Jewels in the Stream (also rod review)

I was planning on doing a review on a recent purchase , i was needing a new loch rod  ,so with lots of praise for this brand   i bought a Flextec streamtec 9'6" #6 , and also a 6'6" #3 of the same model  . These are auctioned on ebay by tacklediscounts for a buy it now price of £79.99 or you can get them in the auction as i did for   £40 or less.

Streamtec 6'6" #3

 Today (now yesterday) i decided to give the wee 6'6" rod a go . My first impressions were good , it comes packaged in a tube and sock , and  looks strikingly similar to a greys stream-flex , only  obvious difference and a nice touch was the coppery coloured fly keeper which compliments the olive/brown blank , and ofcourse the price tag , the cork quality is very good, couldn't fault it cosmetically apart from a few bits epoxy on the snakes , which i removed with my nail.
    Now to the fishing . I decided to give the rod its first outing on a proper wee burn. Spoilt for choice i wasn't  sure which burn to choose , so decided to sample two local burns , the Murieston water and the Linhouse water.

Below the confluence

The Murieston water meets the Linhouse at midcalder and then meets the main river the Almond  perhaps only a hundred yards or so from there confluence.

The Confluence

First of all i fished the short stretch below where the waters meet , i used  a glister bug under a klink and it didn't take long for the stream-tec to break it's duck. A typical wee brownie.

At the cofluence i decided to head up the Murieston water first , what a smashing wee burn this is , with equally beautiful little trout.

Big pool on murieston water

Murie burn trout (smudged red spots)

After fishing a hundred yards or so i turned back downstream and fished up the Linhouse. The Linhouse is the bigger of the two burns , and perhaps the peatier of the two . It too fished predictably well producing many lovely little brownies typically decorated with lots of smudged  red spots.

Linhouse weir

Despite being near some major cities , the air is clean as proved by the presence of lichens , and its a great escape, in fact I'm sure some folks wont realise just whats on there doorstep, miles and miles of beautiful countryside. , and i was content breathing in the beauty and solitude the stream offered, enjoying a lunch by a rock after landing my best trout of the day.

Ginger beer and "mans chocolate"

The rest of the day continued in the same vain. As for the rod , really like it , it may not be every ones cup of tea though as it's pretty fast , but i can see myself using this rod a fair bit.  These rods present exceptional value for those looking for a new fly rod and have many differing sizes in the range  .