Let’s take a look at two fine saltwater rods from Scott- a 7wt and 9wt Meridian. I reviewed the 7wt awhile back, and was extremely impressed with it. In fact it left me jonesing to team it up with a 9wt. Well, that happened.
These two Meridians are without a doubt the finest saltwater fly rods I have ever owned. Why? The key reason lies in how they cast. For many years we were bombarded by high modulus, tip-action rods. I never liked how they cast, in fact I hated some of them. The Meridian has turned the tables. These rods are not tip-action, instead they load smoothly and uniformly down the blank much like the “glass” rods I first used in the salt. But unlike those “glass” rods the Meridian do it with plenty of punch. And they are much lighter in hand. It is a killer combination.
The 9wt Meridian tips in at 4.4 ounces. If the butt extension was removeable this 9wt would be about 4 ounces! Incredible. That’s about what a 9′ 6wt might weigh. Hell, it may even be in range of some modern 5wts. (I wish butt extensions were still removeable. Extensions are fine for boat anglers, but on the beach they pretty much useless.)
For the review, I used a Cortland Classic SL 444 9wt floating line. This is a decent line, but not what you might call a high-performance saltwater line. During the cast the Meridian generated an almost in perceivable single shockwave. Reaching 70 feet was a breeze. Effortless much like the 7wt. And without heavy lifting, the rod sailed 85 feet of line plus leader. Wow. In close the Meridian flexed with 12′ of line out. Don’t think you’ll ever need that? I’ve seen memorable times when striped bass and false albacore ran down the trough right at my feet.
Like the Meridian 7wt, the grip is a 7″ long full wells, nicely made and comfortable. It has a double up-locking reel seat, with a sliding hood keyed to align with the grip every time. The 2 stripping guides are titanium framed. Workmanship is impeccable, making for a very attractive rod. Far better in appearance than any comparable Sage rod. Overall, these 2 Meridians are superb saltwater rods with a proven track record for durability. Much like Scott’s original “G” series and Scott’s “STS”, you can feel a legend in the making.
