Echo Gecko - Get a Kid a Rig!

A job relocation to Sheridan, Wyoming and river research has dominated my summer this year.  I've started doing some guiding for Clark Smyth at Rock Creek Anglers.  They're mostly weekend wade trips, but I will be taking on some Montana floats next spring and summer on the Bighorn as well as North Platte Rivers in Wyoming. 

My son celebrated his tenth birthday this earlier this fall.  I had been chomping at the bit anticipating it for some time.  The reason is simple.  This turned into the summer of his introduction to full on DIY fly fishing.  Turning ten, I figured it was time we got on with it and outfitted him with a new rig that would perform as a kid would fish.  The result has been some high quality alone time for both me and the kiddo, and we're having a blast together on the water!  His birthday hadn't quite arrived when I got the call from the local fly shop that his new rig had arrived.  There are still skid marks in the driveway.

After getting home to "test" the outfit I had selected for my son, it quickly became apparent that I wouldn't be able to wait until his birthday, so I ruined the surprise, gave it to him before his mom got home and immediately departed for the river first thing the very next morning.  That first float was eight hours of bliss.  I'm still paying for it with Mom though.

A lot of thought and consideration was put toward the rig that would work best for him.  For most of the summer, he's been using a 9' Cortland #5, but it was proving difficult for him to manage and the grip was just too big for his small hands, particularly in a dry fly boat fishing situation.  After a good deal of time spent crawling around the inter-webs and talking with a few manufacturers, I settled on an Echo Gecko from Rajeff Sports matched with an Airflo WF5 40+ fly line (Rio Outbound would be the equivalent if you're a Rio Products fan).

Airflo 40+

I'm not a supporter of most outfits available for kids today.  This is for a variety of reasons, but primarily they don't address the key complications children face when learning how to cast a fly rod.  Among them, turning over a fly and feeling the load of the rod during the back cast so as to grasp the mechanics of the stroke.

Choosing a fly rod for a kid is no different than selecting the right combination for an adult.  Once I determine a specific fly fishing application to assemble an outfit, I start with the most important ingredient of the system, the fly line.  Then I build it out from there.  In this case, I wanted something with a short belly and reasonably heavy weight forward taper that would move the weight of the entire cast forward.  This accomplishes two things.  First, it allows the caster to load the rod quickly and feel the deep bend of the rod on the back cast.  Second, with a youngster, casting distance will be shorter so I wanted the belly of the line to be deployed in the cast at a shorter total length.   To accomplish both of these objectives, I settled on a line that is considered to be an extreme distance casting line.  This may seem like an oxymoron at first, but upon closer inspection, the short belly of 30' on the Airflo 40+ combined with the heavy tip generated the feel and load of a full length cast that I wanted when reaching out only 20-30' from the boat.  In addition, a line that is designed to cast big bait plugs turns out to do a wonderful job of turning over great big Chubby Chernobyls trailed with a heavily weighted tungsten nymph.

Rajeff Sports Echo Gecko, 7.9' 4/5 weight

There are a couple of other attributes of the Rajeff Echo Gecko rod that I have found very appealing.  First, the length is 7.9' and it's designed to carry #4 or #5 weighted lines.  The shorter length and relative stiffness (medium fast action) of such a short rod makes it easy for a kid to manage line in a dry fly casting situation.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that with only a little practice, my son was able to begin throwing reach casts to effectively deal with micro currents from the front of the boat.  Second, this rod has a great little 2" fighting butt that proves very useful.  On long fishing days, the fighting butt enables the caster to use both hands to complete the cast when fatigue settles in.  As near as I can calculate, this will add at least two hours of true enjoyment to your outing alone.   The fighting butt also comes in handy when teaching proper fish fighting technique in the event you get a sizable fish on the other end of your line.  It allows a kid to place the rod against their belly and more easily get the fish on the reel to do battle.  The last and likely most exciting element of the fighting butt is that this rod will make a great little first step spey casting rig!  I can't wait to throw on a 40+ WF6 to get my son started on his spey casting once he's developed a proficient single handed cast.

The last and most important quality of this rod is in its handle.  Small hands simply demand a smaller grip.  This rod has a very durable wildly colored EVA full well handle.  The full well encourages proper grip holding technique and its small diameter makes it incredibly easy to cast the rod all day, even for a ten year old.

BOOM!

