Gaelforce Extreme Distance Spey Rod

The Gaelforce Extreme Distance Spey Rod is the fishing rod inside Gaelforce's Extreme Distance range, and that is a more useful sentence than it first looks. Gaelforce sells Extreme Distance as its own catalog category, separate from the standard Equalizer rods, and James Chalmers built the range for maximum distance casting on powerful 15, 16 and 18 foot rods where wading is required or where you are casting from a platform. Most of that category is competition equipment. The Altitude and Altitude Plus carry no AFTM number at all, their line rating field reads comp, and Gaelforce states plainly that their blank design places restrictions on the type of line they suit. These two rods are the exception in the range. Gaelforce rates them #12 and #10/11 and says the specific blank design characteristics of these modern all purpose rods do not place any restrictions on which type of line they are suited to.

That is the whole argument for buying one. Gaelforce calls them the ultimate in user friendly salmon rods and says each is equally capable of casting suitably matched floating or sinking Spey lines, shooting heads and Skagit lines, across today's modern casting techniques as well as the more traditional styles. You are not committing to one head family or to cutting a line to fit. Two genuinely different rods sit under this listing, so choose by model code and not by line number alone. The 12# is Gaelforce model GE1512, a 15 foot four piece at 11.75 ounces, and it is the one to take when you want a single rod for a big river and a long season. The 10/11 is model GE181011, and it is an 18 foot rod rather than a 15 foot one, the longest blank in the Extreme Distance range at 14.75 ounces, built for the widest water, deep wading, and the mending and line control reach that a shorter rod simply cannot buy you.

Blank

Graphite, Not Graphene - Both rods use what Gaelforce calls the finest new graphite materials. Neither is a graphene blank. Gaelforce runs an entirely separate G Plus Extreme Distance Graphene category on 15ft 1in blanks with model names like Boomer, Beast and Weapon, so if you are cross shopping two Gaelforce rods that both say Extreme Distance, the model code is what tells them apart.

Action, Recovery and Tip - Gaelforce rates its rods on three fields rather than one action word, and both of these read progressive, fast, strong. Progressive here means a deep flex running into the butt section rather than a bend that stays in the top third, which is what gives you the range of loading a fishing rod needs when you are switching between a floating Spey line and a sunk tip. Fast is the recovery rating, and Gaelforce ties it directly to consistent efficient casting: a blank that stops moving quickly puts fewer waves into the line at the moment the loop forms. Strong is the tip rating, and it does two jobs. It lifts the line easily from the water without side deflection, so the anchor sets where you aimed rather than where the tip wandered, and combined with the deep progressive action it is what makes playing a heavy fish on a long rod pleasant rather than a wrestling match.

Line Rating and Versatility - The 15ft is rated #12 and the 18ft is rated #10/11. Gaelforce publishes an AFTM number for both, which inside the Extreme Distance range is the marker of a fishing rod rather than a competition rod. It also means you can line either one from the shelf rather than tuning a competition head down to a grain window.

Weight and Balance - Gaelforce lists the 15ft 12# at 11.75 ounces and the 18ft 10/11 at 14.75 ounces, and describes both as strong, light in hand and very well balanced. On rods this long, balanced matters more than the bare number: a three ounce spread between the two models is small next to the difference a correctly weighted reel makes at the butt.

Finish - Matt green blanks with rich silver whippings, and alignment dots on every section for easy accurate assembly. On a four piece rod at 15 or 18 feet, those dots are the difference between guides that are genuinely in line and guides that are close enough to load the blank unevenly all day.

Guides

Stripping Guides - Fuji stripper guides. On a two hander this is the hardest working component on the rod, because every cast fires the entire running line through it at the highest line speed you can generate. A hard, low friction insert is the difference between a head carrying its full potential distance and losing several feet to drag at the stripper, and it will not groove and start cutting the coating off a shooting line after a season of use.

Snake Guides - Hard chrome snakes run the length of the blank. Hard chrome is the corrosion resistant, low mass standard on salmon rods: it survives wet Atlantic weather and tidal beats, and it keeps weight off the tip sections, which on an 18 foot blank asked to recover very quickly is exactly where added mass costs you the most.

Reel Seat

Both rods use a superior grade Alps Tri Lock down locking reel seat. Down locking moves the reel rearward and shifts the balance point back toward your lower hand, which is the conventional arrangement on salmon rods and the reason a long rod feels controllable rather than tip heavy. The Tri Lock mechanism uses a triple lock arrangement instead of a single knurled nut, so a heavy salmon reel stays clamped through a full day of casting instead of working itself loose. Ahead of and behind the seat are Gaelforce's finest AAAA grade slim cork handles. AAAA is the top cork classification, with the fewest pits and fills, and the slim profile matters on a two hander because both hands stay wrapped around cork for hundreds of casts at a stretch.

