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Powell Tiboron 9 foot four piece #6

Reviewed by Terry Lawton & Peter Sutton

The Powell Tiboron 9 foot four piece for a #6 line is a mighty rod. The gloss black blank has black wrappings with very minimal and discrete metallic blue and titanium trim. There is a single titanium carbide SIC stripping guide, titanium carbide snakes and the reel seat, with a carbon insert, has a nice fine thread and holds a reel firmly and securely. There are no guide dots to help you line-up the four sections but the fly keeper is bang in the middle of the reel seat. Build quality seems to be first class and the rod is supplied in a smart black aluminium tube and separate rod bag.

Powell has been making fly rods since 1910 and its long history has not prevented it using some of the latest materials. In this case the rod is made with the addition of titanium and boron in the carbon and resin mix which results in a very light but powerful rod. Tiboron four-piece rods are available in lengths from eight feet (#3) to 15 foot (#9)

My fellow tester, Peter Sutton who is an APGAI-qualified instructor used the rod with Scientific Anglers XXD, Lee Wulff Triangle Taper and Rio Double Taper lines. I used a Snowbee XS large arbor reel and a Rio Grande line. This line is designed to load fast rods quickly but still make delicate presentations and suited the rod very well.

Peter Sutton’s comments

Terry has already described the rod accurately and I have nothing to add other than to say that I agree that the rings are on the small side but that I liked the slim handle (see below) because although my hands are very ‘chunky’ my fingers are not that long and I find slim grips more comfortable.

The rod is extremely stiff in the butt and it was not possible to load it through to the butt in the way that I like. But having said that, the tip is nice and stable with no tendency to ‘fold’ as is so often the case with very tip-action rods. The rod loads and unloads smoothly with no hint of excessive vibration or tip wobble and casts nicely shaped, tight loops, which turn over well. The rod tracked very straight and would hold a lot of line in the air delivering enough line speed to shoot a fair bit of extra distance. Casts of about 90’ were easy enough but I felt that much more than this was too much like hard work because of the difficulty in getting the rod to flex down into its butt section. Of the lines that I tried, I felt that the Triangle Taper suited it best. Although I tested this rod on several occasions I wasn’t able to get onto water with it so cannot comment on its roll casting abilities.

As a fishing rod I cannot think of any situation where I would choose this rod before others of similar casting capabilities because it is just too stiff and I imagine would require the use of very strong tippets in order to avoid breaking off. My advice would be to buy this rod only if you have a strong preference for very stiff-butted rods and don’t mind paying an awful lot of money. At this price rods have got to be beyond reproach and unfortunately, and in my view, this one isn’t.

To summarise I would say that there is nothing at all actually wrong with this rod; it is just very, very stiff and also very expensive, but if you like stiff and don’t mind the price it may be the rod for you, but remember the fly caster’s maxim, ‘Always try before you buy’.

Terry Lawton’s experiences

My first impression was that here is a high performance rod that was relatively easy to start casting with. And a rod that feels very light in the hand. Although timing when casting is always important, it didn’t seem to be over-critical as is the case with some fast-action rods. While I was able to fish the rod, it was a fairly unpleasant first day of the season and I did not make the acquaintance of a fish. But I am sure from the authority of the rod when casting and fishing that it would have no trouble subduing some pretty substantial fishes. The rod was far too powerful for the stream that I was fishing but I soon found myself regularly casting significantly further that I have done with any other rod. The rod is designed for distance work and in the right hands every cast would see the whole line leave the spool, if required.

I felt that the diameter of the rod handle was perhaps a touch on the small side and, for a rod designed for distance casting, I was surprised at how small the rings are. Having said that, they didn’t seem to hamper the rods ability to shoot a massive amount of line. The construction, incorporating Titanium and Boron, does an excellent job of eliminating and damping-out tip vibrations.

This is a high quality, very understated rod: a supreme casting tool. I would re-iterate Peter’s advise about trying this rod before buying as it will not be to everyone’s taste.

The retail price for the Powell 906-4 is £565. But for anyone buying one from www.purelyflyfishing.com via Fish and Fly, may find that they can “have a deal”.

William Culbert of Purely Fly Fishing made the following comments:

"The #8, #9 and #10 weight models are particularly good as are the 9’ 6” and 10’ #7 and #8 weight models. It is clear that there is a division of opinion on the rod, a large number love it while there is a small group who just do not like it. However you get this divergence of opinion with every fast action rod. I would like to make the point that the Powell Tiborn range has proved to be a best seller in the USA."