Help me choose a fly rod and reel

ghostguy6 · #1 11-01-2009, 03:51 PM

I think its about time I broke down and leaned to flyfish. Im looking at getting a decent fly rod and reel. From what I have read online Im thinking a medium action 5 wt., 4 piece rod would be good since Im looking for something packable to target trout.

What would be a good brand to get that wont break the bank? Im hoping Ill be able to get one on sale at WSS's grand opeing this week.
Thanks

dekker59 · #2 11-01-2009, 05:35 PM

I found my TFO for under $100, and paired it with a pflueger trion for $80. Love the setup.

kinwahkly · #3 11-01-2009, 05:55 PM

I got a sage launch 6wt 4 pc, with a flueger reel, good combo

tonyflyfish · #4 11-01-2009, 07:28 PM

ditto on the sage launch but I hear lots of good things about the TFO. Especially the warranty!

honker_clonker · #5 11-01-2009, 07:36 PM

I got a TFO 4 pc 5 weight and love it. I think its a fast action. It has a green blank and a light colored wood insert on the handle. I put a okuma integrity reel on it and its dynamite. Really light mid arbor reel which has handled trout of all sizes for me. Fairly low on the $ scale to boot.

Doc · #6 11-01-2009, 07:59 PM

TFO makes a great entry level rod. Their LK signature series is a medium fast action and casts fairly well. The Trion reel by pflueger is also a great reel for the money although a bit heavy. If you want to step up to a top end rod without the top end price, I'd give the Amundson Wind Warrior a look. A new rod on the market by a Canadian company and it casts like a rocket (better than my St Croix Legend Ultra imo). Jack from Amundson will be at the WSS grand opening, maybe ask him if you can cast one.

Cheers,
Doc

nick0danger · #7 11-01-2009, 08:44 PM

Amundson is canadian owned made in Korea rods, but they are canons, used many of em, my Buddie brunsie is on there pro staff.

ghostguy6 · #8 11-01-2009, 09:02 PM

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I have an idea of what to try out now. I think Im leaning towards a TFO.

Justflyfish4eva · #9 11-01-2009, 09:09 PM

tfo rods are great rods to start w/t, break a section, and you can get a new section for 30 bucks.
If your be tossing streamers and big nymph rigs. i would go w/t a 6 wt.

slingshotz · #10 11-01-2009, 10:23 PM

I have a TFO 4wt paired with an Amundson 3/4/5 reel and they are sweet together. I'm extra impressed with how good the reel is for the low price, picked up the reel at Army & Navy of all places as they are one of Amundson's dealers.

4D7 · #11 11-01-2009, 11:02 PM

From what I hear there's a local that makes custom fly rods at a very reasonable price. If your planning on waiting till spring I would recommened getting one. His line of rods is called pieroway. I've seen a couple of his rods that a forum member has and its wicked. I'm definitely getting one next year. The fact that u can custom it is pretty sweet

Justflyfish4eva · #12 11-02-2009, 11:17 AM

I do have to say I am really impressed w/t the Amundsom gear. their reels are cheep, and work great. I do like my dannielson, and loop reels. but for the price, there is not a big difference you are going to notice, Wholesale sells Amundson kits. in what wt you want. think just under 2 bills. and so does army and navy, and they have some better prices than wholesale. the problem is then you can have my experience, went to army and navy, some old guy that knew nothing about flyfishing helped me and sold me a whole set up. for my first rod I had an 8wt. little did i know at the time was way over kill for what I wanted to do. used that for a whole season, trying to throw little drys to real skitish trout. I hooked a couple, still have that rod though.

bloom · #13 11-02-2009, 04:21 PM

Check out Amundson. The rep (Jack) will be at the Grand Opening of WSS in Edmonton, so hit him up to cast some rods.

Both rods and reels and good quality for the low price.

rustynailz · #14 11-02-2009, 04:38 PM

Define "break the bank", and are you including rod and reel and line for that price? What about flies, leaders, etc? Things can add up in a hurry and if you have a budget make sure you factor them in.

If you want to spend less than say $300 on the rod and reel, I think TFO is pretty tough to beat for the rod (esp if you want a 4 piece). If you're willing to head north of that mark, then you should start considering Sage, etc.

I don't know what part of the province you're in, but if you're north of Red Deer a 6 or maybe even an 8 would be worth considering. A 5 weight is a little on the light side for larger rivers if you're just getting started, and if you gun up a bit you can fish for pike and cast some heavier sinking lines for fishing larger lakes.

The odds of anyone who gets into flyfishing half seriously owning just one rod is pretty much zero.

notagoodtroutfisher · #15 11-02-2009, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustynailz

Define "break the bank", and are you including rod and reel and line for that price? What about flies, leaders, etc? Things can add up in a hurry and if you have a budget make sure you factor them in.