Rod Tube

Each rod ships in a cordura rod tube with a quality cloth bag. This is the fabric covered tube Gaelforce uses across its standard ranges, not the aluminum Gaelforce Green tube with the laser engraved cap that comes on the G Plus Graphene rods, so it is lighter to carry and it takes a knock without denting. Tube length is published per model and the two are not close: 125cm for the 15ft 12#, and 150cm for the 18ft 10/11. Check the longer figure against your airline and your vehicle before you order.

Warranty

Gaelforce does not publish written warranty terms for its rods, so we are not going to quote you a coverage period or a fee schedule that we cannot stand behind. Rods are covered against defects in materials and workmanship, and claims are handled case by case through the dealer network. If you have a problem with a rod, get in touch with us and we will point you to the current process. Keep your receipt and keep the tube, since both make any claim simpler.

More Info

• Rod Action: Progressive, with fast recovery and a strong tip. These are Gaelforce's own three rating fields, and both models carry the same trio
• Best For: Atlantic salmon and steelhead on big water, long range fishing where wading is deep or you are casting from a platform, and distance casting practice. Both models handle floating and sinking Spey lines, shooting heads and Skagit lines
• Grip Style: Full two handed Spey, AAAA grade slim cork, down locking seat
• Ability Level: Advanced to expert. These are user friendly by Extreme Distance standards, but they are still 15 and 18 foot salmon rods
• Line Weight Range: #12 on the 15ft, #10/11 on the 18ft. Gaelforce places no restriction on line type for either
• 15ft 12# Model: Gaelforce GE1512, 15ft, 4 piece, 11.75oz, 125cm tube. Our SKU is SKU-GF1512ED
• 10/11 Model: Gaelforce GE181011, 18ft, 4 piece, 14.75oz, 150cm tube. Our SKU is SKU-GF181011ED
• Blank Material: Graphite. Neither model is one of the G Plus Graphene rods
• Components: Fuji stripper guides, hard chrome snakes, Alps Tri Lock down locking reel seat, AAAA grade slim cork, alignment dots on every section, matt green finish with rich silver whippings, cordura tube and cloth bag

Recommended Lines

Gaelforce publishes a different line list for each of these two rods, which is worth paying attention to given how far apart they are in length. Because neither blank restricts line type, everything below is a starting point rather than a requirement.

Gaelforce Equalizer Extreme Distance Head - The EED80 Lite, 80 feet and 1234 grains, and the one line Gaelforce lists on both of these rods' own product pages. It is a one piece line whose profiling is built for fine tuning in length and weight by custom cutting from the rear, which does not alter its performance characteristics, and its very supple proprietary coating is what lets it hold shape in flight at high line speed instead of collapsing the loop. Start here on either model.

Gaelforce Equalizer Weapon Extreme Distance Head - Our listing for the longer heads in the family, sold by grain weight. The 1420 grain option is the 85 foot head at 92 grams and the 1466 grain option is the 90 foot head at 95 grams, and Gaelforce lists both of them on the 18ft 10/11 page specifically. It does not list either on the 15ft. If you bought the 18 footer to fish the biggest water you can find, this is where the extra length gets used.

Gaelforce Equalizer Stormer Extreme Distance Overhead - An 848 grain, 65 foot head, and the second line Gaelforce publishes for the 15ft 12# rather than the 18ft. It is the overhead distance head: a new front taper combined with a supple front profile mix, built to turn over when the wind is strong and shifting, and it fishes straight out of the box with no cutting. Gaelforce also points it at anglers fishing long dry line heads on slick shooting line.

Gaelforce Equalizer Spey Fly Line 63ft - The option the Altitude owner does not get. This is a full length 63 foot head Spey line in Gaelforce's own AFTM sizes, and we stock it at 802 grains in #10/11 and 848 grains in #11/12, which lines the 18 footer and the 15ft 12# respectively. If you want a traditional long belly presentation rather than a cut shooting head, this is the line that makes the no restrictions claim real.

The Extreme Distance heads are shooting heads and none of them fishes without a running line behind it. The Gaelforce Equalizer Shooting Fly Line ESL is the matched option, with a super slick coating carrying a slickening agent that migrates to the surface for prolonged shooting qualities, a memory free and tangle free core, and compact loops front and rear. The front loop is the larger of the two at eight inches, so the largest salmon reels pass straight through it and swapping heads on the bank is a two minute job.