L.L.Bean Gear Review: Double L. Fly Rod (10Ft,6wt)
- The Double L has been one of L.L.Bean’s best selling rods for some time now, and I’ve met many anglers who swear by it. Having tried the Double L in a 7wt years ago, I was interested in getting my hands on one when I heard some updates were made. The Double L. I have been fishing almost exclusively for Trout and Salmon this season (and the occasional bass) is a 10 foot 6 weight.
I was initially intrigued by the length, having never tried a rod longer than 9 feet. I typically prefer a 6 weight because it offers sufficient backbone for trolling and fighting larger Landlocked Salmon, while at the same time maintaining the ability to make delicate presentations to spooky Brookies sipping dry flies off the surface. The Double L has all these qualities, and has recently placed itself atop my list of go-to rods for every day fresh water fishing in northern Maine. While not perfect, it does excel in a few important areas (at least in my personal opinion) and is an overall great buy for the price.
Rough but Refined
- The Double L is constructed of High-Modulus graphite that offers plenty of strength without sacrificing a light weight feel. The rod feels light to the touch, but not so light that it feels cheap. I’ve always been a fan of solid feeling fly rods, and the Double L immediately struck me as a well constructed, solid rod. I feel like it has just enough weight, but not so much that it makes fishing for hours on end difficult. Anodized hardware and snake guides allow for slick casts while also standing up to every day abuse bouncing around in the back of the truck, or off trees and rocks during the long walk to the river. The “vintage” brown color scheme and burled wood spacer complete this beautiful rod, giving it the look of rods that often sell for more than twice the asking price! From the ground up, the Double L is a supermodel fly rod that still knows how to get dirty on the weekends. Teamed up with the Double L reel, this is one outfit any avid fisherman would be proud to own.
Can She Dance?
- While the Double L is as pretty as they come, I bet your wondering if it can perform. Well, the short answer is a resounding YES, but not without some flaws. To be completely honest, my first impressions while casting the Double L were a mixture of good feelings and confusion. Having never fished a 10 foot rod, the flex felt much different than that of the Streamlight I had been fishing with in the previous years. It took some getting used to, but I quickly learned that length has its certain pros and cons. After a little practice I was casting out well past my previous range and realizing how sturdy and powerful the rod felt. At the same time, I have been amazed time and time again at just how nimble the 6wt rod actually is, handling light tippets with relative ease and laying down small mayflies to calm pockets of water without making so much as a ripple. The extra length also helps with roll casting, although I don’t tend to find myself in many situations that require roll casts. It performs well in wind, driving tight loops through moderate gusts with minimal effort, depending on the size of the fly. With that said, the medium action rod seems to struggle casting larger streamers or bass bugs in anything more than light winds. While this was never a selling point for the Double L, it is something I look for in a fly rod given the ever changing Spring fishing conditions in Maine. In most cases a more heavy fly line is all that is needed to correct this problem, although I would probably purchase a more hefty 7 weight in the future specifically for Salmon Fishing with weighted streamers.
Last Call!
- At the end of the day, I would give the Double L 4.5 out of 5 stars for great durability and a silky smooth cast. Where it does falter is with more heavy weight flies, which is only a problem if you love to throw streamers exclusively. While it can handle these larger flies, other rods I’ve tried including the Orvis Helios and the L.L.Bean Orion in similar weights handle them better.
I would recommend this rod for anyone who wants the advantages a longer rod, along with the convenience of delicate presentations from a rod with a surprising amount of backbone. At 240 dollars, it has all the advantages of a premium Trout rod without the hefty price.
For more information on the 10 foot 6 weight Double L, and the rest of the Double L line, click HERE.
Tight Lines,
-Ben
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Ben- My name is Adam, I live in Washington state. I like your blog. I’m actually in the process of building my own blog about fishing in Washington. I’ve been working on it for a few days and it has consumed me. I have written a few product reviews so far but my hopes are to build an incredible blog and hopefully rep a few companies. Could you give me some tips on what types of things i should be writing about? Flyfishing will be a large part of my blog. My url is http://www.adamblasquez.wordpress.com. Oh ya- I lived in Falmouth for 5 years then moved back to Washington. I never fly fished in Maine, but had my fun fishing for stripers on the Presumscott.
Tight Lines
Hey Adam,
Sorry for such a long delay in the reply, I’ve been crazy busy and it honestly just slipped my mind. Thank you for the props. on the blog, I really enjoy writing it. I checked your blog out and it def. is off to the right start. My best advice to you would be to stay original. There are a TON of fly fishing blogs out there that do the same thing day in and day out, and honestly it gets boring. Even if your core is fly fishing, don’t be afraid to stray into other areas. I like hunting so I tend to write about that as well, and anything else that I think is interesting. Just be sure that whatever your fancy, you always return to your core topic. It is important to develop that topic because most of your readership will come from core fly fishermen who want insider info and cool tips and tricks that work for you. Fly guys (and girls) are creatures of habit. If you write something that enhances their fishing experience, they are hooked for life.
Other than that, post often and consistently so. This first year for me has been insane, but the hard work has really paid off. If people see your dedicated and passionate about what you do, they will respect you for it and tend to stick around. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t getting a ton a hits right off, they come in time. Just keep writing! Sign up with different blog directories like blog catalog etc. to get your name out their. Also, be sure to use consistent post tags so that users can find your posts in search engines.
If you have any more questions feels free to drop me an email, I promise to return it quickly this time!
happy castings,
-Ben