I want to be clear. This isn’t a review of Blue Halo’s new fly rod, the Liger.

First of all, the rod hasn’t been released yet and I haven’t fished it. I’m not an ambassador or pro staff or anything of the sort. The closest I’ve come to the fiberglass/graphite hybrid was wiggling a prototype around at a fly fishing show. Thus, this isn’t a review of how it casts, how it mends, or how it handles fish.

This is a look at a concept.

It is a concept that has intrigued me since I learned about the existence of this different fly rod. Different doesn’t always mean good, mind you. But fly rods can’t only be made of bamboo, fiberglass, or graphite, right? Since I began fly fishing, there has only been one other major material that has become commonplace (Winston’s use of boron in certain rod series’ butt sections). Some people like glass; some people like graphite. Many people like both. Why wouldn’t a thoughtfully constructed hybrid work?

I spoke to Cortney Boice, president and CEO of Blue Halo, about the  Liger. I wanted to know where the idea came from, and what applications he saw for this hybrid rod. “The concept was one I’ve been thinking of for years, really 5 or 6 years ago when we started making glass rods. I was fishing graphite as well. I  saw each material excelling for different things, and wanted to find a way to get the best of both worlds.”

Boice ran into a problem, though. “Back then the technology just wasn’t  there  to achieve the result  I wanted, so I kind of gave up. I didn’t want to do it by  simply adding a glass tip to a graphite rod – it would work, but a good casting rod doesn’t really work that way. Then, the whole thing had to take a back burner when things took off and we were building all of our glass rods.”

The concept stuck in his mind, and the design stayed in a holding pattern. “About 3 years ago, S2-glass came along. The properties of S2 matched up really well with graphite’s properties. S2-glass was actually  designed to be combined with other materials like graphite. Once I saw that, I thought it was awesome. We got to work right away, tweaking things a lot. Eventually we found the magical combination to make them fuse, work together, and get them where we want for a fly rod.”

The Liger, named after the hybrid offspring of a lion and a tiger, carries the ideal characteristics of both glass and graphite. The tip is all fiberglass, with the ratio of graphite in the blank increasing toward the butt section. I asked Boice what that means for casting and fishing. “You get a super durable, crazy strong rod with impact resistance that graphite doesn’t have. On the other hand, it can be up to 20% lighter and stronger than E-glass. The combination of graphite and S2 recovers quickly, giving you power to push casts and contend with heavier lines or wind. But they’ve been designed so that you’ll still  have that super delicate tip for things like dry flies and sensitive tippets.”

The term compromise has some negative connotations. But Boice actually likes how the idea of compromise nestles the Liger in between premium fiberglass and graphite rods. “In a way it is a compromise, because a  fly rod is a tool. There are situations when glass is best and when graphite is best. We believe that you can use the Liger in any situation. And we believe that the Liger is a real high-end rod. The components, the build, the look are all top of the line. And it is a ton of fun to fish.”

Blue Halo’s Liger is a fly rod that I want to see succeed. By all accounts, it is a fishing tool that provides some excellent angling benefits. More than that, it pushes things forward. It is new. It is different. And it is both of those things for more reasons than just being new and different.  Real people, especially Cortney Boice, put countless hours in, poring over schematics and  putting prototypes though real world rigors. Since it means seeing someone’s vision and passion come to fruition, it is exciting. Since it offers an original, alternative offering to the plethora of fly rods out there it is at bare minimum interesting.

That is what got me to pick the prototype up years ago, and that is what kept the impending release of the Blue Halo Liger in the back of my mind. In a few short months it will be here, and we’ll get to see how the concept plays out – in the water and on the other end of fish.

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I’d encourage you to check out the Liger for yourself on Blue Halo’s website. They’re taking a little bit of a different approach in this series, giving each line weight (3-12) a different color. The color is translucent in the tip section, and then carries through subtly on three darker sections. Liger blanks ($249.95) and completed builds ($499.95) are available for pre-order, with an estimated ship date of July 1st.