster action, if the available power out is available, is more effective at energy transfer, then as in boxing when it comes to casting, a good bigun will always beat a good little un when it comes to casters.

Same for beach fishing and long range carping.

__________________
Cheers

Topnotchblanker

http://fishingeverywhere.spaces.live.com/

I use a 9'0 Saltwater #8 weight, I do not however cast streamers of 25-30cm mine are about 15-20cm and tied in flashabou on 4/0 and 6/0 Ad Swier hooks (sometimes I use Gamakatsu somethingorothers in size 1/0 and 2/0). I am also not interested in catching/harming small Pike, that is why we use barb less hooks and "medium sized flies" . But how small (or large) is small anyway? 50cm, 70cm 80cm 90cm ??? In the are of the Baltic where I fish it is very rare to catch Pike under 70cm, most of them are around 80-90cm. On a recent trip the smallest was 79cm, largest 97 and the average was 86cm (total of about 40 Pike caught between 4 FF'ers). However the locals regard anything under 110cm's (approx 10Kg) as being small.

I know a few guys who like Jure will not use anything under a #9 weight rod, however for the type of fishing I do and the size of flies I currently use I personally don't see the need. However I haven't evolved to using 25-30cm flies, so I might well change my mind....
... one day