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CTS - AFFINITY X 590

This rod built by Derek Smith is an absolute brute of a rod. It has a fast action, and the 5-weight is well suited to punching out line in places like the Lesotho Highlands and New Zealand. It makes perfect sense that it was developed in NZ, where you will experience sketchy weather and may need to cast in windy conditions. It really performed well with the Airflo Superflo Elite weight-forward 5 floating line and it certainly helped me to present a fly at fair distances to spooky yellowfish that were typically feeding on the far bank of pools. I can really recommend this combo for larger rivers in South Africa. Even the 5-weight CTS had enough backbone to land good size fish quickly. ctsfishing.com

EPIC - 590C

Also built by Derek Smith, this Epic blank is very forgiving, a slower rod than the CTS Affinity X, for instance, but that helps with delicate and accurate presentations in calm conditions. It seems to correct a poor casting stroke, helping to throw a beautiful loop on almost every cast and is a real pleasure to fish with. I imagine that it would be very well suited to sight fishing at fish cruising the margins of stillwaters or for more delicate presentations with a dry fly on larger rivers, like the Bokong on a calm day. epicflyrods.com