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Greys Rods, Reels & Lines
For our latest rod test, Pete Sutton and Terry Lawton have tried two Greys’ Missionary rods, Greys’ reels and lines, and come to very different conclusions about the them
Pete Sutton
I am going to comment on these two outfits together because of the many similarities between them. As has become the norm in these tests my assessment was restricted to casting over grass, I will leave Terry to comment on how these outfits performed in fishing situations.
Before giving my views I must admit to two pet hates – braided loops on floating fly lines and heavy, overly complicated reels on light, trout fly rods. Braided loops are a very simple way to create a loop on the end of a fly line, and that is about all that can be said for them. The problem is they create weight, bulk and a hinge at the end of the fly line, and in the case of floating lines, will encourage the tip to sink. A too heavy reel on a fly rod will increase the total mass that has to moved whilst casting and fishing, and also deaden the action making it feel less crisp and responsive in use.
This is the first experience that I have had with Greys’ fly lines and I have to say that I was impressed. The colour is a pale grey, which I am sure will be fairly easy to see on the water but at the same time will not scare the fish too easily. The lines stripped off the reels without any sign of memory and were nicely supple and pleasant to handle, but stiff and slick enough to shoot very well. Turn over was positive at all distances.
7’ 3” Missionary
The 7’ 3’’ #3/4 rod is in three pieces, which makes it very easy to transport. Any rod of this length is going to have its limitations and will be most useful on very small streams or in larger rivers that can be waded. The action is crisp, tip to middle with plenty of feel, and the rod coped quite easily with everything I asked of it, casting nicely shaped and tight loops of line; slack line casts and aerial mends also being quite simple. When required the rod was not averse to casting a long line and 70 feet over the measuring tape was achieved quite easily in the calm conditions on test day, although, quite obviously a rod of this type is not designed for fishing at distance or for casting large or heavy flies.
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The Platinum Xi 3/4 reel fitted to this rod is a solid and well made piece of equipment although why it should be considered necessary to have a disc drag on a 3/4 weight rod I have no idea and the concept seems like overkill to me. The reel is also far too heavy for this little rod, which was much crisper and more responsive without the reel being fitted. I know that the current fashion is for disc drags with everything but on a trout rod, disc drag reels are not really needed and only add unnecessary weight, complication and cost.
9’ 3” Missionary
The 9’ 3’’ # 5/6 rod comes in five pieces, so again it is very easy to transport. The action of this rod is quite different from the shorter one and falls firmly into the full flex bracket. It also had very good ‘feel’ and it was easy to know what was going on. In spite of its full action the rod could, when called upon, cast a long line and it wasn’t difficult to get all of the line out of the tip ring in the calm conditions of the test day. This is a nice rod for stream fishing when fine tippets need to be protected and the extra length will give added control over line mending and the drift of the fly. It could also be used for still water trout fishing provided the wind is not blowing too hard and the flies to be cast are not too big and heavy.
I have the same criticisms of the GRX reel as I did of the Platinum reel. Why is a disc drag necessary and why does the reel have to weigh so much? However if you don’t mind the weight you may feel that this reel is a good buy at the price.
To sum up I would say that the lines are excellent and of a profile that most people would find easy and comfortable to handle. I am not able to comment on their durability. The rods were both very good, provided that the limitations of each one are understood and respected. A rod of 7’ 3’’ is a very short rod and this will restrict its usefulness to a fairly small number of situations, but in those situations it would be indispensable. The longer rod is not for distance casting from the banks of a wind-swept reservoir but on larger rivers where it is necessary to protect fine tippets and also have the ability to mend line and control the drift of the fly, it will come into its own. Both reels are, in my opinion, too heavy but either would do an adequate job of holding the line and won’t break the bank.
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Terry Lawton
With both rod tubes side by side, it is slightly disconcerting to see that the shorter rod has the longer tube! This is because it is a three-piece compared to the 9’ 3” rod which is a five piece.
Both rods are made on IM7 high-modulus carbon blanks which are finished with a burgundy gloss varnish with cigar-shape handles made with good quality cork, better than on some more expensive rods in fact. These rods are nicely under-stated with no fancy trims or excessive whippings.
7’ 3” Missionary
This rod has a single lined stripping guide and sweet little single-leg snake rings which I felt could be a little bit bigger. There is a fly keeper ring which I always think is unnecessary as I never use one. There is what looks like a plastic reel seat with a metal reel foot, locking ring and end cap. No fancy hardwood inserts here, I’m afraid, at these prices.. Generally the rod seems to be very well built and finished with no lumpy varnish.
This is a delightful little rod for use on small streams, flicking a little dry fly over short distances. I know and fish two rivers where it would be ideal: one is a tiny stream full of wild trout while the other has quite extensive wooded sections where a short rod and short casts are called for. I was able to fish this rod and caught three trout, up to a pound and a half in weight, and it handled them very well indeed.
Although this rod is classified as a #3/4 weight and I used it with a Greys Platinum #4 line, I would have liked to have tried it with a #3 line as I felt that the WF4 line was a touch too heavy. The rod has a true progressive, through action but it did not stiffen-up in the butt as much as I would have liked when you loaded it well.
