# Asquith - may not be for everyone



## MSG (Jan 11, 2010)

I recently got a new quiver of asquith rods ( 8, 9,10 and 11 wt). I only did this because of a very special pricing arrangement I have, as they are very expensive. BUT - to me at least - there is a reason they are expensive. They all feel remarkably similar to each other. All are very light, with tremendous accuracy and power. They can pick up a tremendous amount of line off the water. Literally, you pay your money and they make you a better caster - as they are very forgiving as well. 
There are a lot of really great rods right now - but to me at least - these are really something special. Check them out if you can.


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## Fishshoot (Oct 26, 2017)

In your opinion how do they compare to the nrx? I have had others say they are slower action , is that your opinion?


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

Just rub it in LOL


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## MSG (Jan 11, 2010)

Fishshoot said:


> In your opinion how do they compare to the nrx? I hove had others say they are slower action , is that your opinion?


I was never a huge fan of the nrx - I felt it was really good, but a little disjointed feeling. I had nrx pro 1's previously which felt smoother and more responsive to me than the 4 pieces. Compared to the pro 1's, the asquith is noticeably lighter, more accurate, delicate and also more powerful - simply better in every way. A slightly slower stroke allows the rod to do all the work. They are very smooth and easy to throw - they respond to very small adjustments. The line really shoots out of the rod. I have read a review where someone thought the nrx was as good or better at distance - this has not been my experience at all. Everyone that has thrown the asquith has been stunned at the power they have.


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## Fritz (Jan 17, 2017)

Sweet. How much of a discount will you be making available to us? I just checked, full retail for those four rods is $4,600, I'm hoping the price break will be substantial otherwise I'll have to become a better caster the old fashioned way, practice.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

I went to a the local fortune teller and they predicted the price of those rods will be dropping fairly soon.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Backwater said:


> I went to a the local fortune teller and they predicted the price of those rods will be dropping fairly soon.


Yeah...I'll wait and grab one on clearance when the new $1500 rods come out in a year or two.


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## MSG (Jan 11, 2010)

I understand the ribbing over the price - Like I said - they are great - but would not have gotten them if I did not have a discount big enough to make it worthwhile. Just wrote this post about them as they are not around much to go see at a lot of shops.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

MSG said:


> I was never a huge fan of the nrx - I felt it was really good, but a little disjointed feeling.


Great because I love the nrx. Now I know I dont even need to look at these.


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## 994 (Apr 14, 2008)

This post reads like it should be in the vendor forum.


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## MSG (Jan 11, 2010)

lots of hate for this topic - wasn't my intent - maybe mods should delete the thread...


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## squeezer1 (Nov 22, 2012)

Haters gonna hate. I for one appreciate the input. I live close to zero fly shops that stock rods I would like to test cast. Any real world information I can get, I put in the memory banks for future use. If I got a discount, I’d already own one of these.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

MSG said:


> I was never a huge fan of the nrx - I felt it was really good, but a little disjointed feeling.


Maybe because you already said "The nrx is the best rod I've ever cast ". And now you were never a fan of it.


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## MSG (Jan 11, 2010)

Sorry if I mis stated it - I thought the one piece nrx pro 1 was the best rod I had cast. The 4 piece nrx always felt a little disjointed to me compared to the one piece.


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## MSG (Jan 11, 2010)

There are a lot of great rods out there, and I could easily cast many of them and be content and happy ( i've said before that I could even go back and cast my BVK - still think it's a great casting rod). The only point of this thread was to say that in a land of expensive rods (sage, loomis, T&T, Meridan,etc..), many of which are right around $900, that the asquith - to me - represents even better performance, for even more money. I'm not saying it is "worth it" - that's up to each person to decide - just that it is a great rod, and if you were looking to drop $900 - you should consider it if budget allows. That's it.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

This all speaks to how subjective this all of this stuff is. I own the NRX in 8w both 1 piece,and in 4 piece and the BVK 8W which you like. IMO, the 4 piece NRX is by far my favorite. The BVK is the worst rod ever made and doesnt compare in any way to either of them. Its a POS...again, IMO. It's not remotely close to any NRX unless the NRX was physically broken like the BVK is most of the time. So....get what you like, I guess. Because we all like something different.


