Diamondback Ideal Nymph ESN Fly Rod Blanks

Diamondback's Ideal Nymph series is the brainchild of Joe Goodspeed, the designer who was largely responsible for the well-known T&T Contact and Contact II fly rod series. Joe has been using Euro-style / tight-line nymphing and streamer methods for many years and brings this experience to the development of nymph rods.

The Ideal Nymph blanks are designed to combine fast recovery with extreme sensitivity. Yet the rods have enough flex to cast delicate mono rigs effortlessly and, above all, accurately. On top of that comes a crisp backbone in the lower section to set the hook precisely and without delay, and to keep bigger fish out of structure. The blank taper of each line weight has been tailored to its intended application.

Scope of delivery:

1x blank

1x adhesive decal

Specs:

Color: matte black, fine texture

Alignment dots

Delivery time up to 7 working days

Here is what Diamondback has to say:

"The Ideal Nymph series is a range of tactical nymph rods, carefully developed in every respect to be the most effective and enjoyable nymphing tools. The rods have a glare-free matte finish, high-quality down-locking matte titanium-colored hardware, high-density premium cork grips, curly koa wood spacers and compact fighting butts. Rod accents include dark amber primary wraps and titanium metallic accent wraps. Guide selection and placement on nymph rods is critical to performance, and Ideal Nymph rods have the right components. Below the tip top are three snake guides that help prevent leader-wrapping problems with long leaders. Two lightweight single-foot stripping guides provide a smoother surface at the most critical contact areas when the rod is deeply bent while fighting a fish. Dark single-foot guides cover the area between the snake guides and the stripping guides. Guide placement is optimized by a stripping guide in the butt area to minimize possible line sag. Ideal Nymph blanks are designed to maximize recovery speed and feel while remaining flexible enough to load with mono rigs and light nymphs. All Ideal Nymph rods have a solid backbone that allows fast hook sets and good fish control, while also offering a smooth power transition that lets anglers apply firm pressure to fish without fear of breaking light tippets."

Below is a brief overview of my experience with each model.

10' 10" 3wt: This rod is very stiff/powerful overall. I consider it a big trout/big river rod. Thanks to its length it offers very good reach and lets you stay further away from the fish. I like this rod a lot for floating sighter methods where tuck casting is the focus. It is well suited to fishing heavier nymphs and streamers, but doesn't load as easily with light nymphs. The swing weight feels like most 11' 3wts, so I recommend pairing it with a reel of 5.5–6.5 ounces for balance at the cork. When I fished it with a lighter reel, I found it harder to make quick casts and hook sets and to hold the rod at arm's length for longer periods. With the heavier reel it is much more comfortable to fish.

10' 10" 2 wt: This rod is well suited to fishing micro leaders on wider rivers where reach is important but adequate casting with light nymphs is still required. It has plenty of power to fight big fish. So far I have landed a carp of about 7-8 pounds and a rainbow I taped at 25 inches on this rod. The cushion in the tip allowed me to handle both on a 6X tippet without much trouble. It is a good all-round nymph rod as long as aggressive casts are not required. The soft tip recovers more slowly than the 3wt and the shorter 2wt. I find I have to wait longer for the rod to unload on my back cast to maintain accuracy. This characteristic means the rod also performs best in calmer conditions, as it is difficult to make accurate casts into the wind or to cast with authority. Due to its length it performs better paired with a reel in the 5.5-6 ounce range, but has slightly less swing weight than the 10' 10" 3wt.

10' 2 wt: For smaller rivers this is a very good choice as an all-round nymph rod. It has more power than most other 2wt Euro nymph rods I have fished, and a fast recovery, making it possible to land big fish and cast accurately into tight spots. I have enjoyed using this rod on the smaller waters I often fish, for floating sighter methods and dry/dropper on a Euro nymph leader. It casts well and feels very light in the hand. Due to the shorter blank and low overall weight, a reel between 4.2 and 5 ounces is enough for balance.

10' 1 wt: This rod is a ton of fun on small waters. I compared it with a few 10' 1wts belonging to friends, and it has much more power in the lower end of the rod, but still plenty of cushion in the upper half. It protects light tippets very well and makes smaller fish a lot of fun on the line. It loads very well with lighter nymphs and propels them without much effort. Compared with the stiffer and longer models it lacks hook-setting power, so it is not a good choice if you fish a lot of bigger, heavier wire nymphs and streamers. Similar to the 10' 2wt, it doesn't take much weight to balance it, and a reel over 4 ounces will probably do the job.

A review of the Ideal Nymph rods can be found on YouTube at this link.