Time To Yearn For New Hearns
CARPology Presenter, Thom Airs, has been a fan of the ESP/Terry Hearn rod collaboration since he purchased a set of the MK2 way back in 2007. So what does he make to these new additions?
You only have to look to the launch of his most recent book to know the website-crashing popularity of anything with Terry Hearn’s name on it. And now there are four more products bearing those special 10 letters that are sure to attract just as much interest.
First up, a brief history. The original Terry Hearn rods arrived in 2001, followed by a MK2 version in 2007. It’s been a case of steady evolution rather than revolution for the range, and the current MK3s were released in 2015. And it’s important to note that these three new rods are an extension of the MK3 lineup, not an all-new MK4.
I’ve had a set of the 12ft 9ins 3.5lb ‘Distance’ versions since just after launch, and what owners of these existing rods will instantly notice is the new rods’ shorter lengths.
All three fresh models are now 12-footers, which in some ways removes a bit of individuality but does align them more squarely with their rivals—and makes finding a suitable rod holdall a little bit easier.
The new versions are a 3lb model (with a 40mm butt ring) and two 50mm-butt-ring options with test curves of 3.25lb and 3.5lb. The first two are called ‘Terry Hearn Classics’, while the beefier rod is labelled ‘Distance’.
Cosmetically, the rods are the same as the existing longer versions, with that distinctive Duplon handle, red-tipped whipping and hidden graphics on the underside of the blank. My favourite retained feature, however, is the integral line clip which is still the best I’ve ever used.
Performance-wise, I personally like the new cut-down lengths for increased manoeuvrability in tight swims and, as a distinctly average caster, I actually found it easier to extract more of the rod’s power from the new 12-footers. That power, however, is not comparable with specialist casting tools on the market today. You won’t be reaching 200yds with any of these rods, but I don’t mind that one bit. They are intentionally designed to offer a degree of forgiveness in the fight—particularly the 3lb version—and retain the same pleasurable casting and playing attributes that anyone familiar with previous Hearns will quickly spot. This is, as I said, evolution, not revolution.
Moving over to the landing net, this is where I was initially prepared to have a bit of a grumble. I’d spotted ESP touting its deep mesh and I feared it’d be too deep for my tastes. Maybe I’m just un-carpy, but ultra-deep meshes do nothing for me other than get caught in foliage and get in the way. I fully understand their uses for brief fish retention, but I’m perfectly happy with standard depth for all of my fishing.
Turns out I needn’t have been so pessimistic. Yes, it’s deep, but not stupidly so. A clip device to keep the trailing mesh out of the way when not in use would’ve been nice, but then you look at the glorious spreader block and forget everything. It’s just a thing of beauty. Machined at ESP’s HQ in Oxford, it’s a minimalist masterpiece AND it works really well—secure when you need it to be yet simple to disassemble.
