The Thomas & Thomas Exocett 88 Fly Rod is four inches shorter than the 9 foot saltwater standard, and the missing four inches is the entire point. Shortening a heavy line rod drops swing weight and shortens the lever you have to move on every backcast, which is the difference between finishing a day of blind casting a 350 grain head and quitting on it at two in the afternoon. Thomas & Thomas built the 88 on a steep taper with ultra-fast recovery, so the tip stops moving almost as soon as the stroke does, the rod tracks straight instead of wandering off line, and the lower blank holds enough reserve to lift a fish off the bottom rather than just tire it near the surface.
That gives you a rod capable of both halves of the modern predator job. It lifts and aerializes heavy sinking lines without a fight, and it still turns over an accurate floating line presentation when a fish is looking and the shot is short. Across 6wt through 11wt the family spans trophy largemouth and big freshwater streamer work at the light end, flats and beach fishing in the middle, and tarpon and other pelagics at the top, where the lifting power actually gets tested.
Blank
Multi-Modulus Carbon and S-Glass Layups - Thomas & Thomas rolls the Exocett 88 from a proprietary combination of multi-modulus carbon and S-Glass. S-Glass takes considerably more strain than carbon before it fails, so blending it into the layup buys hoop strength, which is the blank's resistance to ovalling and crushing under a deep bend, without the extra wall thickness that would normally be the price of that strength. T&T's own claim for the material is significantly more strength than previous composites with reduced swing weight, and what that translates to in hand is a rod that feels lighter than its line weight and still bends deep into the butt on a fish.
Steep Taper and Progressive Action - The action is easy loading and progressive, so the rod bends through the mid section on a normal casting stroke instead of staying locked up in the tip, but the steep taper straightens it out fast once the stroke stops. That pairing is what produces the tracking, precision and accuracy the rod is known for without demanding an aggressive caster to make it work. The blank wears the signature T&T Blue semi-gloss finish, and the 88 series carries printed AFTMA line weight and suggested grain weight labels, so matching a shooting head to the rod does not require looking anything up.
Guides
Stripping Guides - Titanium frame stripping guides with ceramic inserts. A titanium frame does not rust, and unlike a plated frame there is no coating to chip off a boat gunwale and start a corrosion site underneath. The ceramic insert does the real work at the first contact point, where grit picked up off a deck or a stripping basket gets dragged through under load. Ceramic is harder and slicker than chrome, so shooting line runs cleaner and the guide does not develop the grooves that shred line coating over a season.
Snake Guides - Recoil titanium alloy snake guides run the length of the blank. Recoil guides are formed from a shape memory titanium alloy, so a guide bent flat by a car door or by a fish that wrapped the leader springs back to its original shape rather than staying deformed or snapping off at the foot. They are unplated and therefore immune to corrosion outright rather than protected from it, and they are lighter than chromed stainless, which is the point on a rod designed around low swing weight.
Reel Seat
The Exocett 88 uses a matte gunmetal saltwater anodized aluminum reel seat. The anodizing is the functional part: it converts the surface of the alloy into a hard oxide layer that salt cannot pit the way it attacks bare or painted aluminum, and the saltwater grade treatment is a heavier version of it. Aluminum keeps the seat light and holds a reel foot locked without the seasonal movement a wood insert develops in heat and spray. The matte finish is the correct choice on a rod fished off a bow in flat light, where a polished seat throws a flash on every lift.
The grip is a seven inch Flor grade full wells cork with a composite nose. Flor is the top cork grade, with the fewest voids to fill, so it compresses less over years of hard gripping. The composite nose places a synthetic reinforcement exactly where hand pressure concentrates on a hookset, which is the part of an all cork grip that crumbles first. Fighting butt length steps up with line weight: 1.5 inches of full composite on the 6wt through 8wt, 2 inches on the 9wt and 10wt, and 3 inches on the 11wt.
Rod Tube
The Exocett 88 ships in an aluminum rod tube with a cloth rod sock. The Thomas & Thomas tube is built around a machined bar stock aluminum collar and cap on a blue powder coated body carrying a pewter Thomas & Thomas logo. The powder coat matters more than it sounds on a rod that travels, because it absorbs the scuffing of a boat locker and a baggage belt without the wear marks a bare anodized tube collects, and the machined collar gives the cap real threads instead of the friction fit that works itself loose in transit.
Warranty
Thomas & Thomas warrants its graphite and fiberglass rods against breakage caused by defects in materials, manufacturing or workmanship for the life of the original purchaser, for as long as that person owns the rod, with ordinary wear and tear excepted. The coverage is conditional on two things: the rod has to be bought from an authorized Thomas & Thomas dealer, and the warranty card or online registration has to reach Thomas & Thomas within 30 days of purchase. Register the rod before it goes fishing. The warranty does not follow a second owner.
Breakage that is not a defect is handled separately. Thomas & Thomas will repair or replace a rod damaged outside warranty coverage at a reasonable charge rather than refusing the job, which covers the ordinary broken tip. Excluded from warranty are lost sections and lost rods, damage from use other than the rod's intended purpose, intentional breakage, abuse or neglect in use, transport or storage, and damage caused by anyone else attempting to modify or customize the finished rod. All work goes back to Thomas & Thomas. You cover the cost of shipping the rod in, tracked and insured, and a return shipping, handling and mailing insurance charge is applied to the repair. Rods are built and repaired by hand in Greenfield, Massachusetts.
More Info
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Rod Action: Progressive with ultra-fast recovery
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Best For: Saltwater flats, beach and inshore fishing, lifting and casting heavy sinking heads, accurate floating line presentations, and big freshwater streamer work for trophy largemouth
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Grip Style: Seven inch Flor grade full wells cork with composite nose. Full composite fighting butt, 1.5 inches on the 6wt through 8wt, 2 inches on the 9wt and 10wt, 3 inches on the 11wt
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Ability Level: Intermediate to Advanced
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Line Weight Range: 6wt through 11wt, 8ft 8in, 4 piece
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Suggested Grain Weights: 160gr on the 6wt, 200gr on the 7wt, 250gr on the 8wt, 300gr on the 9wt, 350gr on the 10wt, 400gr on the 11wt
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Model Codes: EXOCETT88-160, EXOCETT88-200, EXOCETT88-250, EXOCETT88-300, EXOCETT88-350 and EXOCETT88-400, numbered by suggested grain weight
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Blank Finish: T&T Blue semi-gloss
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Built: Handcrafted in Greenfield, Massachusetts
Recommended Lines
Because the 88 is labeled with a suggested grain weight as well as an AFTMA size, the most useful thing you can do is match head weight to that number. The Scientific Anglers Magnitude Smooth Grand Slam Fly Line is the floating answer across the whole range, made in WF6F through WF12F so every Exocett 88 has a size, with a short aggressive front taper that turns a crab or baitfish pattern over into wind and a tropical core that stays stiff on a hot deck. For the sinking half of what this rod is built to lift, the Rio Outbound Short Premier Fly Line comes in floating, intermediate, sink tip and full sinking versions on a short heavy head that loads 8ft 8in of blank at close range and still carries a long shot off two strips. On the 9wt through 11wt models, the Rio Elite Tarpon Fly Line gives you the front loaded taper and stiff tropical core that close range shots at laid up fish demand.
