Guideline LPXe 15' #10/11

[beanieboy]

I had the 14' #9/10 and regret selling it [handle was too short] - I am now considering the 15' #10/11 [will have to live with the short handle style] and would like to hear from anyone who has used this particular rod.

[beanieboy]

Thank you Springer - I was not aware that Guideline were introducing a 'spey model' - I would be very interested in either this , the Norway 9/10 or an Ian Gordon Spey - all seem good options.

[kercock]

I just took delivery for a guest,of a Norway 9/10 for £245 delivered to the door,it has to be a good deal at that price,I don't know the price of the other rods mentioned but some rod prices are close to criminal !

[beanieboy]

Kercock

In spite of all the positive comments about the Norway range, I have never actually threw one - I prefer a fastish action and [rightly or wrongly] assumed the Norway is more of a through action and therefore probably not to my taste - how do you find the Norway? - £245 delivered is, as you say, excellent value for money.

kercock said:

I just took delivery for a guest,of a Norway 9/10 for £245 delivered to the door,it has to be a good deal at that price,I don't know the price of the other rods mentioned but some rod prices are close to criminal !

[storlaks]

Just back from my trip to the Spey. Due to lack of fish on some days we had a rod/line testing day. Had the LPXe 15ft and both the MF and F LeCie 14"8" rods on the go. All are fantastic IMO. Like you beanieboy I prefer faster action rods and to be honest the lenght of the handle doesn't matter. The rod is designed and balanced with this lenght and therefore it's just a matter of getting used to it.

For the money the LPXe is by far the best all round fast action rod on the market. It will cast any line, in any weather with the heaviest of flies on the end.....no problem at all....and at distance. If you like fast action rods don't even think about buying a Norway. I just sold mine as it's not in the same class as the LPXe. Just my opinion of course.

The Le-Cie rods are great as well. bit more expensive but wonderful to cast. You actually feel like you have a 13ft in your hand. They are the lightest rods I've used. Don't be fooled though, these rods will also cast all lines and flies. Had a #10 Loop Speyline floater (62ft head) with a 10ft extra fast-tip and a copper tube on this rod. Handled it with ease and turned over everytime (except when I made an @rse of it) On the LPXe I used the same set-up but used the #11 line. It worked better then the #10. Same result though.

I'd say the Le Cie MF is a little more forgiving than the fast and thus your timing is not so critical.

If I were buying a new fast action rod, I'd buy and LPXe. I'll be very interested in this new rod from Guideline as well, if the price is right.

[kercock]

I must admit the slow action of the Norways suit me very well,A pal of mine got the Le Cie,got the hang of it and has just sold his three Norways !!

[kelliefly]

* I have a LeCie 14ft 8 ,10,11
A good light rod that throws a wind cutter very well, try it.
.

[a]

I´ve been using B&W:s for three seasons and just recently bought the 15´ Lpxe and I´m very impressed. Didn´t expect it to handle spey lines that well but it is fantastic, due to a stiffer tip and a deeper action than most "Scandi-style"-rods. Great value. It also handles shooting heads from (apr) 35 grams to 43 grams. Quite a wide spectrum. Many "shooting head-rods" feel like broomsticks when lightly loaded and fart out with heavier loads.

The LeCie range is wonderful but what stopped me from buying one is the poor joints (ferrules). I couldn´t find one rod with smooth perfect-fit joints. Strange, considering they are not exactly cheap. I´m used to the great workmanship of the B&W:s so that was a bit disappointing. However, the Lpxe was superbly put together.

The spey lines I tried with great succes on the Lpxe were:

Rio WC 10-12 (went to the backing knot....)
Ian Gordon 65 ft 10/11 floater (delicately presenting a wee #10 double 35 yards out, no problem)
Ian Gordon 65 ft 11/12 med sink (was a bit surprised that this one would work since I didn´t think that the rod woudl be able to lift it properly. I was wrong. This set up is what I´ll be using when I fish the Spey and the Dee next spring ))

Having problems with the intermediate Ian Gordons. Just recieved a 10/11 which I thought would be great on either the Lpxe or my B&W Kola 15,3 but it totally lacks feel and shootablility. Doesn´t feel anything like the other great IG:s I have. I also have a 9/10 intermediate which is also disappointing. Has anybody else noticed this with the intermediates? When it comes to the 10/11 I might have been sent a faulty line - it appears to be 6-7 ft longer than my 10/11 floater (both 65 ft heads). Problems like these don´t seem to be uncommon. Bought a 9/10 floater (65ft) last year which went straight back to the store. Totally useless. It had a fatter tip than any of my 11/12 lines, was only about 55 ft long (the head, that is). Casted like a rope, landed like a brick. Got a new one which is nice. However, the 10/11 floater and the 11/12 med sink (65´ers) are the nicest IG:s I have tried. It seems like there are always a few really great ones in every range of lines. One would expect that the 9/10 with the appropriate rod would be equally great as the 10/11 with either the B&W ot the Lpxe, but that´s not the case in my opinion. Same with Guideline Power Tapers. The 9/10:s are nice, smooth and easy to cast while I feel the 10/11:s are a bit too clunky.

[fredtrout]

(that was me writing the former post. Was using another computer and couldn´t stay logged in, for some weird reason.)

[leo]

Was thinking of getting a Guideline rod and was wondering if anyone could advise me which would be more suitable. Obviously the best thing to do will be to try them but any advice pointing me in the right direction would be much appreciated.
I want the rod primarily for using with sinking shooting heads in the spring/autumn on mainly big but also sometimes medium/big sized rivers. However I also want to have it as a back-up rod for floating/intermediate lines on big rivers in the summer. I normally use a 15' Hardy Sirrus. While I am able to speycast competently I am still improving and my casting is still quite inconsistent.
Was looking at
Lpxe 15'
Le Cie 14'8"F
Le Cie 14'8"MF
Le Cie 14'8"Spey
AWM 14'9" MF
My main concern is to whether the last three medium fast rods would be as good for casting shooting heads as the fast ones and whether the former two would be difficult to cast for someone who is not a very experienced speycaster.
In addition someone told me that underhand style rods such as the Loop and Guideline rods forced you to use your bottom hand more. Is this true? If it were this would be fantastic as I seem to have a tendency to use the top hand too much when speycasting, especially as the day goes on.

Many thanks for your help

Leo

[robson]

The Le Cie 14'8 MF is a wonderful shooting head rod. It does not matter, if your top or lower hand is dominant. So at the end of the day you can still cast "properly" (sorry W.G.). While it is very easy to use, it has enough power to cast the heavy fly 35 meters away.
GuideLine Power Taper 4/5 sink at 40 grams/10.5 m casts like a rocket with this rod and sinks like a torpedo.

It is a lot easier rod to cast than the LPXe, but if you want to use speylines too, the LPXe 15' would be a better choice.

[leo]

Thanks both for your help. Guess I'll have to try them.

[ianjones]

I have the 13ft 8/9 version and after tinkering with the line choice it performs brilliantly, however i now want something with a bit more poke and range so i am about to purchase the 15 footer, can someone recommend some compatible spey lines, prefferably floaters and sinkers.

many thanks

Ian

[kelliefly]

hi Ian,try a wind cutter 10-11.
i use it on my 14ft 8 guideline and it goes out to the backing no bother.