Hanak Alpen

Regular readers would be aware that I am a big advocate for long rods when it comes to nymphing. For many years now I have been using an 11’ 3-weight on our rivers as my main rod, and for times when I want to nymph tighter water I will take one of my shorter rods.

This isn’t necessarily practical for an angler who may only nymph a handful of times a year, or who wants to see if nymphing is really for them.

Earlier this season I decided to revisit multi-length nymphing rods. A long time ago I enjoyed fishing a Hanak Czech Nymph Champion, but it didn’t come in an 11-foot. This time I got my hands on the Hanak Alpen Nymph rod.

The rod is a 9’6’ nymphing rod that can be extended to 10’, 10’6’ or 11’ by adding an extra section to the butt of the rod. Surprisingly it maintained a medium-fast action across all four lengths, with a solid mid section and supple tip that allows me to protect 7X and lighter tippets with ease.

The length versatility is enough in itself, but the beauty of this rod is its ability to fish a floating line! I am always sceptical of a one-rod-fits-all approach, but at it’s 9’6’ length fishing it with a single dry or nymph below a dry is very effective. When travelling or hiking up a river, it is awesome to have a rod that you can swap between nymphing and dry fly fishing by simply carrying a second reel.

On a recent trip we came across a whopping brown trout that was nearing 60cm, on water where you wouldn’t normally find fish that large. Some longer 3-weight rods lack the backbone to manage big fish. The Alpen Nymph passed with flying colours, it had the balance to protect the 7X fluorocarbon and still control and land the monster!

If you are looking for a versatile river rod or to dabble in some nymphing then consider an Alpen Nymph.