need some help

[garypullings]

Hello all,

I am looking for a new rod and reel. I am selling all my baitcasting gear and tackle to pay for a new rod. What i want is something that I can use for the following fish: striper, carp, bass, steelhead.

I currently own a sage launch 6 wt, a orvis clearwater 4wt and a pac bay 5wt. I am finding out I like my sage a little more than my orvis. It seems to me that it is a little softer action and isn't so stiff in the tip section. I casted it the other day after about 6 months not using it and was casting by the load of the rod and that worked out pretty well for me. I am not an expert here in the larger rods so i am looking for some help here. I would like to keep the price around $400.00 or below if I could.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Gary

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Stripers: 9' boats and 9'6" wading? #7, 8 and 9 line rods

Steelhead: 9'-10' #7, 8 and 9 line rods

Bass: (LMB) 8'-9' #6, 7 and 8 line rods

Carp: ? 9' #7, 8 and 9 line rods?

They say you should buy what you think you would be using it for the most, just like a boat.

Sounds like you have a good 6 weight rod that would work for light steelhead and light bass situations.

I would probably get a 9' #8 line rod next.........extremely popular around here.

With a #4, 6 and 8 line rod you can pretty much do most all the fishing we have in these parts.

[garypullings]

what type of rod is more preferred, what brand? I am thinking of building my own rod on this one. Not sure though.

[Ed Wahl]

Gary, before you can build a rod to your own specs you're going to have to find out what those specs are. You can start with your target species.

Carp can be caught on most trout sized rods, you'll need to throw trout sized flies anyway, these fish are as picky and wary as any trout.

For Bass, you WILL be wanting to throw large Bass Bugs. Deer Hair, Foam, Balsa, doesn't really matter. What matters is that they're going to be large. A 6 will work for smaller flies but a 7 or 8 with the appropriate line will be a lot easier to cast and a lot easier on the arm. Action wise, it's up in the air. Some like fast action,(stiff) rods for the heavy Bass tapered line and some (like me) like to feel the fish all the way down to the handle.

For Stripers you're going to have to be able to throw long and sink deep. Faster actioned rods in 7 to 9wt are going to be needed. I recently became a believer in the faster actioned(doesn't flex very far down from the tip) rods. They do make a difference.

Only real advice I can give you is fish for these species enough to know what you want. Luckily for you, many members of this board fish for the same thing. Get out as much as you can, test cast as many rods as you can under actual fishing situations before you commit to building a one size fits all type rod.

There are plenty of inexpensive rods out there to fill out all your needs for under the 4oo.oo mark you've set. Unless you're really into the streamsided show and tell games they will do just fine. Ed

[Darian]

Not sure about where you live but you should go to your local fly shop and test cast a few rods/lines. If around Sacto, go to Kiene's shop. Not only can you test cast rods, you might just find that the name brand rods on sale are cheaper than building your own. Either way, make your own choice. :cool: One of the reasons that there're a bunch of name brand rod Mfr's is that everyone has their own favorite brand. :smirk: Pick a price/pick a brand. 8)

If you're adamant about building your own rod, might I suggest a TFO, Ticr, 4pc, 8 weight blank. TFO, also, puts out a "kit" that includes guides a reel seat and preformed grip (strippers, snakes, tip-top) for the blank. On the larger models, they include a short fighting butt. The action on a TFO, Ticr is fast. I've cast both, a 9 and 10 weight that I built and they're both cannon's. Both have proven to have enough backbone to tackle Roosters, Jack's, Black skipjack and medium sized Dorado without any breakage and I'm not easy on the drag when pulling on those fish. :unibrow: So, an 8 weight should perform well on the fish you're targeting.... ;) ;)

[fishinjohnny]

Darian, I'm going to be building a 7 wt. Is the Ticr faster than the Ticr-x.

[Darian]

My experience is limited to the Ticr model. It's very fast. I've read a few posts on Blanton's BB that describe the Ticr-x as slightly slower. However, those posters, also, felt that they liked the Ticr-x better. :|

I neglected to mention in my prior post that there's a guide spacement chart on the TFO website for all of their rod blanks. 8-)

One observation about the guide kits sold by TFO is that for the 9 weights and above, the snake guides appear to be light weight (referring to wire thickness). I had no trouble with them in saltwater use but have elected to buy some heavier wire and larger size snakes for the 9 weight blank. :nod: :nod: