Thomas & Thomas is one of those legendary American family companies in the world of fly fishing. It was founded by Tom Dorsey and his brother-in-law Thomas Maxwell in Pennsylvania at the end of the 60's, when split bamboo was the best composition of fly rods. Now based in Greenfield Massachusetts, Thomas&Thomas has kept its hancrafted production process on the East Coast. The blanks are made from top-range components according to specific techniques; the rods are then hand-assembled on site. Thomas & Thomas products represent excellence and have a very authentic character. We've had the chance to review several models including those of the recent Contact series, resulting from the evolutions of nymphing techniques. Let's begin with 10'8 # 3 Contact.
Static test:
Once in hands, you are immediately struck by the class of the product. The gray blank, the olive wraps and trims are sober and differ from the usual black color. The rod number is present at the different joints to facilitate the alignment of the pieces. Beyond aesthetics, we note that all components are very qualitative and tend to minimize the total weight. They include: a maximum quality cork handle (extra flor), a black anodized aliminium reel seat with a burled black ash spacer, a titanium-frame ceramic stripping guide followed by 11 single foot RECoil guides. Finally, the handle ends with a thin fighting butt, bringing comfort and balance.
Measurements :
The Common Cents System protocol was used to characterize the action, the power and the frequency of this rod :
Regarding the power, 29 cents were required to load the rod over a third of its total length, which gives after conversion an ERN of 3.27 and a real #3 line power, exactly the expected power. With an AA of 66°, the action is in the Moderate Fast category (AA between 63 and 66°). The frequency at 74cpm attests to versatility and real opportunities in dry fly fishing. The weight we have measured is only 2.79oz. This rod offers very comfortable 10'8 fishing, the total weight of the balanced set (BTW) is only 9.66oz: the balance is therefore better than on most rods of this length on the market. Note that we have tested this product with an up-locking reel seat, no doubt that the balance is even better with a down-locking reel seat (available as an option).
Thomas & Thomas Contact 10'8 #3
The opinion of the manufacturer :
"The Contact 1083 blanks are rolled by hand in Thomas & Thomass' Greenflied, MA rod building factory. With premium graphite, the multi-modulus blank incorporates Thomas & Thomas’ latest StratoTherm resin and curing processes giving the blank superb durability and strength.. We added the Contact specialty euro nymphing rods to our portfolio when Joe Goodspeed joined the T&T team. Joe has extensive knowledge and experience in this niche, and it gave us the opportunity to use our state of the art rod building technology, proprietary agents, top-tier graphite options, and premium components making what is a remarkable euro nymphing rod."
The opinion of Lionel Fournier, champion of France in 2018 and member of France's fly fishing team:
"The 10'8 line 3 Contact is the rod that I've used the most in competition in 2018. Several reasons for this: first, it is ideal rod for middle size fish up to 17in which is the major part of our catch during the competitons. It allows you to use very fine tippets and the number of hooks-off is incredibly low thanks to its very particular action. In this kind of use, it is undoubtedly the best rod that I've had the chance to use. It is light and well balanced regarding to the length, and is very accurate during the cast. The finish is perfect and the fine handle extend the informations transmitted by the carbon fiber, especially in the bite detection."
The opinion of the editor:
A classy model that has become a reference for euronymphing in a very short time. Its lenght makes it possible to perform long drifts in large streams and the moderate fast action reduces hooks-off. Unlike many rods of this length, the Contact 10'8 # 3 combines two essential qualities for dryfly fishing: a good reactivity (CCF 74 cpm) and a great handling (the BTW is only 9.66oz), taking care to adopt the casting rhythm. This numbered rod comes with a lifetime warranty.