After reading Pete’s comments, I tried the rod with my Ryobi 255MG magnesium reel which was the lightest on the market when I bough it some years ago. I checked its weight against that the Platinum reel on the scales of my local Post Office and there was a difference of over 50gms. The Platinum reel, backing and line weighted just over 150gms and the Ryobi slightly under 100gms. The reduction in weight was very noticeable and this rod and reel combination reminded me very much of some lovely little Thomas and Thomas rods that I tried a few years ago.
9’ 3” Missionary
This rod has two lined stripping rings but otherwise it is the same specification as the small rod.
I’m sorry Greys, but I tried so hard to like this rod but ended up hating it. But it is not all bad news. Like its smaller sibling, it is very well made and finished and is excellent value for money.
I took the rod to the Arctic to fish for grayling, browns and Arctic Char in Swedish Lapland which I thought would be a really good way to field test a new rod. As long as I did not have to cast more than about 30 feet (say 10m) then the rod was fine. But as soon as I went for more distance, disaster. There was nothing there to help me get that extra distance. But the two Swedes and two Danes who tried this rod all liked it and were able to make impressive single Spey casts, rolling out plenty of line, as well as long overhead casts. Three of them were fishing Hardy rods of various types and vintages which may account for their liking its, to me, rather slow, but progressive action.
I think that James Andersson (one of the Swedes) summed up this rod very well. He said: “This rod has its own rhythm and once you find it, it casts a long line. But you cannot push it like stiffer, faster rods. I like this rod very much.”
While I could not get on with this rod, someone looking for a quality five-piece rod with “its own rhythm”, may find that this rod is just what they want.
Both rods are supplied is rod bags and tubes – why can we not have divided tubes? They make putting a rod away so much quicker and easier and do away with the need for a separate bag.
The 7’ 3” #3/4 Missionary retails for £165 and the 9’ 3” #5/6 for £185. The original owner lifetime guarantee has a £15 handling/shipping charge for each claim made.
Reels
I know it can be a contentious subject, but it would be helpful to have some indication of how much backing to put on a reel. Also it’s a shame the lines do not have an identifying sticker to put on the spool. Particularly important with the GRX reel as it has three spools!
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Platinum
This reel is made from bar stock aluminium by Greys in the UK. It comes
with a neoprene reel pouch. The spool has a diameter of 35mm and although
this is more than a traditional reel, I think that I would describe the
reel as a medium-arbor rather than a large arbor. The disc drag is adjusted
by an offset drag knob.
Changing from the factory-supplied left-hand wind to right hand is a desk
or bench job. You need a very small but good screwdriver and some patience.
After the clutch has been removed and turned over, it will only go back
into its housing when pushed at exactly right angles to it. The tolerance
here is very fine. There is a small “flat” on the clutch and
the housing which have to match. It is difficult to see the “flat”
in the housing and it would be helpful if it was a little more prominent.
But at least this is not an operation that you need to do more than once.
The reel looks very good and makes a nice quiet, quality sound which is pleasing to the ear. All-in-all it is a very nice little reel if a touch heavy (116g or just over 4oz, which is a bit lighter than similar reels admittedly, if the manufacturer’s weight is correct) for small light-line rods. But having said that, its weight was not noticeable when fishing.
The #3/4 reel costs £95.99 and a spare spool is £48. Also available are #5/6, #7/8 and #9/10 reels, at prices up to £109.99 (spools cost £55).
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GRX
You get a lot of reel for your money with the GRX: one reel and three cassettes, the easy line changing provided by the cassette system and a nylon pouch. The GRX is spoilt by rather tinny click when winding and the chrome reel foot which, if it was finished to match the rest of the reel, would have looked so much better. The functional nylon pouch has a pocket to include line information,. for example, which is a good idea. There is a good-size central drag knob. The spool and cassettes are quick and easy to remove or change. Interestingly this reel was set-up for right-hand wind so I did not have to swop it over. The sound of the reel may not attract a brown bear in Canada or the USA, but from what I have heard about these bears, that may be quite a good thing.
The GRX #5/6 costs £47.99, spare cassettes are £5.99 and the #7/8 £49.99 (cassettes also £5.99).
Lines
Platinum lines are said to have extended tapers matched to a long belly to achieve good turnover. Lines are supplied with a Roman Moser Minicon loop for easy leader connection. Both were Platinum weight forward lines in heron grey which is more of an off-white colour. It is a very pale grey and I would hope that it will not show the dirt as much as a true white line. The #6 is available in Hi-Vis orange as well.
The two lines both felt nice and smooth to the touch were commendably reluctant to get in knots and tangles. Certainly on the #4 line it was very difficult to feel the transition between the end of the head and the running line, compared to a Loop Adapted 75 WF4 line that I tried on the smaller of the two rods.
Although it makes #3 weight rods (Greyflex and GRX series), Greys does not offer a #3 line, which must be an omission that ought to be corrected.
All Platinum lines cost a very reasonable £29.99 except for the WFF9 and WFF10 which cost £34.99