Fascinating concept! This comes with two tip sections, one normal length, the other six inches shorter. I started by setting this up with as a 10ft rod fitted with a conventional WF5 line. Whacking the rod to a stop produces a ripple effect in the lower leg of the loop. Casting smoothly produces smooth, slightly open loops. As I became used to the casting tempo this rod needed and began to open my shoulders, I began to run out of line.

The rating of this rod is deliberately slightly low. The designer, Tim Rajeff, decided to make a long distance 5-weight hence the rating. That means that with a short line this rod feels under-loaded, simply corrected by fitting a heavier line. Now, suppose you are boat fishing and want to throw a team of small flies, you want a light fly line to minimise disturbance, match a light leader and keep drag under control. This does all of the above. The loop size suits a long multi-fly leader and has me fishing at good range with ease.

Now I move to either a sinking line or simply want to cast a faster line, perhaps a larger or heavier fly. Switch tips and I have a punchy 9ft 6in rod. Again, I need the WF head in the air before the rod really comes to life. Loops are narrower and travel that bit faster.

Having tried several lines my own preferences lean towards long-belly #5 and #6 lines. Both configurations are capable of dealing with lines from #5 to #7 – I stopped at #7. I would certainly go no lighter than #5.

In the hand, this is not a particularly light rod, a matter of weight distribution. The unusual combination of length(s) and power really gets me thinking about where I would fish with this rod(s). The weight in the hand would incline me away from using this as a river rod even though the length and power would be useful for bugging and the like. On rivers I cast often and want the delicacy of touch offered by lighter, less stiff rods. Lakes and reservoirs seem to me to be where I would happily fish either rod length. Of course, that requires power in the butt since I’d hope to encounter large trout – the Echo2 is a very strong rod with ample power despite its line rating.

This rod needs a little work to understand where and when it is the first choice, so I would suggest it needs an owner with fishing experience.