Whether I am chasing large trout on a reservoir or seatrout along the coast of a Danish island, it is usually the Helios 2 rod that comes out of the rod-case first.

The ten foot Helios 2 for a line-class #7 is a great tool on the Dutch trout reservoirs like the Ronde Bleek, the Kool and the Berenkuil. It can be used for different methods and the extra length is a great plus when fishing longer leaders. Casting bigger bungs is not a problem and if necessary the flies can be presented at quite some distance with ease. The rod has a fast action but is not “hard”, a good bit of pressure can be applied to a hooked fish and the hook will seldom loose its grip. When a rod is too hard, it is often difficult to keep enough pressure on a fish that is hooked and you will often suffer from “long line releases”.

For a ten footer the rod is very light indeed and a pleasure to cast and fish with. I usually use a aluminium fly-reel on it in order to get the right balance. With a lighter reel the total weight of the outfit might be lower, but the rod becomes tip-heavy and less comfortable to cast and fish all day. When you have put together your outfit, the balancing point should be at the hook keeper or at the first one or two corks of the grip.

The Helios 2 rod was also a pleasure to use when “lough style” fishing on loughs in Ireland for brown trout and seatrout. Lighter rods for a line-class #5 have become the norm for this style of fishing, but when intermediate fly-lines are called for, the #7 is my rod of choice. In a good wave an intermediate line will give you a better contact with your team of flies, with the backbone of the Helios 2 the setting of the hook and keeping a good pressure on a hooked trout is no problem at all. Several of the guides that I fished with on the loughs in the south-west of Ireland tried the Helios 2 as well and they all liked its lightness and ease of casting.

For seatrout fly-fishing along the coast of Danish islands I like to use long-belly fly-lines and with the Helios 2 it is easy to keep a long length of fly-line in the air and still shoot many meters more on the final cast. With large stones behind you, it is easy to keep the line high in the air, well above the hook damaging obstacles.

While nine foot fly-rods are the norm for this type of fly-fishing, the extra length of this rod has it’s advantages. It is easier to keep lines under control when there are large waves rolling along the coast for instance. With the extra length one can also keep extra pressure on a hooked seatrout, you will get it under control more quickly even when you hook it at a large distance.

In short, the Helios 2 10’ #7 is a great pleasure to cast and fish with, I am sure it will accompany me on many more trips in the coming years.

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