Mission 7'6" TurboTaper™ Scout Series

My buddy and I first started fly fishing in the Bahamas for bonefish. However we had never fished our home stream ( Tellico River in The Cherokee National Forest). So thanks to Drew Chicone we decided to try a Maven Mission 7'6" Fly Rod for this. This Rod is amazing being so lightweight and so sensitive for the trout we would be catching. Importantly, the customer service for the company was second to none. Our rods shipped separately and they were very responsive of our questions. We couldn't be happier to have chosen Maven for our first fly rods to fish the Tellico River.

Just spent the day on the water fly fishing from my kayak in SW Florida with my new, untested Maven Mission 7'6" fly rod. I initially was a bit perplexed when trying to find a suitable fly reel and fly line for this light fly rod. I normally fish 9' fast action rods from Sage(Sage X and NRX) and Gloomis(Asquith, NRX) as well as T&T's Horizon II when desiring a tad softer feel in calmer conditions. A few days ago when I received the rod I thought I would see how this new 7 wt. casted. So I stepped out the door after putting a NV-G 7/8 holding a new Orvis Pro Smooth Saltwater line in a 7wt. Immediately this setup was way to heavy for this short 7 wt. I then tried a NV-6/7 with a 7 wt Rio's Flats Pro. The weight was much better but still a bit heavy. I then stripped off 30 feet of line and began false casting. I totally overpowered the rod with my normal casting stroke. Surprise! This beautiful work of art is not a fast or even a medium/fast action fly rod. Most of today's newer lines are about a half of line weight over there stated line weight to better match the fast action rods produced by today's leading rod makers. The Rio Flats Pro Line is made for today's fast action rods and quickly was not a good choice.

I replaced the Rio Flats Pro 7 weight line with an old Orvis Gen3 Wonderline 7 weight line on my NV 6/7 and added about a 9.5' fluorocarbon leader with a 20# bite tippet. I planned to use this rig for redfish in skinny water with lots of drift algae on the bottom.

So today I would see if I could make the necessary casting stroke adjustments to get some decent casts in the 30-55' range. Fly of choice was a rather air resistant gurgler in a B10S #4 hook. It wasn't easy or pretty, but the rod seemed to handle the weight of the reel and line okay. This fly rod responded well when I lengthened the casting stroke, accelerated slowly and smoothly, and dialed back on the power. It paid off as it handled a 25.5" (6pounder) redfish very well. The butt of the rod has a lot of strength and can easily handle this size of fish.

I did get out of the kayak to wade fish and try casting from a standing position. This was much easier to do and achieve good distance and decent loops. This shorter rod should help with accuracy. It should come in handy blind casting the pockets along a mangrove shoreline for snook or other critters. I will have to work on finding the proper fly line and adjusting to a softer fly rod, but it sure will be fun doing it!

It's too early to say if this 7'6" Mission in a 7 wt is enough stick for the flies and this fishery. This model in an 8 wt would likely have been a better choice. Since it is made in Auckland, NZ it is basically impossible to know before one pulls the trigger. These are gorgeous rods any way you look at it. If considering a Maven Mission 7'6" fly rod, I would lean towards the heavier rod, ie. an 8 wt instead of a 7 wt.

Great salt water rod with lot’s of power and easy to throw.