Beulah vs Echo?

[Hem]

I'm going for it this year. DH overhead casting for pike and trout.
This could lead to further questions.
So Beulah Opal Surf rod vs Echo Boost Beach rod? Research suggests the Beulah has a much faster action. Can anybody offer opinion?
Don't make me go to archives of WFF, please.
Thanks for any input.

 

[DerekWhipple]

Pike and trout seem like different ends of the spectrum. I have the 8wt boost beach. I use it to throw clousers with outbound short/sniper type lines. I have not thrown any chicken sized flies.

The echo rods are true to weight, a 8wt takes a single hand 8wt line. The Beulah rods have more of a "spey" line rating, where their 8wt rod takes a single hand line that is two weights heavier.

 

[Hem]

Pike and trout seem like different ends of the spectrum. I have the 8wt boost beach. I use it to throw clousers with outbound short/sniper type lines. I have not thrown any chicken sized flies.

The echo rods are true to weight, a 8wt takes a single hand 8wt line. The Beulah rods have more of a "spey" line rating, where their 8wt rod takes a single hand line that is two weights heavier.

Yep, I am getting two rods.i was uncertain if I could use some of my integrated lines with the OH cast, in particular the Outbound Short. Thanks for that part of your explanation. I fish 10 wght single hand for pike so likely get a corresponding dh rod, and a 7 for trout.
Appreciate the feedback.

 

[Evan B]

Yep, I am getting two rods.i was uncertain if I could use some of my integrated lines with the OH cast, in particular the Outbound Short. Thanks for that part of your explanation. I fish 10 wght single hand for pike so likely get a corresponding dh rod, and a 7 for trout.
Appreciate the feedback.

For ECHO, the Musky rod is actually very, very good for the Pike stuff. It's a great length and was specifically designed for this type of fishing.

The ECHO Boost Beach... it would be a great rod if it were at least a foot shorter. The ECHO SR is actually a more popular rod for this purpose.

I personally don't do any two-hand overhead casting, but have, let's say, extensive knowledge about both rods

 

[Hem]

For ECHO, the Musky rod is actually very, very good for all of this. It's a great length and was specifically designed for this type of fishing.

The ECHO Boost Beach... it would be a great rod if it were at least a foot shorter. The ECHO SR is actually a more popular rod for this purpose.

I personally don't do any two-hand overhead casting, but have, let's say, extensive knowledge about both rods

Your comments are bringing me back to my instincts. Honestly I don't need or want the longer rod length. But I do want the rods to function well with an OH cast.
Thanks for feedback. I'm 100% a fan of Echo , the price point better for two rods than Beulah.
Probably start with the trout rod to learn the technique.

 

[Josh]

Can't really go wrong with an Echo.

 

[Wetswinger]

Believe me, I'm a big fan of Echo, but not of the SR Switch rod for overhead casting. I had one for a season and found it couldn't support a vigorous overhead cast. I felt like there was no support in the tip area and it would "mush-out". The Beulah Opal two hand rod is designed for overhead. It has great praise by many for this purpose. There's a lot of fans of the Echo Beach rod and also for some older Sage Switch rods.. The challenge is getting the correct sized rod. Do you want to target Coho or Pink salmon with the same rod or just SRC.? A quality single hand, integrated line works well for two-hand overhead casting. Meiser specializes in two hand rods also..

 

[Evan B]

Believe me, I'm a big fan of Echo, but not of the SR Switch rod for overhead casting. I had one for a season and found it couldn't support a vigorous overhead cast. I felt like there was no support in the tip area and it would "mush-out". The Beulah Opal two hand rod is designed for overhead. It has great praise by many for this purpose. The challenge is getting the correct sized rod. Do you want to target coho, dog or pink salmon with the same rod or just SRC.? A quality single hand, integrated line works well for two-hand overhead.

Yeah, my post was just about within the ECHO lineup. Truth be told, the SR is my least favorite rod ECHO has ever made long with the Boost Beach. Then again, I don't like overhead casting two-hand rods, so I'm not a particularly great barometer here I also just plain don't like the SR as a spey rod either, so there's that.

The SR is VERY popular with the Pyramid crowd, though.

