I won’t claim any moment of inspiration or genius in researching and ultimately buying this new rod from Spanish manufacturer Adams. Nope, it was plain old “Green Eyed Devil”. My friend Radek got one for Christmas and let me have a little shot on one of our winter Grayling outings. It was only a few minutes but the rod was a revelation in feel, lightness and stiffness for a 3 weight. I was out with Radek again a week or two later and this time I actually went out my way to ask him for a longer go with this rod. It was then I realised I was seriously missing out if I didn’t get one, and being that they were on “sale” at the time I thought it was now or never. I am not a tackle tart, in general, new gear comes and goes and it goes right by me, if what I have is doing the job for me I feel no obligation to upgrade to the newest and latest. Indeed, when I do put my hand in my pocket for gear, it is very often end of line stuff I go for. But this was very different. Adams appears to primarily be a replica weapons maker for the Airsoft fraternity, based in the Catalan city of Barcelona. However, they do have a more fishing focussed website and it is here you can read a little about this rod. It is marketed as a bit of a generalist river rod  for Competitive Anglers but there is no doubt that as a nymphing tool, it is up there with the best.  

If you have ever fished with braid as a method for rolling bugs, that very direct feel that you get is similar to the feedback this rod gives fishing both a conventional line or with my personal preference, a French Leader. It is fair to say Adams do not define the Max Series rod as a “pure” nymphing tool, though weighing in so light and at 10feet 2 ” the obvious use is going to be fishing nymphs and wets. The rod though can comfortably handle a conventional line, I have tried it out with a DT3# line and it cast beautifully including into one of those horrible downstream gusty wind’s that can afflict the early season, and it impressed.

Fixtures and Fittings

An area where the Adams differs quite markedly from other rods is in the fixtures, fittings and finish area. Firstly Adams have eschewed the need to have the blank any other colour than natural Carbon fibre. I like this understated look and it takes me back to when I purchased my Hanak Czech Nymph Champion rod. At the time they were made in a similar “natural” finish, but when I ordered mine I was informed it would be in green. When I asked why I was told they had found presenting the rod in a colour got the rod more attention in tackle shops. It had nothing to do with the actual fishing! I am glad to say Adams have kept it simple with nothing more than a laquer finish over the carbon weave.

Rod rings are unusually almost entirely single leg guides and they too are black. The only exception being the last guide before the tip eye, which is a Gold anodised Snake. The gold is supposed to improve visibility in difficult light. I cannot attest to this, I have to admit the rod tip isn’t something I spend a lot of time watching when fishing.   Also, the first ring after the premium quality cork grip ( very little filler and no segments of man made fibre here) is a lot closer to the grip than most rods and this definitely seems to aid line control. This unusual guide layout, somehow makes the rod seem quite “special”. Finally the filler segment in the seat is natural carbon weave and the seat itself is a plain light alloy no shine anodised uplocking reel seat. I know the current trend is for downlocking seats in nymphing rods but this one keeps it traditional.
I am not sure of the true validity of the downlocking seat trend, the idea is supposed to be to improve balance by pushing the reel to the end of the rod furthest from the hand. When you have an outfit this light I don’t think it makes that significant a difference and what are you talking 20-30mm? Go calculate the moments around the fulcrum if you must, I doubt the difference is huge! The locking nuts are very secure but they do feel a little like running your fingernails down a blackboard when doing them up! 

Summing up

To sum up, a lovely rod at this price point. There are more scientific reviews about than this one, if you go seek them out, and in it they say the nearest comparable rod is the Maxia. High praise indeed, and at more than twice the money at the current reduced offer price. I really can’t fault the Adams Max Series, lightness, sensitivity, feel and power in one blank, quite remarkable. The only criticisms are the reel seat, which is very secure has a very matt finish ( by design I think) and so it is, as I say like running your nails down a blackboard when tightening and loosening the nuts. I guess you could smear it with vaseline or something but then wouldn’t that be defeating the purpose? The only other criticism is the rod tube, It comes with a nice velvet sock for the rod and the tube itself has a sock, which is unusual. However the screw top on the tube, in mine anyway, is very difficult to put on, I suspect my one has maybe been slightly cross threaded in the factory and it doesn’t allow the lid to engage with the thread easily. Neither of these is a deal breaker though, you put a reel on or remove it once per outing usually, and the rod tube gets left in the car! Getting hold of one is a little tricky, the Adams website was broken last time I tried to add one to my “basket” so after speaking to Radek, I got hold of the man whose ideas went into this rod, Dani Garcia, via Facebook.  I was able to get one ordered and it duly arrived about 10-12 days later. If you do fancy one of these rods, and are having difficulty drop me a line or comment below and I will try t help you get in touch. They don’t speak perfect English ( though it is way better than my Spanish!)  so expect a few translational issue but you will get there I am sure.