The young Spanish company Draga was created by two brothers, David and Raul Gutierrez Leralta, who saw the evolution of fishing techniques for 3 generations in the family fishing shop, based in El Barco de Avila (Castilla Leon). With this experience, they decided to meet the demand of anglers looking for rods with good quality to price ratio. Their first model, the Draga Tormes, is a 11' designed for nymphing and it costs less than 200 euros. Let's have look at its characteristics.
Static test :
This rod is very sober : the unpainted blank is decorated with 11 guides (10 of which are single-foot guides) with black wraps ; the slate gray reel seat with carbon insert is surmounted by a cigar-shaped cork handle. Two discreet flags (Italian and Spanish) joined together bring a slight touch of color near the white inscriptions of the first piece. Note the presence of a hook keeper and especially a scale to measure trout whose size is between 30 and 30cm (one to two feet).
Measurements :
The Common Cents System protocol was used to characterize the action, the power and the frequency of this rod :
Regarding the power, 38 cents were required to load the rod over a third of its total length, which gives after conversion an ERN of 4.60 and so a #4 line power more than expected. With an AA of 68°, the action is fast but remains in the lower part of this range (the rod is not ultra-fast). The frequency at 74 is high for a 11'. Even if it is not designed for it, this rod shows great dry flyfishing capacities (with a #4 line for example). The balance is good (BTW 12.3 oz) considering the lenght and the power of this reference. The first guide is located at a distance of 25.2" from the handle, so it requires to add a removable guide to euronymph effectively.
Draga
The opinion of the manufacturer :
"The Draga Leralta rods are made with the latest technologies and materials, and are tested by international anglers, some of whom are top competitors. These are Asian-made rods with high modulus carbon blanks, designed according to our guidelines for action, balance, power, frequency and weight, in order to meet the requirements of all spanish-nymphing anglers. We want to allow the angler buy a high quality rod at a correct price (a second tip is included). Currently, the first model on the market is the 11' #3/4 Draga Tormes (although there is a mention #3 on the rod, it's more a #3/4 power) and we expect new references for the 2019 season".
The opinion of Christophe De Pastors (Pyrenees Nymph Fishing) :
"I've been using this 11' #3 Draga during the entire 2018 season, after having been fishing with 11' rods for many years, and now I can say it's one of the best models out there ! Classic and clean, it comes with two tips at a price more than competitive. In action, it is very accurate at short and medium distances with a nymph or two. It can cast both 2.5mm bead nymphs or tungsten bodies. It is also very pleasant with a tandem (a dryfly and a 2.5mm nymph). Its other strong point is a perfect hold of the fish (whether with small size Pyrenean trouts or large 20' fish) : A real pleasure to use ! "
The opinion of the editor:
Obviously, some finishing details could be improved, in particular the number of guides. But at less than 200 euros, what we will remember is the excellent quality price to ratio of this model, especially when you know the difficulty of designing a decent 11'. Its #4 power will destine it to the classic euronymphing techniques (it will be more comfortable with beads of size greater than or equal to 2.8mm) and its action will seduce those who look for a compromise between the very fast rods (type Orvis Helios) and the more moderate models (like Thomas & Thomas Contact series) who limits the risk of hook off as much as possible. The balance of this Draga is quite correct considering the length and the power (we measured more important BTW for rods of the same type much more expensive!). Note that an additional tip will be delivered with the rod.