The Rajeff Sports Echo Gecko is priced right at $100.  The Airflo 40+ WF5 is priced at $80.  Before a reel is selected, this starts getting a little expensive.  Luckily, I had a good quality Orvis Battenkill BBS III sitting around that I never use which has adequate drag for the size fish we're likely to encounter on our rivers.  You may fish water with smaller fish, in which case, you could sacrifice reel and drag quality to save some money or free up budget for exceptional quality fly line.  Reel included, the rig is probably about $75-$100 more expensive than going out and purchasing an outfit style rod from most of the major manufacturers.  That said, I want my son to enjoy fly fishing and get the feel for what a proper cast looks and feels like.  In order to accomplish that, I felt it was important to spend the extra money on a rod specifically designed for how a kid will fish, and I wanted him to have a very high quality line that will help him accelerate his learning curve.  Having held and cast many of the outfit style youth rigs from the major manufacturers, it's my opinion that Rajeff Sports is the only company out there that has taken into consideration how a youngster will fish and designed a rod that will help them learn.  Long story short; the Echo Gecko is the right tool for the job and will set the foundation for a lifetime of enjoyment flinging fur and feather.

Autumn Grouse Encounter

 

Those trees, dark and firm, frame an accent of yellow and orange, calling my return.

Aspen flicker in a subtle breeze, beneath my boots, a slender ridge whispers through the trees.

The descent is gentle, and so I am lulled, into its vastness, the return punishing and judgmental.

When river flowers wilt and berries shrivel, the oven bird marches higher, passing in the middle.

Each step qualifies my years, lungs bursting, knees aching, my body is tormented yet my mind perseveres.

Slave to a fall-time passion for the earth, jewels of mottled blue lie in waiting to define my worth.

  A moment captured in scent from the hound, my senses tingle at the thought of what might be found.

An exploding rock takes flight just two steps down.  Look toward the heavens, framed in blue is a perfect bird greyish and brown.

Gear Review - Garmin Alpha 100

Ok, let's get right to it.  I can't remember the last time I anticipated a new purchase to such adegree before and ended up so utterly disappointed.  I've been needing to upgrade my nearly worn out Tri-Tronics Upland Special two dog rig for a while, and I've wanted to buy a new field GPS, as I own a first generation Garmin Vista GPS that only has a black and white screen.  Both are products I like and enjoy using.  Timing being what it was, I had to order new batteries for my Upland Special last season so I could wait to see what Garmin and Tri-Tronics would come up with together as an all in one unit.

My dad has advised me on many occasions throughout my upbringing, "You can't do everything."  Those words kept thundering away in my brain as I was moving through the high country with my dogs on a grouse hunt the day after the Garmin Alpha 100 arrived on my doorstep from Cabela's.

I should probably temper my product disappointment with a few words on expectations.  It was my hope that this unit would abundantly satisfy two needs, that of a dog training/communication collar and a field GPS.  After all, two great companies like Garmin and Tri-Tronics would surely be able to introduce a terrific piece of equipment on their reputations and proven history alone.  So, I'd have to say the bar was set pretty high to begin with.

If I had to guess, I think what evolved with the development of this product was a Ying and Yang pull between the two corporations.  In setting priorities for a new Garmin and Tri-Tronics cooperative effort, the desire to build a great dog GPS with fun data collection anecdotes won out over that of keeping with the tradition of building the very best rock solid dog training devices on the market.  It's my opinion that the result is a poorly conceived and functioning unit that does neither exceptionally well.

To begin with, setup of the unit with a single collar was simple.  The instructions were easy to understand and gave a proper outcome when followed.  I count this as a plus.  However, setup and use of a second collar is difficult and not very intuitive.  Once set, keeping stimulation pages and individual dog settings locked down was troubling.  This was particularly acute when the units were powered on and off when moving between hunting areas.  Could be I just had trouble getting used to the new unit, but I found the steps to turn on, acquire satellites and set tracking functions frustrating.  Be mindful there might have been an idiot technical factor in play, but I've been using Garmin GPS's for a long time as well as Tri-Tronics collars.  The steps were just more than I could stomach.

Bird hunting with my Tri-Tronics Upland Special is a joy.  The simple ease of use, placement of toggle switches for different dogs, size and configuration of stimulation buttons makes it easy to use this unit without having to look at it, what I call "eyes free."  I find this particularly valuable when I'm side-hilling steep grade in the high country, paying attention to my footing to avoid tumbling down a mountain-side instead of eye-balling my dog training handheld device.   The Garmin Alpha 100 requires constant attention to be paid to the screen and small stimulation buttons when hunting in field conditions.  I can't imagine using the handheld device effectively at all if I had large fingers.  Also, the claim that this product is glove friendly is absolutely inaccurate.  I shoot with thin Orvis Uplander Shooting Gloves all the time and can assure you that you'll be taking gloves on and off to use the handheld device or cutting the tips of your glove thumbs off to ease your frustration. 

