Thomas & Thomas Excocett 88 Salt Single Handed Fly Rod 8,8 ft

Thomas & Thomas rods have been handcrafted on American soil (Greenfield, MA) since 1969 and enjoy worldwide recognition for their high-end fly rods, which feature an absolutely perfect finish.

The Thomas & Thomas Exocett 88 is the successor to the popular Exocett SS streamer rod. With a length of 8'8" and a steep taper, the Exocett™ 88 offers ultra-fast recovery power, allowing effortless casting over long distances. It was designed to minimize fatigue and is perfect for all-day fishing. The 88 is built with a proprietary multi-modulus carbon and S-glass layup, providing significantly higher strength than previous composites, giving it superior ring stability and reducing swing weight. This design ensures excellent tracking, precision, and accuracy, along with extreme lifting power when it is needed most.

It is an extremely powerful rod specifically designed for fishing with streamers, regardless of whether they are small or large, heavy flies, floating, or sinking lines. With its easy-loading, progressive action, it adapts seamlessly, making both powerful long-distance casts with a heavy line setup and delicate precision casts possible. However, the rod's primary focus is clearly on modern, highly effective fishing with streamers for predators in both fresh and saltwater. For this reason, only the best corrosion-resistant components have been used, such as aluminum reel seats and titanium guides with inserts. Most importantly, the unique blank of the rod ensures that the 88 is an absolute workhorse, whether casting bulky streamers or handling tough fights!

The rod action is fast, with a quicker recovery than the SS model. Additionally, the blank has been designed to work exceptionally well with modern, compact fly lines, whether poppers or large, weighted streamers. Another impressive feature is the Exocett 88's enormous lifting power. Several meters of sinking line can be lifted from the water with ease to make another cast. This power is particularly beneficial when fishing for pike or zander from a boat or belly boat. Boat anglers using modern techniques such as live-scoping will quickly appreciate the rod's strength.

The components and craftsmanship of the 8.8 ft rod demonstrate the highest quality and attention to detail. The titanium guides of the T&T rod are hand-wrapped onto the dark blue matte blank with extreme precision and flawlessly coated. Each section of the 4-piece rod is marked with the batch number to ensure that each part is made from the same materials and can be perfectly replaced in case of a warranty claim! The grip of the 88 is made of pore-free cork, along with a reinforced section of a cork composite, ensuring no inclusions are visible even after years of use. For an extra-secure hold of the reel on the aluminum reel seat, two lock nuts with deep knurling and cut-out sections provide superior grip.

The T&T SS was already one of the best streamer rods on the market, and with the new Exocett 88, Thomas & Thomas has released a brilliant successor that is both powerful and impressive.
Strength when it counts - versatility where it matters!

Thomas & Thomas Technologies:

• Multi-Modulus Strato-Therm Blank
  The Exocett SS blank is crisp and powerful, loading smoothly with very fast recovery. The powerful backbone remains unengaged during precise short-range casts. Only when shooting flies over the longest distances through the wind does the rod fully unleash its power into the fly line. Additionally, the multi-modulus blank helps absorb excessive shocks from heavy flies and sinking lines, improving distance and accuracy with fewer false casts.

• Proprietary Binding Agents
  The performance of graphite fibers depends on the quality of the binding agent holding them together. Binding technology has rapidly improved in recent years, and T&T has worked with industry leaders to develop a proprietary resin that enhances graphite material performance. This new resin utilizes nanoscale particles to eliminate microscopic voids in the graphite. Filling these tiny gaps with this high-performance resin improves strength, durability, and damping properties of the rod blank while reducing overall weight.

• Ferrule Reinforcement Process / FRP
  On a fly rod, the ferrules are the most critical stress points. For this reason, T&T applies a strategic additional layer of high-strength graphite by hand over these sections. Besides reinforcing the ferrule, this process adds a distinct detail to the fly rod.

• Optimal Blank Curing / OBC
  The performance characteristics of graphite blanks and the nano-resins used heavily depend on the curing process. Any changes in the curing process immediately affect the blank's performance. At Thomas & Thomas, the curing process is taken very seriously and conducted with a controlled, precise temperature monitoring system. OBC helps T&T extract maximum performance from graphite and binding agents while ensuring strict quality control.

Details:

• Powerful single-handed rod with exceptional lifting power for freshwater and saltwater
• Excellent performance for targeting predators with large flies and heavy lines such as sinking fly lines or compact floating lines
• Fast-action multi-modulus Strato-Therm blank with enormous power reserves
• Matte, dark blue signature "T&T Blue" semi-gloss finish
• Optimized blank curing for maximum performance of graphite and resins (OBC)
• Ferrule reinforcement process for long-term durability (FRP)
• Ceramic insert in stripping guides
• Aluminum reel seat with two lock nuts for a secure reel hold
• Premium flor-grade 7" full wells grip with composite butt section
• Handcrafted fly rod made in the USA

The grain specifications of the rods indicate the optimal line weight, measured over the first 30 ft (9.14 meters) of the fly line.