Shadow X Euro Rod Review

High performance and a reasonable price

Euro nymphing seems to be a pretty regular conversation in the shop this past year and of course the Silver Bow team likes to keep up with the latest and greatest. With the highly anticipated release of the Shadow X from Echo Fly Rods Mike and I thought we best pick up a couple and give them a test run.

Prior to the season closure on the Spokane River we were able to get a few days with them on the river which is a perfect testing ground for fishing a variety of water with strong Redband trout. We both bought the 11' 3wt Shadow X for it's extra length and ability to carry more line off the water, which helps when fishing a big western river such as the Spokane.

Echo claims the Shadow X is 20% lighter than the Shadow II series euro nymph rods. I would have to agree since I have a Shadow II 3wt which is noticeably heavier in the hand, in particular the top half. The Shadow X is light from tip to butt which for an 11' rod is a tough combination to find. Often longer rods can be very top heavy and carry a lot of swing weight. Echo did a very nice job of keeping the Shadow X as slim and trim as possible.

The Shadow X action is also notably faster than the Shadow II. With it's faster recovery in the tip, the rod is very accurate even at it's 11' length. Sensitivity is also improved and strikes are easily detected. I would say after putting some nice Spokane River Redbands on the rod, and now some St. Joe River cutthroat, that the rod has plenty of backbone for fighting fish, while a soft enough tip for protecting fine tippet and casting lighter weighted nymphs.

Echo did a great job fitting the Shadow X series with a stealthy "tactical" look. A matte black finish, slim profile grip for better feel, and lightweight graphite seat. The fighting butt is also a welcome addition for leveraging more power when fighting bigger fish and the rod comes complete a variety of removable weights to fine tune the balance in your hand depending on your reel weight. The Shadow II Euro Rod requires you to purchase the fighting butt and weights separately in the competition kit.

Echo offers the Shadow X in a variety of the popular weights and length combination which should cover just about every conceivable trout situation. So far for our region the 10'6" 3wt and the 11' 3wt are getting the most attention, the 10'6" having a touch stouter tip. The 10' 3wt and 2wt will play nicely on smaller water with smaller flies.

If you are interested in checking out the Echo Shadow X Euro Nymph Rods give us a shout or swing by to see these high performance tight line rods. We have them all instock.