Switching between dogs for communication signals is very difficult as you have an incredibly small target area on a less than sensitive touch-screen to move between dogs.  I found myself constantly having to sit down and focus my attention on trying to get a training or communication event to one or the other dog instead of being able to signal them on the fly.   Often, the time it took to switch training modes between dogs resulted in a lost communication or training opportunity to turn or woe a dog.  It's probably worth emphasizing that much of my frustrations with this product are centered around having more than one dog.  I can see that this would be a fun product, adding a new dimension of enjoyment to your hunting if you are a one dog owner or you have friends that also have an Alpha.

Another of the most disappointing elements of the Garmin Alpha 100 had to be the return signals of dog activity, which is one of the primary reasons I bought the product.  I really wish I had a video camera with me on my first hunt with the Alpha so you could witness several rock solid points that never registered at the handheld device as a point.  But, when one of my dogs checked back for water, the unit would signal "Pepper on Point" while he was clearly moving his head to drink.  I found this surprising since my Upland Special has always worked flawlessly to signal correct tones when a dog moves from hunt to point.

Battery life integrity is an area of concern that was significantly troubling.  The GPS and training functions worked reasonably well to 75% of total battery life.  Once 25% had been used though, the Dog Info screens wouldn't allow me to switch back and forth between dogs to compass or map pages.  In fact, I had to power down the unit and start it up again in order to move back to the map or compass pages once I'd ventured into the Dog Info screen.

I'm not a field trial expert or sponsored trainer by any stretch of the imagination.  Rather,  I am an avid bird hunter who uses these tools in hard conditions with high expectations for performance.  I demand a lot of these tools as well as an ability to communicate clearly and quickly with my dogs.  When the cost of these products is taken into consideration, I think it's fair to expect a very high level of performance as well as functional design.

As it relates to training, anyone who's worth their salt in the dog world will tell you that you need instant correction or reward the moment a negative or positive opportunity occurs.  When I want to turn a dog with a tone signal, I want him to turn immediately.  On the rare occasion I need to correct performance following a verbal or hand signal command, the electronic reinforcement needs to take place instantly after an ignored command is given.  In both of these areas, I found myself fumbling with the Garmin Alpha 100 and quickly lost confidence in my ability to issue commands to my dogs when needed.

As a GPS, The Alpha handheld is good.  In fact, it's cool!  The functions associated with tracking dogs, identifying terrain and quickly marking coveys of birds were really fun.  If you hunt public land that's surrounded by a lot of private property, the e-fence function and perimeter alarms are really nice features.  As a tool to limit dog range, I can definitely see where this product would be useful. 

In the end, I think a bird hunter has to decide if they want a training/communication device or if they want a gadget to evaluate where their dogs are, how much ground they have covered, how many birds were in this or that covey, and at what elevation they located birds.  As a recorder of information specific to dogs and bird hunting, I don't think the Garmin Alpha 100 has another equal.  Unfortunately, my goals are to use these tools to enhance my training, reduce my verbal communication with my dogs in the field, and kill birds.  To meet these objectives, I think it would have been wise to start with the Tri-Tronics Pro Series e-collars as the foundation, and then build a GPS around the "eyes free" functionality of those units.

There are some positives to the experience.  I have a renewed sense of appreciation for my Tri-Tronics Upland Special.  As a result, I'm exchanging the Alpha for an Upland Special G3 EXP unit and getting a second collar to make a two dog setup.  Also, I got reacquainted with my internal need for fewer bells and whistles as well as the importance of limited yet specific good functionality.  Lastly, I bought a Hunt WY PLAT MicroSD card for the GPS and fell in love with the level of detail that software provides concerning location and identification of property boundaries.  Even though it's a little more expensive, for my goals and objectives, I think I'm going to be happier with the new Upland Special and a separate GPS handheld device, the Montana 600 GPS, which is a Garmin product.

I'm sure there are other opinions out there.  It would be great if you would share your experiences with dog training collars, the Garmin Alpha 100 or any other products you've loved or hated here. Listed below are a list of pros and cons I found with the Garmin Alpha 100

Pros:

1. Good dog and bird hunting recording features
2. Perimeter functions and electronic fence
3. MicroSD card and Birds-eye Satellite Imagery Compatible
4. Ease of computerized scouting both before and after the hunt
5. Single dog compatible with excellent tracking feature
6. Wide variety of individual dog stimulation settings

Cons:

1. Multiple dog use is confusing 
2. Small training buttons
3. Switching training between dogs is difficult and slow
4. Return of dog activity signals not accurate 
5. Overall function integrity reduced at lower battery levels
6. Poor "eyes-free" functionality
7. Very poor screen touch sensitivity