My MHX 905-4 fly rod has been my favorite large stream/small river fly rod for several years. Now that I broke the tip section I’m thinking about my options. If I can obtain a replacement tip section I’ll rebuild, but even if I rebuild I’m also considering building another MHX rod in the same configuration.

I’m looking for someone who has fished this original 9’ 5wt, and has also fished the same configuration in MHX’s new Native series blank. I’d like to hear about similarities or differences between these blanks.

"The greatest barrier to discovery is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge" - Daniel J. Boorstin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2017 12:08PM by Jeff Shafer.

Jeff, getting a new tip from Mud Hole is not a problem as they have tip sections for many of their fly blanks.

I have fished both and find them to be very similar but the Native is lighter and in my opinion it recovers quicker. I have found that fishing a DT line or one that is a 1/2 line or so heavier helps some although I tend not to over line The Native or really any rod I fish. The Native 5wt also does extremely well with the 5wt saltwater 444 from Cortland.

If I was to do a common cents on the 5wt I would say it would measure closer to the Original F905 MHX than some of the others in the Lineup. The Natives feel more like a Sage One type rod than the originals.

Your milage my vary but so far those are my observations.

As a side note the Nylon Size A prowrap 434 color blends excellent with the Mindnight blue color.

Chris, thank you for your detailed reply. I'll be in touch with Mudhole or MHX regarding a new tip section, but you just may have talked me into a new rod as well - hoping the Native isn't much faster than the original. The ERN on my 905-4 blank came in at 5.20, and I've been fishing it with a peach DT5F line. I loved the way it loaded and yet it was capable of casting short amounts of line off the tip, making it very versatile. If you happen to have an ERN for the Native I'd appreciate hearing from you. If not, don't worry about it.

BTW, did you color preserve the Prowrap 434 thread?

Thanks again,
Jeff

Jeff,

No problem, happy to help. Now keep in mind, you mention "faster" but when speaking about ERN that is more based on grain weight in what the rod measures out to throw. So the 5.2 means a little more than 5wt. The AA in the common cents is action angle and refers to the action ex. fast, mod-fast... etc.

Anyway, I do feel the Native and the Original MHX feel very close, actually closer than comparing other weights between the two series. You should be good to go with the DT Peach line on the Native.

At some point I need to borrow all the pennies from my buddy or take the rod over to his place. Keep forgetting. I have a habit of casting and setting up by feel more than getting data and numbers on the blank.

In regards to color preserver, I dont use it, ever. Not saying there is anything wrong with it but I just love the translucent look of regular nylon.

Chris, sounds like our building styles are similar. I used color preserver on a couple rods in the mid 80’s, then found I preferred the deep glisten of nylon wraps without color preserver.

The action angle on my MHX was 69, so pretty quick. But not nearly as fast as the super high AA’s, and ERN’s, of the Dan Craft Five River blanks from a few years ago. I purposely built a 9’ 2wt so I could comfortably fish a four weight line between 30 and 45 feet. Regarding 5.0 defining a rod as being a five weight, I can hear Kirkman’s keypad clicking to remind us ERN doesn’t define a specific line weight for all users and fishing situations. For my casting style and the places I frequently use a five weight, I’m usually looking for an ERN of around 5.5.

I’ll give the Native serious consideration for my next Penns Creek rod..

Actually, if you're going to use the ERN directly as indicative of particular line weight, Dr. Hanneman specified an ERN of 5.5, not 5.0, to equal a 5-weight line (at 30 feet).

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