Looking for advice on rod please
- Thread starter thawk
- Start date
kunni
Active Member
Hi, thats the rod on used vic? It looks like a decent rod, its an older rod probably from the late 80's or early 90's. There appears to be a little cork degeneration, but its not to bad. Most of there stuff (hardy) now a days is out soured, but I think this one is old enough not to be made in china. Having the aluminum tube is a plus. The reel on the other hand is a piece of junk in my opinion, I would want a large arbor reel, and something with a lot more stopping power that it. The line is a good line, but you would have to check it out for abrasion and what not. I personally would look around a bit more, there are cheaper combos to be had. If you were going to make an offer, I would recommend making an offer without the reel or line. I picked up a custom built 7wt 10ft (build by Andy Snedden on Vancouver island) for $60, that was a pretty nice deal 
.
just my opinion
Kunni
.just my opinion
Kunni
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
If your intent is to chase salmon with a 7/8 weight fly rod, make sure it's a beater. Nothing worse then the sound of a three piece becoming a 4 piece.
My rule of thumb with money spent on fly fishing: top of the line fly-line and backing, reel can be big money or small money as long as it has a rim control option (exposed spool), then the rod is at the bottom of the list as far as investment
If you want to become a fly caster (as opposed to a fly fishermen) then the rod expense increases. Don't ever confuse "spey" casting with fly fishing---contrary to what the cool guys would like to think, it's a method of delivering a fly out into the water, not necessaily a method to maximize your chances for catching a fish on a fly.
That's a long way of saying...."there ain't nothing wrong with a $ 60 fly rod..., but get a good quality modern fly line to go with it..."
My rule of thumb with money spent on fly fishing: top of the line fly-line and backing, reel can be big money or small money as long as it has a rim control option (exposed spool), then the rod is at the bottom of the list as far as investment
If you want to become a fly caster (as opposed to a fly fishermen) then the rod expense increases. Don't ever confuse "spey" casting with fly fishing---contrary to what the cool guys would like to think, it's a method of delivering a fly out into the water, not necessaily a method to maximize your chances for catching a fish on a fly.
That's a long way of saying...."there ain't nothing wrong with a $ 60 fly rod..., but get a good quality modern fly line to go with it..."
Thanks Sharp hooks
I guess what you are saying is that the rod is the least important part of the puzzle. I would not have guessed that. I would have thought that the rod would have been one of the most important parts. Hard to know what to look for. Steelhead are my main target with this rod but I would like to be able to also us it on salmon but that is definitely secondary.
Angus
I guess what you are saying is that the rod is the least important part of the puzzle. I would not have guessed that. I would have thought that the rod would have been one of the most important parts. Hard to know what to look for. Steelhead are my main target with this rod but I would like to be able to also us it on salmon but that is definitely secondary.
Angus
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
A reasonably proficient caster who knows how to do a double-haul to build up line speed and understands the concept of what "loading" a rod tip means, can pretty much get a fly out into steelhead holding water with ANY fly rod, whether it's a $ 50 Fenwick beater or a $ 1,000 Sage boasting proprietary resins and high modulus aerospace-grade carbon fibers.
It helps to have a good quality fly line with a slick coating and the grains laid out in the proper place to get that fly out into the river, though, and if you're lucky enough to hook-up, it's nice to have a half decent fly reel to fight the fish on---I mentioned rim-control because no matter how good or bad your drag system is, an exposed rim that you can "feather" with your palm is a very efficient way to slow down a fish.
The rod--- if I was going to buy just ONE rod to cover both steelhead and salmon as you mentioned, I'd go for a 8/9 or a 9/10 rather then the 7/8 you brought up
I have broken two fly rods on fish---both were trout rods or light steelhead rods (6/7) that I used on salmon because I was too lazy to go get a proper (heavier) weight rod.
An 8/9 will give you way more flexibility if you want one rod to cover several different bases---Or you can go drink the typical fly-fisherman Kool aid that I ended up drinking--- buy a different rod for every possible fly fishing scenario until your entire house is filled with rods...
good luck, and don't think you need a specialized rod, "spey" rod, or any piece of equipment that costs a pile of money to fly fish for steel.
The young turks these days all think they need the latest and greatest technology to chase these fish. You absolutely do not, and you can save yourself lots of money by picking up the equipment they discard in their endless search for the "ultimate" next best thing...
It helps to have a good quality fly line with a slick coating and the grains laid out in the proper place to get that fly out into the river, though, and if you're lucky enough to hook-up, it's nice to have a half decent fly reel to fight the fish on---I mentioned rim-control because no matter how good or bad your drag system is, an exposed rim that you can "feather" with your palm is a very efficient way to slow down a fish.
The rod--- if I was going to buy just ONE rod to cover both steelhead and salmon as you mentioned, I'd go for a 8/9 or a 9/10 rather then the 7/8 you brought up
I have broken two fly rods on fish---both were trout rods or light steelhead rods (6/7) that I used on salmon because I was too lazy to go get a proper (heavier) weight rod.
An 8/9 will give you way more flexibility if you want one rod to cover several different bases---Or you can go drink the typical fly-fisherman Kool aid that I ended up drinking--- buy a different rod for every possible fly fishing scenario until your entire house is filled with rods...
good luck, and don't think you need a specialized rod, "spey" rod, or any piece of equipment that costs a pile of money to fly fish for steel.
The young turks these days all think they need the latest and greatest technology to chase these fish. You absolutely do not, and you can save yourself lots of money by picking up the equipment they discard in their endless search for the "ultimate" next best thing...
Last edited by a moderator:
kunni
Active Member
http://www.alekasports.com/category/102/fly-rods
check these rods out, I have the A8 on the way, definitely not a high end rod but they dont seem too bad. They have a bunch of computer generated reviews on there website, but I have found a few "real reviews" and they feedback is decent. They ship from the USA, made abroad in china. Worth a look, my rod should be arriving in a couple of days so I will put a review of it up. They claim to use the ARC technology, the same found in Scott fly rods. I am skeptical, but I will just have to see.
Kunni
check these rods out, I have the A8 on the way, definitely not a high end rod but they dont seem too bad. They have a bunch of computer generated reviews on there website, but I have found a few "real reviews" and they feedback is decent. They ship from the USA, made abroad in china. Worth a look, my rod should be arriving in a couple of days so I will put a review of it up. They claim to use the ARC technology, the same found in Scott fly rods. I am skeptical, but I will just have to see.
Kunni
Last edited by a moderator:
kunni
Active Member
Check out this steal of a deal! Yikes you could pick up a sage vxp for this price.
http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/Handmade-in-Victoria-fly-fishing-rod_21128317
Kunni
http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/Handmade-in-Victoria-fly-fishing-rod_21128317
Kunni
Last edited by a moderator:
That wasn't the used deal I was thinking of. It's probably a good rod but it is a lot more than I was looking for. Many of the places I like to fish are very over grown so I am thinking of a switch rod. I think the ability to fish it one handed is great and I think I might want to be able to cast two handed as well. I don't want a spey rod but thinking of switch maybe. This does go against what sharp hooks advised on the casting. I like his thinking on getting a 8/9 but I'm also open to getting it in switch. At this point anyway. I fished my 5 weight for cutthroats on sunday and spent a lot of time retrieving my line from the bushes behind me.
Similar threads
