THE SEXTANT by Thomas & Thomas
As previously mentioned, if price is not a factor, and you value artistically wrapped guides, and all the other fine details, then let’s talk about the Sextant, made in the USA by Thomas and Thomas. You are interested in Best of the Best! It is not an exaggeration to say the Sextant is one of the most attractive rods on the market today.
The Sextant features a stealthy semi-gloss blue finish with dark blue primary wraps and seafoam green accent wraps. The rod is simply striking, which should not surprise anyone familiar with Thomas & Thomas fly rods. There is a matte titanium finish up-locking anodized reel seat with T&T’s trademark roll-stamped logo and Delrin washers between the locking nuts. Extra dense premium Flor grade cork grips, with 1.25” composite reinforcement at the top end of the 9-12wt models. The fighting butt is slightly taller than standard butt sections, which comes in handy when fighting fish. Super light titanium frame stripping guides fitted with premium Silicon Nitride inserts. Rods 6-10wt feature two stripping guides. Rods 11-12wt feature three stripping guides.
Enough about the aesthetics, let’s talk about the performance of the Sextant. The Sextant rod family was born from extensive R&D, representing an evolution in composition and construction from any fly rod previously available. Whether it’s the 8, 10 or 11 weight Sextant, one thing will stand out, the continuity throughout the series. The entire Sextant rod line share a recognizable smooth, transitionless loading, and powerful, precise delivery to overcome wind and the complexities of moving tides, targets, and the boat. In flats fishing, the fly has to be in the right spot-often very quickly-and the Sextant does that in spades at typical flats ranges of 40 to 80 feet. One thing to note; here in Texas there are times we are looking at Redfish under 40 feet away. The Sextant 8wt is up to both the short range as well as the mid to long range casts needed.
From the Florida Captains Joel Dickey and Justin Rea, Seychelles guru Keith Rose-Innes, and Dubai outfitter Captain Nick Bowles, all were influential in developing this complete saltwater series in rod weights 6 through 12 to be capable of taking on any tropical species in any ocean around the world.
The entire Sextant rod family shares a smooth loading, quick recovery action that allows for precise accuracy at short distances without sacrificing the power and backbone necessary for punching flies at longer distances through the wind. Once again, head over to Los Pescadores and give one a cast.
Thomas & Thomas “The Rod you will eventually own”. - by Greg Welander (2023)
Read Greg's Part One on the Thomas and Thomas Zone Fly Rod
Greg Welander Talks Thomas & Thomas - the SextanT
