Intro:
The newly introduced Bad Ass Glass Quickshot has garnered a lot of attention and raised a few questions. My experience with the original BAG rod (the 9 footer) has brought more than a few quires my direction. For the sake of my happiness and making an addition to my arsenal of fly rods I wanted to give the Quickshot a “quick-shot”. Since the cleverness of this article is already apparent keep reading and it will be fun for both of us. If you’re in the market for a new glass rod or just curious about the Quickshot you have arrived at the correct destination.
Components:
To begin let’s first examine what this rod is made of, literally and figuratively. The BAG Quickshot comes in your standard four-piece design for easy travel which is always convenient. One of my favorite parts of this rod is actually the travel tube because it’s also constructed from fiberglass material and maintains that beautiful blue color. The blank of course is also made from the same material that gives it a mesmerizing translucent sky blue color. The sky blue color comes from a magical barn in the sky where unicorn poop that has the same consistency of sand is shipped fresh to the manufacturing facility (Disclaimer: Echo rods are not built from Unicorn poop, but they are pretty special). The guides are built from stainless steel combined with low-friction ceramic strippers. The cork is high quality and the aluminum reel seat is maintenance free. I wouldn’t expect insanely nice components for a rod of this price which is in accordance with Echo’s extremely fair price tag for this fly rod. I have put another Bad Ass Glass 8WT through some carp trials and a hundred mile river trip with no problems. When it really comes down to it the rod comes with a Lifetime Warranty from Echo as well.
Casting:
One of the main reasons I fly fish is for the casting satisfaction. The takeaway here: Fiberglass rods are fun to cast. Casting the Quickshot is so fun and versatile it reminds me of archery hunting and blasting a shotgun at the same time depending on the fly and species. Whether I want to shoot laser looking arrows or drop nymph bombs this rod can do it. I’m not the best caster and the BAG Quickshot allows me to change casting styles fairly easy. It’s a fun rod to experiment with different sized loops especially in windy conditions
During a day of fishing I threw almost every kind of rig and fly I had with me and it performed surprisingly well. The only struggle was with larger articulated patterns which is probably common with a 6WT glass rod. On that day I casted various bugger and dries with teasers or droppers. The rod loads perfectly for these kinds of set-ups and it’s a blast to throw. Nymph rig wise the rod does a fine job, it’s definitely not the best, but does well enough to roll cast and mend. I loaded a reel with the AIRFLO 6WT Exceed Trout Fly Line for this rod and I think it’s perfect. I initially thought about using a double-taper line but because the rod is faster action glass I chose against it. It’s not overloaded and makes the rod extremely easy to cast short range as well as double haul a decent sized streamer. As you would expect this rod loves to throw dry flies and smaller streamers. Not having a great cast the Quickshot makes it easier to throw a delicate presentation with a small dry fly or really turn over a big chunk of deer hair if needed.
Line Reccomendations (6WT Quickshot – Freshwater):
The “bad”:
When it comes to the negatives of this rod I realized a couple things but nothing major. Its capability or lack thereof to throw long distances (especially with my casting ability) and it can be easily overloaded with big streamers or heavy nymph rigs. Its gets overloaded with wet-sock type flies losing accuracy and a lot of its feel. If you’re going to be dealing with heavy winds and need to throw long distance with relative ease I would suggest getting either of the Bad Ass Glass 8WT rods. This rod is not ideal for say size two sex dungeons and long multi-fly or weighted nymph rigs. Of course it’s not particularly designed to throw those setups but it will still do a respectable job.
Final Thoughts:
The Quickshot excels at what it’s supposed to do: quick shots while sight fishing. This rod makes it easy to throw big dry flies and small streamers. It’s also an accurate stick that can still do a nice roll cast with a simple nymph rig. It picks up line similar to an expensive graphite rod but is easier to load with little line speed for the next target. The 6WT is a great “all-around” size for here in Utah. I’ve used it at our local rivers and a couple reservoirs and it’s a blast. It’s going to be my go-to dry dropper rod for rivers but I can’t wait to use it with poppers for smallmouth in the coming spring. For monster lake trout or wipers I would probably go to a 7WT. When it comes to larger species like carp or musky I would check out the 8WT or maybe even the 10WT.
The “Bottom Line”:
If you want to try something different, enjoy your casting, and improve your general fly fishing experience try an Echo Bad Ass Glass Quickshot. Plain and simple it’s just more fun; come into the shop and check one out!
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