There is no denying that the G Loomis Asquith is a great rod. It is no longer new but worth circling back on. I have fished and sold it to the Saltwater crowd for years and have steered the freshwater folks away from it. The Asquith comes with a premium price tag but was tagged with the idea that it was the highest-performing rod on the market. My thoughts at the time were in the 7-weight and above, "This rod is better than everything else." In the 6 weight and below, it was not worth the price. Stillwater Fly Shop took a trip to The Riffle on the Deschutes River for the Salmon Fly hatch this week, and I got to revisit the 5-weight Asquith.

I've been told, "If you can't change your mind, you are not using it." My mind changed that day on the Deschutes. The Asquith 5 weight is worth the price. I was fishing Salmon flies with a dropper with my trusted Scott Radian, 9-foot 5-weight, when another guy from the shop came walking by and wanted to switch rods. I first noticed that even in the 5-weight, the Asquith is so light. On the scale, it may not seem like much, but it is like a feather in your hand. The Deschutes River gets windy in the afternoon, and tossing size 6 foam flies can be challenging. The Asquith had no issue with the wind and, with minimal effort, created plenty of line speed to quickly turn over my fly. The Asquith produced tons more line speed with the same casting stroke I was doing with my Radian. I was impressed and was very reluctant to give the rod back.

At $1235, it still is the most expensive of the high-end trout rods, but with most of the competition being close to or over $1000, it once was a smaller leap. As I once thought, the Asquith is not just for the Saltwater Flats; it's well worth it on the river.