I have not seen such an honest review in a long time. refreshing - and super cool. makes me want to trust this so much more than every other review that absolutely loves every new rod introduced on the market that year. thank you
Ben,I Bought the same rod from you at Trident last year. This is far from a weird rod. Howard Crosten did a remarkable job with the design. I use this as my main rod on the West Branch of the Delaware. Combined with the troubitten mono rig system, it performs outstanding. I would consider this rod one of the closest rods to a crossover tool. I euro nymph, switch to indicator nymph, switch to hopper dropper, switch to streamer in a matter of minutes very easily. It,s perfect for Dom,s approach to versitility. If a hatch comes off, I spool up my mono on a 3" spool from my vest ,then simply put on my dry fly leader . It takes 2 minutes to convert. No reel changing, no threading new fly line etc etc. I use a 4 wt Rio gold fly line with it and it casts like a dream with any length of leader . This past week I put on a Cuthroad Hi-Vis Braided leader and it was perfection and easy to use. From nymphing to dry fly simply by changing my tippet, We are all entitaled to our own opinions and I appreciate your input, but I have to politly disagree with you on this review. Versatility!.....one rod,one reel,one fly line makes for an enjoyable experiance on the water. Straight to the point.......this rod is no bull shit......it is not weird...... You just have to use it right. Adapt
Hi Warren. I’m also a Troutbitten monorigger that fishes the Upper D system. I have the 4 weight 9’9” LL ultralight and the 4 weight 10’ regular ultralight. They’re both great rods. I’ll grab the regular 10’ if I’m gona throw mostly streamers.
I have to agree as I have several 4wt rods, many purchased through Trident and although they are all very good rods in their own rights, none are able to crossover as easily or do well across the board in each category I tend to fish. This rod easily handles everything from technical European style tight line nymphing, nymphing under indicators, and dry fly specific fishing. Of all of the 4wt a I have at my disposal I find this one with me more often than not due to its ability to bridge the gaps so easily. Sure there are rods out there that would fish well in two of the three categories and there are some very good anglers that can tight-line nymph behind just about any rod, Harold happens to be one of those guys, but to me, very few can do all of the above reasonably well. I’ve paired mine with an Airflo tactical tapered line and it casts perfectly for me as several have mentioned above. Good review and happy to hear folks stand their ground and be honest when something just doesn’t seem a good fit for them, but this one definitely checks all of the boxes for me. Keep it up with the reviews guys!
Sounds like a fair review - a rod for very specific situations and flyfishers that focus on having a different (Ben used the term "strange") rod for every occasion. I have never tried the LL but I do own a 3-wgt Hardy Zephrus and like it. Honestly, the question is this: Is the LL for you? If you are a beginning or intermediate flyfisher (woman or man), most likely you will be disappointed because this rod (or any other $900 rod) is not going to make you a better fly caster or fly fisherman. After 60+ years in the sport, I believe that a reasonable amount of success in the sport is somewhere around 85-95% the skill of the angler and the rest can be attributed to his tackle. Yes, great tackle helps to a certain extent and is a joy to use . . . but great tackle in the hands of someone lacking flyfishing and fly casting skills won't change that fisherman's success much. Do you really need a "competition" level rod? Are you heading to New Zealand soon?
I have the Ultralite LL 9.9 #3 and for me is absolutely the best choice if you want to fish 90% of the day euro nymphing and still use it for that 10% with Dry fly if the fish start to come up.
The Hardy ultralight LL 9’2” 3 wt is a blast to fish. Here in Wv usa this rod is awesome when fishing small midge and bwo dries. It it the best rod for extremely small tippet that I own. It has a euro type tip flex and a stiff back bone and the transition from tip to butt is great for thin tippet. On a tight creek it works great as a tight line nymph rod too. I fish the 10’8” 0/2 and really like it. I am fortunate enough to fish all of the top brand rods and the ultralight LL are my go to rods. Thanks !!!
I have the 9’9" 4, it’s fantastic rod it’s one of my favorite boat rods because of how much power it has, put SA MPX on it and either a Spanish dry fly leader for small dries, or I can put a long powerful leader and throw hoppers and beetles to spooky tail water browns
Well done Ben. I hate 'reviews' which are basically rating out loud the brochure and just another marketing channel of the manufacturer. The rod being so heavy, it looks weird that this rod would be a Euronymph and dry fly rod 'cross over' rod. You'll be worn out high sticking a heavy rod all day! Anyway thanks for the honest review!
