Thomas & Thomas Exocett 88 9WT (300gr)
In Stock • Bozeman, MT
- 4-piece 8'8" multi-modulus blank in signature “T&T Blue” Semi-Gloss Finish
- Titanium frame stripping guides with ceramic inserts
- Recoil titanium alloy snake guides
- Flor-grade 7" full wells grip with composite nose
- Matte gunmetal, saltwater anodized aluminum reel seat
Description
The new Exocett™ 88 is built to handle a wide variety of fishing situations with precision and ease. With its easy-loading, progressive action, it’s designed to adapt seamlessly—whether you’re lifting and aerializing heavy sinking lines or delivering accurate floating line presentations.
At 8'8" with a steep taper, the Exocett™ 88 offers ultra-fast recovery, enabling effortless long-distance casting.
Designed to minimize fatigue, it’s perfect for all-day fishing. Built with proprietary multi-modulus carbon and S-Glass layups, the 88 has significantly more strength than previous composites, giving it superior hoop strength and reducing swing weight. This design provides excellent tracking, precision, and accuracy, along with extreme lifting power when you need it most.
Thomas and Thomas Exocett 88
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Q: What specific fishing scenarios did you design this rod for, and where do you feel it truly excels in performance? A: This is our versatile rod series, for casting large streamers, sinking lines, and taming large fish. This is a progressive action rod series, allowing the Exocett 88 to pick up a lot of line at distance, or aerialize a sinking line quickly for minimal false casts. The 88 fights fish quickly with plenty of power and control, and can handle lifting very large fish especially in boatside scenarios. The carbon and S-glass layups used in this rod give it excellent strength when it counts. With the proper line pairings, this rod can handle many different fishing situations.
Q: What fly line would you recommend pairing with this rod? A: SA Amplitude Grand Slam or RIO Elite Flats Pro
| empty | Short | Medium | Long | FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caster 1 | 7.2 | 7 | 6.8 | 21 |
| Caster 2 | 6.5 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 22.1 |
| Caster 3 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 22.2 |
| Combined | 21.2 | 22.1 | 22.2 | 65.3 |
- I like the cork, but the fighting butt is a little too long. The rod is counter flexing. There seems to be a bit of ‘after shock’ when casting and delivering the presentation.
- Relatively nice dampening in close. Silky smooth with false casts at medium target. The turbo zone is carrying 50’ of line. Wants to go and go when shooting.
- Easy to cast at 30’. Didn’t have to force line out. I like the 8’8” blank for these shorter casts. A little whippy at 50’ (medium). I need to pull line up hard with this rod – not as effortless. I need to do a lot of things right with timing at longer distances.
The Thomas and Thomas Exocett 88 has attractive cork and a well finished grip, though the fighting butt feels slightly longer than necessary. The 8 foot 8 inch blank gives the rod a unique feel compared to standard 9 foot rods and contributes to its quick handling at shorter distances. There is some noticeable counter flex and a bit of after shock following the cast, which can be felt during the presentation.
At closer distances around 30 feet the rod is easy to cast and loads without much effort. The shorter blank works nicely for these quick shots and the rod dampens relatively well once the line is moving. It delivers smooth false casts and begins to show its strongest rhythm when carrying a moderate amount of line.
Around the 50 foot range the rod enters its most comfortable zone, carrying line smoothly and wanting to continue shooting once the line is released. As the distance increases further the rod requires more precise timing and effort from the caster. It can feel slightly whippy in the mid range and pushing to longer distances demands more deliberate technique to maintain control and loop shape.
