The Scott F2 Blows My Skirt Up…Again!

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My First Fish on My New F2 3wt Photo by Louis Cahill

I fell in love with this little fiberglass beauty on the casting pond at the IFDT show in New Orleans in 2011.

Jim Bartschi, president of Scott Fly Rods, saw me throwing long graceful loops with the F2 7′ 3 weight and came over to correct my form.

“This thing is awesome!” I told him.

“Thanks,” he replied. “Let me show you what it’s made for.”

Jim knelt down at the edge of the casting pond and showed me how the F2 will form a loop casting only the leader. “This baby is designed for a stealthy presentation on small water, where a twelve inch fish is a trophy.” He showed me the wrap twelve inches from the butt of the rod. I was hooked.

It took a while to put an F2 in my collection but I did and I fished it for the first time yesterday. I thought I loved this rod, but I had no idea how much. Casting it at the casting pond was fun but fishing it was bliss. I fished with my good friend Dan Flynn. On the second run we fished, he asked if he could cast it. He never cast his rod again. We shared the F2 for the rest of the day.

The action of this little rod is like butter. It drops a dry fly with the delicacy of bamboo and is as accurate as a Seal team sniper. It’s quite possibly the best roll casting rod I’ve ever fished but the real treat comes when the fish is on. The F2 bends to the cork. I know Jim made this rod for a twelve inch fish and we caught those too but my first fish on the F2 3wt was eighteen inches and it was a party. Dan landed a twenty-four inch bruiser on 6X tippet. That was epic.

Dan Flynn Photo by Louis Cahill

The beauty of this rod is the feel. I’ve cast rods that would throw the whole line for me, that I hated them, because they had no soul. No feel. Whether casting or fighting a fish the F2 is all soul. It’s the Sam Cooke of fly rods!

Dan agreed with me that it was a joy to fish. He’s already saving for one. And why not? We fish for the joy of it and if a rod can make that experience more joyful, then what more can you ask for?

I’ve heard it said that the F2 is a one trick pony. There may be some truth to that. It’s not the rod I’d choose for fishing a heavy nymph rig and a thingamabobber. It’s not a streamer rod. Yesterday, it did anything I asked of it with a dry and dropper. It landed a twenty-four inch fish on 6X tippet and, after forty-two years of fly fishing, it made my heart swell when I held it in my hand. It may be a one trick pony, but that’s a pretty damn good trick!

 

Here’s a little Sam Cooke to get you in the mood.

Come fish with us in the Bahamas!

Louis Cahill
Gink & Gasoline
www.ginkandgasoline.com
hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
 
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20 thoughts on “The Scott F2 Blows My Skirt Up…Again!

  1. Great read. I have the F2 602 and it is my favorite rod. I fish it down here in Texas for sunfish and bass on the local creeks, and take it up to the mountain streams of SW Colorado to chase cutties. Biggest fish I’ve put to hand on it was about a 3 1/2 lb largemouth on 4X. Quite the tussle!

    Definitely planning on picking up the 703 some time in the future. Scott makes some fine rods, but the F2s are extra special, in my mind.

  2. While I like won’t have the currency to add an F2 to the quiver any time soon, it’s yet another Scott rod I’d like to pick up and this read didn’t help assuage that desire. Louis, that’s a beautiful brown, those colors are awesome, especially the blue behind the eye.

  3. We had a demo F2 at the shop this summer and had a 2 with the 2 contest where you had to use it to land a fish on a size 2 dry. I think 3 guys pulled it off and it was a ton of fun trying, very nice stick

  4. Louis,

    I have been trying to find a line to match my F2 3 weight, but alas i haven’t found one that i felt hit the sweet spot for this rod.

    Do you have any suggestions on lines you found work well on your setup?

  5. Hey Louis really enjoy your blog. Currently in the market for a 3 or 4 wt glass rod and wonder if you have cast the Orvis and how it compares to the Scott? Am interested in it as a dry fly only rod. Much appreciated and keep up the great work!
    Kevin

    • They are both great rods. The Orvis is faster than the Scott and is a better rod for heavy rigs. Personally, as a dry fly only rod I prefer the F2. You can’t go wrong either way. They are both outstanding.

      • Thanks Louis…appreciate you taking the time to provide your opinion based on your experience. Aesthetically leaning towards the F2 but the 4wt seems to get a bad review for having a soft tip…given that I wish it only for the dry fly thinking this May not be a bad thing unless it’s a total noodle which doesn’t appear to be coming from everyone! Again…thanks for your comparison…really helps for someone unable to test drive either! Cheers! Kevin

        • I know a lot of people prefer a single, versatile rod as opposed to carry multiple sticks with them. I’m not one of those people. 🙂

          I use a Sage Circa 7’9” 3wt for nymphing and streamers on small streams and always carry the F2 7’0” 3wt for dries and a dry-dropper combo. This is my surgeon’s kit and I cannot recommend it enough.

          The F2 has unquestionable elegance in its presentation but can wrangle large fish reliably; I catch 18” Browns on it often. The Circa is perfect for nymphing because it’s require as much energy to swing a heavier rig.

          Lastly, I’ve toyed with a lot of lines but have recently landed on using Rio Lightline DT. The short front taper (5’ exactly) means my rod with load well even if I’m only casting leader in a tight spot.

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