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## backbone (Jan 4, 2016)

I threw a 9# Asq in Louisiana a couple weeks ago and wanted to hate it sooo bad.
It was the sweetest rod I have cast to date, Damnit.


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## brokeoff (Sep 2, 2016)

Why does the price of the high end rods even matter? 

I feel like the price of expensive rods is just around 900. What’s an extra 200?

It’s just funny how my brain works with regard to fly fishing gear. I used to pass on rods I really wanted over 25 bucks then drop 400 on tying materials. Or how about being shocked when I realized I have spent 1,000 on fishing line over the past two years. Don’t get me started on impulsive guided trips.

My point is, if someone loves the Asquith at 1,100 then why settle for any other xyz rod at 900?


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

I would love to know what Shimano pays to build each Asquith?


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

I have bought a couple high end rods, I did it because I wanted them, not because I needed them.


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## backbone (Jan 4, 2016)

RunningOnEmpty said:


> I would love to know what Shimano pays to build each Asquith?


If you break it they will replace it on the expeditor program for around $250.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

MSG said:


> I understand the ribbing over the price - Like I said - they are great - but would not have gotten them if I did not have a discount big enough to make it worthwhile. Just wrote this post about them as they are not around much to go see at a lot of shops.


I understand you like the Asq over the NRX's in the large wts (NRX's become stiff the heavier the rod wts go up). But have you compared it to any other rods out there? There ARE other options ya know.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

backbone said:


> I threw a 9# Asq in Louisiana a couple weeks ago and wanted to hate it sooo bad.
> It was the sweetest rod I have cast to date, Damnit.


You think it's because the rod still flexed and still had feel to it, even tho it was a heavier weight rated rod? Probably my #1 complaint with rod mfgs is they don't keep the same flex and feel as the line wt rating goes up, which ends up with rods feeling stiffer and stiffer. Funny how you can then pick up an older rod, like an original Loomis GLX in a 9wt and start to love that one as well, or the old Sage RPLX in a 9 or 10wt. Not real sure about it, but by feeling (not casting) the Asq in the heavier line weights still felt a bit soft. One side of me says "not so good" while the other side of me has to remind myself that throwing an extra fast and stiff rod in the higher line weights are not that fun to cast.

My fortune telling gif pic above is my prediction on what's going to happen with that rod. I was fishing with George Anderson about a year before his latest 8wt review and he indicated the Asquith (and back then I was calling them the Ass Quief in my head as someone talked about them! Ha!) would win the next 8wt Shootout. But then again, this year George did his review up north and none of the extra fast saltwater rod guys down here had any say-so about it. George is 1st a trout guy and I know he loves a softer action rod anyways, outside of extra fast (like an H2, Method, etc.). So I knew the rod would be somewhat bias. But not directly hearing it from him, I suspect the Asq is not doing the residual sales the Scott Meridian did with his previous Shootout. So I have a feeling Loomis will take notice and decide that $1000 thresh hold was a little too much, even for today's market. And even tho George liked it (maybe he actually liked it or liked the $$ signs ringing in his cash register), the sales are not following suit. I guess only time will tell.

I've thrown the Asq in a 6 and an 8wt and they were "Okay" but didn't cause the hair in the back of my neck to raise up, like I would expect for a $1100 rod. The teeny tiny line guides were a disappointment to me and told me it was just a copy cat process they have picked up from Sage. Yes I know the advantages and disadvantages of them, which I don't want to side track this thread. Anyway, those to rods threw good but to me, not really great. I actually preferred the new IMX Pro over those Asq in that line weight. Based on those 2 rods I threw, they were a softer feeling rod, much like what Sage was trying to do with the X and what Orvis was trying to do with the H3F, being a little more buggy whipish, yet still being somewhat fast (not really extra fast) and still launch a good line. So I can see where they would start feeling easier to cast in the higher line weights. That being said, I can see where the higher line weight rods (9-12wts) in the Asq would have more feel and be easier on the swing in those rod weights. But if I was then comparing to new, then I'd also be trying the Sage X, the Orvis H3"F", and some other "fast, not extra fast" rods in those line weights with that same fly line.