 

[SurfnFish]

an early edition Beulah Opal 11' 9 wt was a fave rod for Kings, the fast action didn't require much effort to flick it out there. In tidewater the CLA 6 mounted on it was spooled with a full OH intermediate line, upstream with a 550 gr Rio Max Short and sink tips, easily cast OH in open areas and UH cast in tighter quarters.

 

[fatbillybob]

I started surf fishing with 14ft spey then 13ft spey then 10ft switch then beulah opal 2 hand 7wt. 11ft. I use spey casts and OH but mostly OH on beach, spey in rivers for steel. I love the fast beulah opal and 11ft makes it switch so cast SH or 2H. I use it 2H. I like it so much I have been using it scandi in rivers and it is good. I;m not sure if I like the opal or switch rod in the rivers. The echo beach did not like at all. It was too slow and soft to me. My pee brain says a beach rod should be fast action like a fast SH rod but be able to be cast 2H. Beulah does that. I would even like it faster.

 

[Hem]

Believe me, I'm a big fan of Echo, but not of the SR Switch rod for overhead casting. I had one for a season and found it couldn't support a vigorous overhead cast. I felt like there was no support in the tip area and it would "mush-out". The Beulah Opal two hand rod is designed for overhead. It has great praise by many for this purpose. There's a lot of fans of the Echo Beach rod and also for some older Sage Switch rods.. The challenge is getting the correct sized rod. Do you want to target Coho or Pink salmon with the same rod or just SRC.? A quality single hand, integrated line works well for two-hand overhead casting. Meiser specializes in two hand rods also..

Good barometer @Wetswinger . I needed to hear this to counter my loyalty to Echo. Your comments support some of the online digging I have done.
I think I could find a trout rod from the Echo line which would be sufficient but I'm getting the feeling the Beulah Opal is more suited to a multi purpose dh overhead. My goal is pike, but I want to have the punch for other possibilities i.e. saltwater( stripers, salmon etc.). I favor fast action single hand rods, so am wired for the effort to load.
The g2 opal 7/8 would work well with my OBS 10 lines...this a plus.

 

[fatbillybob]

My primary line on 7wt. beulah is the OBS 10wt. inter. 425gr IIRC. I'll add a tip to go deep.

 

[Hem]

I started surf fishing with 14ft spey then 13ft spey then 10ft switch then beulah opal 2 hand 7wt. 11ft. I use spey casts and OH but mostly OH on beach, spey in rivers for steel. I love the fast beulah opal and 11ft makes it switch so cast SH or 2H. I use it 2H. I like it so much I have been using it scandi in rivers and it is good. I;m not sure if I like the opal or switch rod in the rivers. The echo beach did not like at all. It was too slow and soft to me. My pee brain says a beach rod should be fast action like a fast SH rod but be able to be cast 2H. Beulah does that. I would even like it faster.

More great info. Use the Opal as a SH or 2H. This would simplify the type of pike fishing I do where sometimes I cast a SH distance but other times I'm wanting to reach as far as I can to cover as much water as possible.
Good feedback.

 

[Hem]

I sometimes go off on foot for a couple miles to shorefish, rather not carry two rods.

 

[Hem]

New addition to the quiver yesterday.
This rod is GREAT!
I have been practicing the 2H-OH cast with a loaner. Lawn cast the Beulah last night with a 7 wght Rio OutboundShort...seems like a perfect match for this 5/6 rod.
Thanks to those that responded to this thread.
No question this rod will handle everything I hope to pursue.

By the way, I bought this rod from Fins and Fire in Oregon. They had a promo to add a line with the purchase for $75 off.

 

[Hem]

Another question for those of you who cast a 2H-OH rod.
I'm playing with a variety of integrated lines....for the most part proper grain weight with heavy heads. In order to propel the line for maximum distance it would seem I still have to initiate the cast with a fair amount of line off the rod.
Granted I'm still trying to get a feel for the mechanics, and our still cold weather is reeking havoc with lines being stiff.
The crux of it is I'm experimenting with this rod for freshwater applications( lakes) and obviously retrieving the line in pretty far after each cast.
Just curious if integrated lines are more difficult to cast because of friction/ resistance versus a running line?

 

[SurfnFish]

Another question for those of you who cast a 2H-OH rod.
Just curious if integrated lines are more difficult to cast because of friction/ resistance versus a running line?

weight distribution of the head, and the running line behind a shooting head tends to be thinner than that of an integrated line, where the resistance comes in.