Cameron Mortenson from The Fiberglass Manifesto gives the lowdown on his Epic 686. The rod was built by Shane Gray of Graywolf Products & Services
Take a moment to read Cameron's full review.
We particularly like this bit!
the Epic 686 is (f#$%'ing) magic in my hands. This fly rod is responsive, quick to load, and a powerhouse that lays out very long accurate casts with relative ease.
On the second day fishing on Beaver Island, the sun finally was able to burn through the dense morning fog, and we had several hours where groups of several to over a dozen smallmouth would move across the flat from shallow to deeper water together. Being able to drop a large weighed fly in front of laid up or cruising smallmouth that were 50' to 70' out with just a couple backcasts was amazing. This was way less about my skills and way more about the capability of the Epic 686. I am beyond impressed.