I have this bad habit of going into fly shops and waving rods to feel their action. But like you, you can't really tell unless you string it up, put on a good line and reel, a real fly and actually fish it before you can tell the real world behavior of a rod. Your scenario is a perfect example of possibly hating it in a shop but loving it on the water, or vise versa. You never really know until you fish it. I guess that's why you see so many rods for sale where the seller indicates "only fished it one time or several times!" Humm.... Imagine that! 

Ted


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## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

backbone said:


> If you break it they will replace it on the expeditor program for around $250.


Ouch!!! I know if you send only the butt section in 2pcs back to T&T its a $55 charge. I cast an aqua last fall, great rod but overpriced. It fit my casting style very well. I like them, but unless they are cheaper than the Exocett i won’t get one. The $250 is reason enough for me....


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

MSG said:


> They all feel remarkably similar to each other.


This is a reason why I have Winston rods across my rod weights - they have the same feel and load, so the casting stroke is the same across them. Personally, I thought the NRX did not feel the same between the 8 and the 9. The 9 is a cannon, but the 8 was way too stiff for a mid-weight rod, so I ditched it.


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

I wonder how different the responses would be if the title had stated "Tailwater Outfitters - may not be for everyone" and reviewed a rod with an attached 75 dollar price tag?


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## MSG (Jan 11, 2010)

I'm not saying the asquith is the end all for everyone - just that I think it's really dynamite for me - and the extra price versus others can be justified - in that if you throw it better and like it, then it is a value judgement as to what it is to worth versus all the other $900 rods. 2 days ago my buddy and did a head to head with the scott meridian - both 8 was with 2 different lines, and swapped the lines back and forth. The meridian is an awesome rod - just a bit softer and less "balls" than the asquith. After doing that - he plans on selling the scott to get the asquith. he - like me - feels the extra power is worthwhile while still having really good feel. Your milage may vary.


Backwater said:


> I understand you like the Asq over the NRX's in the large wts (NRX's become stiff the heavier the rod wts go up). But have you compared it to any other rods out there? There ARE other options ya know.


There are lot's of rods I like that I have compared directly - scotts, orvis, sage, etc. I could fish many of them very happily - to me though, I like the way the asqutih's feel as a whole. If I didn't have the asquith, I would most likely have kept my pro 1's - I seemed to prefer that to most others overall.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Cronced said:


> I wonder how different the responses would be if the title had stated "Tailwater Outfitters - may not be for everyone" and reviewed a rod with an attached 75 dollar price tag?


I've thrown some decent rods with a cheap price tag before and liked them. I actually own a cheap 8wt that I use to teach fly casting that has a $149 price tag that is actually a sweet casting rod and had people scratch their head when I load up with just 2 false cast and bomb a whole fly line with it. I've also thrown a Cabelas $79 rod loaded with a decent line and decided it wasn't a half bad starter rod for the money.

I'm not knocking the Asq, but I wouldn't recommend the rod unless you were a decent caster, like Backbone for instance and can take advantage of the little nuances that sets the rod apart from other high end rods, over a guy who decides he wants to buy the rod cause it will make him a better caster, cause it wouldn't. That being said, the OP MSG had a 9wt NRX that was a little stiffer than it should be and then picked up an $1100 rod in the same line wt that had more "feel" to the rod and decided it was a better rod. The real question is, if he felt up a rod with half the sticker price that had more "feel" to it, would he had spent twice the money for the Asq once he knew there were other rods with similar feel to it? Who knows.

Buy a set of 4 $1100 fly rods, match them with $900 reels, $200 worth of matching fly line (SA Amp) and quality backing and another $50 on leaders, tippet, accessories, etc on each set up and now you're into 4 setups for $10k. All that and one still can't cast worth a flip and can hardly catch a fish. But the consensuses is... "He still looks good with all that gear...." right? 

I like good equipment, but geeze..... I think Loomis is mighty proud of that rod, just like their daddy company is proud of their Stellas. 

Only my opinion, folks.


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

Anyone that has seen Lefty cast a fly line WITHOUT a rod knows the rod is just one part of the equation. The caster is the majority of the equation, with the line, then the rod coming last. It is all mechanics and timing on the individual. A $1k rod won't make a bad caster a better caster.


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