Big Mama.

Even if the title could mean something else too I'm sorry to disappoint you by telling you this is only about Vision  new rod made for pike fishing and which is  designed by Swedish "Mr pike" Niklaus Bauer.
The rod is 8.4 ft and available only in 9 weight,at least so far.
Weight should be 128 grams which is far lighter than Big Daddys 152 grams or Venus 151 grams.
I have not scaled other than Big Mama  and my scale says 130 grams,well,,no complains about that,close enough.
My first impressions of the rod without reel or line was,it's stiff,very stiff.
EVA handle is a thing that I've heard so much talks about,some are strict against it,and some praise it,
Some says it's better in cold conditions,well....I can't agree with that,don't see any difference.I have fished with Big Daddys both handles and EVA might be more sustainable then the cork version but it smell ugly IMO.
I think biggest reason is the price,think EVA is cheaper to build than cork ????
Anyway I don't see EVA handle as a bad solution,just different.

Also the shape of the handle has shared opinions,the D-shape is known from the Vision Venus rods already so I think it's a bit strange why there's so strong opinions about it now,biggest discussion has come about the flat surface on the upper side on the handle that almost force you to have your thumb on the rod while casting,I can see why someone doesn't like it but for me who have always used that kind of grip it doesn't bother at all.
I like it !
But also some things I don't like,I got a Scotty rod holder and this handle doesn't fit in it,but maybe I should blame the holder instead of the rod here.
One thing I blame the rod is for a hook hold missing,a big minus here,Big Daddy got it and almost all my other rods too.

They say the rod is dark green,probably so but in my eyes it look black,no big deal :)

Had mine bought from my local dealer Spey Clave in helsinki from the GoExpo fair in the beginning of March but not until two weeks ago I was able do go out for some pike and of course it had to be tested.
The weather was very windy,8-10 m/s and flies big as chickens was some challenge to overcome first.

As I wrote the rod first felt very stiff but casting with a fly in real  situation made me change my opinion a bit.
Even if the rod felt stiff the action comes right from the handle which made it felt a bit softer,which is a attribute I like.
It's a bit faster action than Big Daddy which I like,but not as fast as on Venus which I also like :).
A nice rod to handle whit fishes too,no surprises in action here.

Well,there was some kind of surprise coming later on,Had in mind to try this rod with different lines,had six spools with me but still casting with my first choice line,a homemade line built from a Vision Ace shooting head I thought I felt that the rod was loosing its powerful action cast after cast and finally when I landed a small bugger and just lifted my rod to get the fish closer it just snapped.10 cm:s above the handle,like this

So no more tests that day.
Called my local dealer Spey Clave and I could have had a new rod the same day (what a customer service,thumbs up and hats of here) but I wasn't in that hurry,so I get a new one next day instead.

So,a week later it was time for some new tests,this time I had three lines with me:
-Vision Big Daddy SloMo #9
-Vision Big Daddy S3  #9
-Airflo 40+ Sniper Int. CW  #9

Wind wasn't that heavy like it was last time but still around 5-6 m/s,I was also using smaller flies this time.
Started with a brand new SloMo line from Vision head weight 21 grams and head length 8.5 meter.
Not really liked this combo,for some reason I don't feel comfortable wit floating lines and this line remind me of a floating line,think it's the topping,and also it might have something to do with it that the line was brand new.
Next line in line was Airflo 40+ Sniper,don't know the weight of the head but it feel pretty heavy in use which I like because it use to suit my casting style,was a bit concerned because last year the running line felt very stiff but not anymore.
This line was in use for couple of hours and felt actually very good wit this rod.It loaded the rod nicely and maybe because of the weight casting was very smooth,had some fishes landed too,think this combo will be in use more often.
Finally it was Big Daddy Sink 3 turn,had big expectations on this combo,I mean both are Vision product so I was expecting a lot.
Had sadly not much time left to cast too long anymore but managed to get some kind of an opinion of this combo and shortly said,it felt pretty much same that with Airflo,would like to know the head weight of Airflo because felt it loaded a bit,just slightly better the rod than Big Daddy which weight is 21 gram.

Summary of my first thoughts about my Big Mama are positive even if it broke at my first trip.
the action is medium fast + IMO
Love the way the action starts all from the handle,hard to describe the feeling but make it feel that the rod is both smooth and stiff at same time.
More thoughts will be written while my experience increase here in the next months but please remember these are just MY views about the rod not some absolute truths.

EDIT : All "casting" have been done from a kayak in sitting position !!!