Bridge Tributary 475
The rod is on the faster end of the spectrum (medium-fast), but maintains great feel down into the cork. That feel allows the angler to harness some power deep in the blank. When combined with a fast recovering tip it produces effortless casts. The rod is incredibly light in hand during all phases of the casting stroke. That means you won’t be thinking about the weaknesses or the clunkiness of the rod as you are casting and fishing. You can instead focus on presentation, the swing, and fishing. It is the opposite of a 2x4, which it was I think of when casting rods that have major swing weight issues. Instead, I find the VOR to be incredibly intuitive, forgiving, and also powerful. It is an utter joy to cast and fish.
From an American perspective, you can classify this as a 6.5 weight. The grain window falls squarely into the 420-480 range. For Scandi lines, focus on the lower end of this spectrum. For Skagit lines, focus on the top. For hybrid lines like the Airflo Rage, Rio Scandi Body, or Bridge Wintertide, focus on the middle. For mid-belly lines, focus on the top. If I had to pick one dry line rod to fish on this rod, I'd definitely choose the Bridge Tributary 475. If I had to pick one sink tip line to fish on this rod, I'd choose the Bridge Torrent in 475. On my recent trip to Oregon, I fished the lines below and will continue to fish them through the winter season in New York. They are spot on…
420 Rio Scandi Short
420 or 450 Airflo Rage
400 or 435 Rio Scandi Body Elite (with tips)
450 Bridge Wintertide
475 Bridge Torrent
475 Bridge Tributary
480 SA Skagit Short
The most common line I've heard recommended for this rod is the Rio Scandi Body in 450 grains. The newest rendition of this line, dubbed the "Elite," isn't offered in that grain window. Instead, they have a 435 and a 470. I found the 435 to be a solid choice for the rod pairing, but actually preferred fishing the 400 gr. (the old old straw colored version). For these lines I like fishing a version of Rio's Versitip (usually 35-70 gr) or pieces of T8. That puts the total grain window squarely in the sweet spot. In my opinion these lines are easily overpowered and they require a slow casting stroke with a smooth bottom hand. I did reach for this line on the Deschutes when the afternoon upriver wind was ripping and it performed really well. In general, I find them to be a little clunky at times, which is why I prefer the smoother taper of the Bridge Torrent. Personal preferences here...
For reel options, I found the VR Quattro (with a bronze reel seat) coming in at about 10 oz. to perfectly balance the rod in hand and while casting. This means that the rod is still balanced in hand when the shooting head is hanging outside of the rod tip. I also went lighter with a Loop Classic 5/8 at 8.5 oz. This does balance the rod in hand, but is slightly unbalanced with lines outside of the tip. So overall, I'd keep the manufacturer's reel weight between 9-11 oz. for the best in hand weightless feel.
As a 6-piece rod coming in at $690, it is on the lower end of price, but its performance rivals rods that cost twice as much. This is an interesting choice by Nam Products because it is a great rod that is significantly undercutting where the 6-piece market is right now. I'd imagine this will sell well, but may hurt some of their higher end rod's sales that are also offered in 5-6 pieces. In general, I did not notice that the VOR had this many this sections while fishing. There was no drop off in performance that I could tell. The only time you’ll remember that you are fishing a "travel" rod is when putting you're putting it together riverside or checking your ferrules halfway down the run. During travel, you’ll rest easy after tossing the rod tube into your checked bag. I know I will, I'm openly wondering why I would ever buy a 4 piece spey rod again.
The only downside is that the components, particularly the reel seat and guides, are of lower quality that reflects the price point. Nam Products said that this rod's emphasis was entirely "on the blank". The reel seat is of lower quality but I had no issues with it. I tightened down my VR Quattro and didn't take it off the reel seat for 10 straight days of fishing in Oregon. I don't remember having to tighten it at all. In general, I wasn't a huge fan with the lack of snake guides. When fishing a mid-belly line in short spots, where the shooting head remained in the guides, I did notice some stickiness but I am nitpicking here. One of the components that wasn’t skimped on is the cork. It seems to be the same quality, known as "Delgado," as the Original and REN series of rods. It feels great and has no signs of wear and tear associated with the cork on rods in this price point.
The bottom line is that it’s super fun to cast and fish. It doesn’t break the bank and is a 6-piece. If you are looking for a travel rod to almost do it all, you can’t really go wrong.
Of final note, I was not asked to do this nor did I receive a discount on any of the aforementioned gear. I paid full price. This is coming from a place of loving my experiences fishing the rod and frustration with the lack of information out there. I have one other Nam rod, the 7137 Original dubbed “Megatron”. Both rods will have me seriously reconsidering my future rod purchases. Nam is doing it right and they know how to build a rod that has that magical feeling when casting and fishing.
For me images and casting videos check out the 'Gram.
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