Ben, The reel you’ve paired with that rod looks great, but it’s probably much too light to counter balance the rod’s swing weight. You don’t need an anvil to balance that rod but I think something like a Bougle or Perfect would be a better match.
You need a competition dryfly line to get the presentation right so a 4wt is way to heavy... A 14 fot leader is short for cometition dryfly in my oppinion, twise the rod length is usually good but with those rods you can throw 30 fot leaders or longer. Some reasons for the stiffer butsection is accuarcy and hookset, basically the rods helps to get more fish..😉
@@erikkarlsson5727 Thanks for your reply! I saw that Devin Olsen used a 2wt fly line for this rod in Spain, and was wondering why he chose this. So a 2wt line is not to light for this rod?
Hi Ben, I m big fun of your rewies.. I have LL 9’2 4# and is totally diferent rod than this and great dry fly and nymphing rod for sight fishing on chalk stream.. for euronymphing I dont know I dont prefer this kind of high stick fishing.. I hope to see reivew for 9’2 4# with rio gold you will be suprised it is great rod.
I have this rod and it really is a weird rod. It’s a great rod but it does prefer certain lines and certain situations. I am using it as a standard indicator rod with split shot and 3 fly rig on the South Platte River. It works about as good as any other rod but it certainly doesn’t stand out. I have yet to try it as a dry fly rod. That might be something I do this week. Currently I have a SA Amplitude Infinity fly line on it. It works good but I am still not sure that that’s the line it wants. Paired with a Lamson Litespeed in the Whiskey color, it’s a smoking hot set up.
@@Tridentflyfishing I’ve used the Cortland nymph line, the 4wt, 5wt. And 6wt. line on it. I couldn’t get it dialed in with those lines. I have the Rio Gold, SA GPX, SA Anadros and SA Trout lines to try on it.
@@Tridentflyfishing I have settled on the Rio Gold Elite on this rod. For now anyways. I fished it recently again as a bobber rig it did everything I needed it to do perfectly well. It doesn’t do anything better than any other Rod but it just gets the job done the way I needed to. I’m not sure what I’m expecting out of it but I can’t say it’s lacking in any way so no complaints here.
Hi Ben, I’m fishing the river Isar in Germany and have tried the Hardy Ultralite LL. It is too heavy for me, I prefer the G.Loomis NRX+ #4 10 ft for technical dry fly fishing
@@Tridentflyfishing Dear Ben, thank you for your reviews. Not ever rod can be subject to an extensive review in particular when the rod is a specialty rod such as the Hardy Ultralite LL or the SR. The fact that you cover these rods with short reviews acknowledging the genius of Howard Croston speaks for yourself. I own a Hardy SR #3 7ft which I use with a Rio Creek. I wouldn‘t want another creek rod.
Really strange rod this one. For me dry (in 4 or 5wt) and more than 9ft just seems odd. Well, still nothing beats my old 9ft 4wt g loomis nrx 😁 greetings from Norway.
Ben this rod has caught you and a whole bunch of American anglers with your pants down, so to speak, ie out of touch with the developments in Euro nymphing and the rods that can do both Euro nymphing and dry fly (ie crossover rods). -Scenarios which typically involve a long rod fished at closer range than Americans are traditionally used to, and without bobbers, indicators or split shot. Am I right?
I have not seen such an honest review in a long time. refreshing - and super cool. makes me want to trust this so much more than every other review that absolutely loves every new rod introduced on the market that year. thank you
Thanks for the kind words!