If you want to spend less than say $300 on the rod and reel, I think TFO is pretty tough to beat for the rod (esp if you want a 4 piece). If you're willing to head north of that mark, then you should start considering Sage, etc.

I don't know what part of the province you're in, but if you're north of Red Deer a 6 or maybe even an 8 would be worth considering. A 5 weight is a little on the light side for larger rivers if you're just getting started, and if you gun up a bit you can fish for pike and cast some heavier sinking lines for fishing larger lakes.

The odds of anyone who gets into flyfishing half seriously owning just one rod is pretty much zero.

True, do your research on a start up rod. 6 wt would probably be the best as it would allow you to cast streamers and drys if you had extra spools. I have 3 rods and I am having more built

ghostguy6 · #16 11-02-2009, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4D7

From what I hear there's a local that makes custom fly rods at a very reasonable price. If your planning on waiting till spring I would recommened getting one. His line of rods is called pieroway. I've seen a couple of his rods that a forum member has and its wicked. I'm definitely getting one next year. The fact that u can custom it is pretty sweet

I called this morning, James ( I think) was supposed to email me some pics of the rods he has in stock. Pieroway seems like a pretty good deal and they are only 3 hours away.

DuckBrat · #17 11-02-2009, 10:13 PM

I was offered a pro deal on a Redington CPX this spring and was more than pleasantly surprised by the supple yet powerful casting. Not that this matters but they are very appealing to look at and I am comfortable with any size of fish on the end of them. I lost very few if any this year using it. I had a 10 foot 7 weight... good times. A good all round weight to go with though would be a #6 in 9 foot for both lake and river without spending an arm and a leg on multiple rods. Good luck.

Wes_G · #18 11-02-2009, 11:00 PM

-1 for TFO, stands for To F^%# 'in Often, as in how much they break. Its a good thing they have a warranty, you'll need it.

notagoodtroutfisher · #19 11-03-2009, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostguy6

I called this morning, James ( I think) was supposed to email me some pics of the rods he has in stock. Pieroway seems like a pretty good deal and they are only 3 hours away.

Thats awesome. You will love the rod(s). If your ever in the area and you would like to try out some of his other ones let me know as I have a few.

Kingfisher · #20 11-03-2009, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckBrat

I was offered a pro deal on a Redington CPX this spring and was more than pleasantly surprised by the supple yet powerful casting. Not that this matters but they are very appealing to look at and I am comfortable with any size of fish on the end of them. I lost very few if any this year using it. I had a 10 foot 7 weight... good times. A good all round weight to go with though would be a #6 in 9 foot for both lake and river without spending an arm and a leg on multiple rods. Good luck.

I also own one of the Reddington CPX. Very nice rod for the price. I got the 9'6" 5wt. It casts very nice and is a great rod for rivers or lakes. I have a lot of rods and this past year I used the CPX as much as my 5wt Z axis. One thing you'll notice right off the bat with the CPX is that they use really good components compared to Sage. Their cork is probably twice as good as Sage. (Not that it's hard to beat theirs). Don't get me wrong I like my Sage rods. But for the price I know they could do much better with their cork and components.

For an entry level rod I'd say go with either a TFO or an Amundson. They do have good guarantee's and good entry level rods. Make sure you give one a shake to see how they feel. If they feel good to you then that's all that matters.

Rob

G. Pieroway · #21 11-14-2009, 08:06 PM

Hello All,
I just wanted to take some time out here to thank everyone for your kind words and for waving my flag this summer. we've been working hard for many years now to put together a great line of blanks and components that we mill for fly fishermen and women like yourselves. As many of you know, I spend a great deal of time on my wood lathe, covered in cork dust and wood chips and perhaps I don't spend enough time on the forums to be more vocal and visible. Perhaps we are too quiet of a fly rod company. Certainly we spend very little on marketing so your words resonate massively and add fuel to our cause. Now that winter is setting in and my inventory of finished rods is once again on the rise i am able to get my head up to chat with some of you one-on-one to get valuable feedback. I love reading your PMs and emails and seeing the wonderful pictures that you have taken with the rods far and wide. The rods are like those little gnomes that end up in pictures with the oddest/most beautiful spots. I wish i was my fly rod so i could be there instead. Of course, that's not the way it goes...as rod builders are cursed/blessed to the workbench. Nevertheless, I'll be sure to get the pictures up on the site and facebook page for everyone to see. It's those pictures and hearing about your experiences that keep me at this craft year after year. This summer, things got super busy at pierowayrods and the lathe was humming full tilt and at first i couldn't figure it out. Now I know it's because of people like you. I thank you deeply for your continuing support. Please call any time. I love to hear from from the field.

Geoff Pieroway

"Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead