Echo Carbon 732

Score 4.08

7' 3", 4-Piece, MSRP $169.99, AA   65, ERN   2.23

 

Jim Stuard's Comments:  Very attractive rod. Alignment dots are a plus on a 4pc rod. Epoxy is crazing a bit on the single foot guides but the tipping is nice and generally nice looking work on a flat finished blank. The use of two types of cork on the grip is visually appealing. I didn’t like the metal reel seat for one reason. The three holes in the side of the seat acted like a cheese grater on my fly line. It was literally peeling little slices of line off when you stripped line next to the seat. Not cool. On future models, I’d recommend rounding off the edges of the holes or eliminating them altogether. The rod is fun to fish. It has a good feel and handles a 2wt line well, as well as uplining a line wt. Also had a good feel with a fish on.

 

Joe Cornwall's Comments:  A very high-tech package, this rod took me totally by surprise.  Good balance with the Bass Pro reel, this rod/reel combo has great synergy.  The rod handled the DT2 and the WF3 equally well.  Fly size didn't seem to matter (within reason) and the outfit was accurate to a fault.  In my notes I wrote "I feel everything about the cast and can do tricks - amazing reach and puddle casts, awesome change-of-direction casts and very, very good roll casts to whatever distance I need."  I went on to say "If you aren't delivering the fly with delicacy and precision, it's you and not the rod."  This stick has great fish feel, but I felt it to be just a touch soft in that last bit of butt strength. I noted "good choice for small trout or bigger fish on calm waters."  Finally, my last sentence in my casting notes simply said "I love this fly rod."

 

Jeremy Kurtz's Comments: This rod has a futuristic look to it with the windowed reel seat. The windowed cutouts are sharp though around the edges. One may have to smooth those out. The cork grip has a forward section of burl cork, which gives it a contrasting two tone look. The standard cork portion of the grip is A grade. The blank has a sanded matte finish, but it isn't uniformly sanded the whole length of the blank. The guides are chrome single foot. This rod has a nice smooth medium fast action, and was a delight to cast and fish. It casts well in short, but still has enough power to get you out to 50 feet. This rod isn't stiff either, and it allows smaller fish to show off, yet could handle the occasional larger fish.  This is a four piece rod, and comes with a nice Cordura rod tube, and a rod sock. This would make a nice travel rod.

 

Paul Feldman's Comments: To my aging eyes, this is one gorgeous rod!  The reel seat is a somewhat futuristic looking gray anodized aluminum seat with lightening holes and slots. The grip is near perfect size and shape, and the front 1/3 is made of ground cork as opposed to the cork rings in the rear portion. It seemed to provide extra traction for your thumb or forefinger when casting. The blank is a beautiful gray/brown color with a matte finish. The wraps are beautifully done as well. Based on the cosmetics and workmanship alone, I would have guessed the price point of this rod to be twice what it actually is! If you haven’t guessed, this tackle freak would like this rod even if it didn’t cast!

Casting the rod was no disappointment. It cast beautifully at short distances and did fairly well at longer ranges. It has a nice, comfortable mid action, and is a pleasure to fish with. I fished it with dries and streamers and caught several chunky bluegills and crappie and it was up to the task. I love this rod!

 

Manufacturer's Comments:

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