Ben,I Bought the same rod from you at Trident last year. This is far from a weird rod. Howard Crosten did a remarkable job with the design. I use this as my main rod on the West Branch of the Delaware. Combined with the troubitten mono rig system, it performs outstanding. I would consider this rod one of the closest rods to a crossover tool. I euro nymph, switch to indicator nymph, switch to hopper dropper, switch to streamer in a matter of minutes very easily. It,s perfect for Dom,s approach to versitility. If a hatch comes off, I spool up my mono on a 3" spool from my vest ,then simply put on my dry fly leader . It takes 2 minutes to convert. No reel changing, no threading new fly line etc etc. I use a 4 wt Rio gold fly line with it and it casts like a dream with any length of leader . This past week I put on a Cuthroad Hi-Vis Braided leader and it was perfection and easy to use. From nymphing to dry fly simply by changing my tippet, We are all entitaled to our own opinions and I appreciate your input, but I have to politly disagree with you on this review. Versatility!.....one rod,one reel,one fly line makes for an enjoyable experiance on the water. Straight to the point.......this rod is no bull shit......it is not weird...... You just have to use it right. Adapt
It's an excellent rod for a river like the West Branch. Good to see it's working out for you!
5 wt , 4 wt ten footers on the delaware is the best way to fish this great river.
Hi Warren. I’m also a Troutbitten monorigger that fishes the Upper D system. I have the 4 weight 9’9” LL ultralight and the 4 weight 10’ regular ultralight. They’re both great rods. I’ll grab the regular 10’ if I’m gona throw mostly streamers.
@@louied6065 Sounds like a blast
I have to agree as I have several 4wt rods, many purchased through Trident and although they are all very good rods in their own rights, none are able to crossover as easily or do well across the board in each category I tend to fish. This rod easily handles everything from technical European style tight line nymphing, nymphing under indicators, and dry fly specific fishing. Of all of the 4wt a I have at my disposal I find this one with me more often than not due to its ability to bridge the gaps so easily. Sure there are rods out there that would fish well in two of the three categories and there are some very good anglers that can tight-line nymph behind just about any rod, Harold happens to be one of those guys, but to me, very few can do all of the above reasonably well. I’ve paired mine with an Airflo tactical tapered line and it casts perfectly for me as several have mentioned above. Good review and happy to hear folks stand their ground and be honest when something just doesn’t seem a good fit for them, but this one definitely checks all of the boxes for me. Keep it up with the reviews guys!
Sounds like a fair review - a rod for very specific situations and flyfishers that focus on having a different (Ben used the term "strange") rod for every occasion. I have never tried the LL but I do own a 3-wgt Hardy Zephrus and like it. Honestly, the question is this: Is the LL for you? If you are a beginning or intermediate flyfisher (woman or man), most likely you will be disappointed because this rod (or any other $900 rod) is not going to make you a better fly caster or fly fisherman. After 60+ years in the sport, I believe that a reasonable amount of success in the sport is somewhere around 85-95% the skill of the angler and the rest can be attributed to his tackle. Yes, great tackle helps to a certain extent and is a joy to use . . . but great tackle in the hands of someone lacking flyfishing and fly casting skills won't change that fisherman's success much. Do you really need a "competition" level rod? Are you heading to New Zealand soon?
I have the Ultralite LL 9.9 #3 and for me is absolutely the best choice if you want to fish 90% of the day euro nymphing and still use it for that 10% with Dry fly if the fish start to come up.
The Hardy ultralight LL 9’2” 3 wt is a blast to fish. Here in Wv usa this rod is awesome when fishing small midge and bwo dries. It it the best rod for extremely small tippet that I own. It has a euro type tip flex and a stiff back bone and the transition from tip to butt is great for thin tippet. On a tight creek it works great as a tight line nymph rod too. I fish the 10’8” 0/2 and really like it. I am fortunate enough to fish all of the top brand rods and the ultralight LL are my go to rods. Thanks !!!
I have the 9’9" 4, it’s fantastic rod it’s one of my favorite boat rods because of how much power it has, put SA MPX on it and either a Spanish dry fly leader for small dries, or I can put a long powerful leader and throw hoppers and beetles to spooky tail water browns
Well done Ben. I hate 'reviews' which are basically rating out loud the brochure and just another marketing channel of the manufacturer.
The rod being so heavy, it looks weird that this rod would be a Euronymph and dry fly rod 'cross over' rod. You'll be worn out high sticking a heavy rod all day! Anyway thanks for the honest review!
Ben,
The reel you’ve paired with that rod looks great, but it’s probably much too light to counter balance the rod’s swing weight. You don’t need an anvil to balance that rod but I think something like a Bougle or Perfect would be a better match.
