The new Scott Centric fly rod has dropped, and it is a heavy hitter! (Not literally heavy, it’s quite light) Built in Montrose, Colorado, our friends at Scott let us test drive the 9’ 5 weight Centric, and we were pleasantly surprised. Replacing the older generation Radian, the new Centric fly rod has backbone to spare, but the necessary amount of feel and flex for roll casts and mends across diverse currents. We had the chance to get it out on the water for a few days, check out our thoughts.
Of course, any fast rod wouldn’t be complete without the obligatory “can we cast the whole fly line in the park?” test. The answer is yes…but that’s not what anyone actually needs in a trout fly rod. So the question came down to fishability, and yes it is a very fishable rod. Short casts were surprising, which might sound like an odd thing to say, but usually casts under 20 feet with a fast rod suck. They did not suck with the Centric. Quick snappy short casts were great when casting nymph rigs and stack mending in weird currents.
Short casts were just fine, but the Scott Centric truly shines from 30 feet an onward where it casts dries, nymphs, and streamers with ease. Very light in hand with a light swing weight, we did not find ourselves giving this rod the death grip as with so many fast action rods. Typically fast rods often have hefty swing weights that cause the caster to overcompensate by gripping the rod far to hard. Not so with the Centric, Scott truly dialed in the taper to keep this rod feeling like in and through the cast. The Scott Centric fly rods are truly fast meets feel, taken to the next level.
We fished the Centric with the Scientific Anglers Amplitude MPX and Rio Premiere Gold and found these to be choice lines for this rod. I would have to imagine the SA Infinity taper or the Rio Single Hand Spey are also solid choices, with the Rio Grande Line as a good choice for newer casters.
Stop by the shop to give them a cast or find them on our online shop soon!