You need a competition dryfly line to get the presentation right so a 4wt is way to heavy... A 14 fot leader is short for cometition dryfly in my oppinion, twise the rod length is usually good but with those rods you can throw 30 fot leaders or longer. Some reasons for the stiffer butsection is accuarcy and hookset, basically the rods helps to get more fish..😉
Hi! What dryfly line is a good setup for this?
@@overlandnorwayflyfishing1552 A 2wt! 12-14m head. Theres many good lines but usually the ones used in competition is more pratical for presentation.
@@erikkarlsson5727 Thanks for your reply! I saw that Devin Olsen used a 2wt fly line for this rod in Spain, and was wondering why he chose this. So a 2wt line is not to light for this rod?
That’s the 2nd fish jumping in the background in 2 days!
They're trying to catch a peak at the hot new Hardy rods. Can you blame them?
That fish wants to become moviestar 0:30
Oh yeah!
Hi Ben, I m big fun of your rewies.. I have LL 9’2 4# and is totally diferent rod than this and great dry fly and nymphing rod for sight fishing on chalk stream.. for euronymphing I dont know I dont prefer this kind of high stick fishing.. I hope to see reivew for 9’2 4# with rio gold you will be suprised it is great rod.
So many rods, so little time! Glad you like the rod... sounds like a killer setup
I have this rod and it really is a weird rod. It’s a great rod but it does prefer certain lines and certain situations. I am using it as a standard indicator rod with split shot and 3 fly rig on the South Platte River. It works about as good as any other rod but it certainly doesn’t stand out. I have yet to try it as a dry fly rod. That might be something I do this week. Currently I have a SA Amplitude Infinity fly line on it. It works good but I am still not sure that that’s the line it wants. Paired with a Lamson Litespeed in the Whiskey color, it’s a smoking hot set up.
What other lines are you considering?
@@Tridentflyfishing I’ve used the Cortland nymph line, the 4wt, 5wt. And 6wt. line on it. I couldn’t get it dialed in with those lines. I have the Rio Gold, SA GPX, SA Anadros and SA Trout lines to try on it.
@@HopperJuan The Gold or SA Infinity might be the right move.
@@Tridentflyfishing I have settled on the Rio Gold Elite on this rod. For now anyways. I fished it recently again as a bobber rig it did everything I needed it to do perfectly well. It doesn’t do anything better than any other Rod but it just gets the job done the way I needed to. I’m not sure what I’m expecting out of it but I can’t say it’s lacking in any way so no complaints here.
@@HopperJuan Good to hear
I fish letort spring run and big spring creek in PA. This a good choice for that kind of fishing?
It should be a great rod for technical spring creeks
Hi Ben, I’m fishing the river Isar in Germany and have tried the Hardy Ultralite LL. It is too heavy for me, I prefer the G.Loomis NRX+ #4 10 ft for technical dry fly fishing
Great rod, for sure
@@Tridentflyfishing Dear Ben, thank you for your reviews. Not ever rod can be subject to an extensive review in particular when the rod is a specialty rod such as the Hardy Ultralite LL or the SR. The fact that you cover these rods with short reviews acknowledging the genius of Howard Croston speaks for yourself. I own a Hardy SR #3 7ft which I use with a Rio Creek. I wouldn‘t want another creek rod.
@@olivertwist4407 Thanks for the kind words! Glad you are enjoying our content!
Really strange rod this one. For me dry (in 4 or 5wt) and more than 9ft just seems odd. Well, still nothing beats my old 9ft 4wt g loomis nrx 😁 greetings from Norway.
Great rod, for sure
U must not fish bigwater from a driftboat
Nice cosmetics!
Hardy makes a great looking rod
Isn't the LL designed for turning LL or Czech nymphing 🤔
Not every model in series
This rod is for nymphing eurostyle
The 9'9" 4wt is super versatile
Ben this rod has caught you and a whole bunch of American anglers with your pants down, so to speak, ie out of touch with the developments in Euro nymphing and the rods that can do both Euro nymphing and dry fly (ie crossover rods). -Scenarios which typically involve a long rod fished at closer range than Americans are traditionally used to, and without bobbers, indicators or split shot. Am I right?
Americans haven’t let go of their bobbers yet. Maybe when they grow up?
@@JC.A26 harsh, but exactly!