If You Could Only Have One Fly Rod

[vanven]

My wife fishes a 9ft 5wt TFO Pro series rod. I like it and it casts well. She likes it as well and for an absolute beginner she swings the rod quite well. Last fishing trip she had a knot and wanted to change flies so she handed me her rod and I handed her mine. I fish a 9ft 5wt Sage Z-Axis with a Lamson reel.

She made one cast and looked at me rather upset. "#$*@* H @!@!#, OMG this @%$#%#$ rod, now I understand why you spent so much @%#^ money on it." I fished with her TFO for the next hour.

Expensive rods are expensive for a reason and in most cases they are worth the cost.

-Jerod

[Wayne SW/MO]

She made one cast and looked at me rather upset. "#$*@* H @!@!#, OMG this @%$#%#$ rod, now I understand why you spent so much @%#^ money on it." I fished with her TFO for the next hour.

And we thought you were smarter than that! :lol:

[Ham]

My wife fishes a 9ft 5wt TFO Pro series rod. I like it and it casts well. She likes it as well and for an absolute beginner she swings the rod quite well. Last fishing trip she had a knot and wanted to change flies so she handed me her rod and I handed her mine. I fish a 9ft 5wt Sage Z-Axis with a Lamson reel.

She made one cast and looked at me rather upset. "#$*@* H @!@!#, OMG this @%$#%#$ rod, now I understand why you spent so much @%#^ money on it." I fished with her TFO for the next hour.

Expensive rods are expensive for a reason and in most cases they are worth the cost.

-Jerod

Now you know what to get Her for Christmas. Keep the TFO as a loaner rod when friends come in from out of town.

[vanven]

Now you know what to get Her for Christmas. Keep the TFO as a loaner rod when friends come in from out of town.

I think she needs a Sage VT2 in maybe a 4wt for those summer days when the water is low and gin clear and the sun is high and you feel like you can see your 6x floro tippet from 30 feet away....

I love my Z-Axis. It is a very versitile rod that can handle almost every situation. It is light yet has enough backbone to throw streamers comfortably into a headwind all day long. I feel comfortable fishing it at night. It can handle light tippet quite well. It makes my Orvis rod feel like a broomstick. I think my next rod will be a 3 or 4 weight for those summer days when the odds of hooking into anything but a stocker are zero. It would be fun at Roaring River when Taney is washed out as well.

-Jerod

[Ham]

I've got a nice custom 3 weight flyrod that I won in a flyclub raffle. I've about decided it is too wimpy to be anything other than a chub rod. Like I said earlier, I've been thinking about a 4 weight, but maybe that's too wimpy as well. I really would NOT recommend a a 3 wt for anything other than small creek little brookie or cuttie fishing. I took a huge beatdown from a bunch of piggish trout at Rim Shoals with the 3 wt this year. The trout would just get down river from me and run/flop/wallow around until the barbless fly let go. I think I caught 5 out of about 20 that I had hooked and I'm quite sure they were the smallest fish of the bunch that I had hooked. Kinda bummed me out.

[Greg]

Well, I stopped by BPS today and found a rod I really liked. It's a Sage Launch 9' 5 wt, med-fast action 2 piece. I'm seeing them on ebay for less than $150 which is about half of what I expected to pay to begin with. It seems like a good beginner rod and I think I'll be going with it. There is also a 4 piece that's identical, but I really kind of like the 2 piece better...does someone want to talk me into the 4 piece?

Sadly the launch is being discontinued although it is still available now. Grab one while you can! It will be interesting to see what Sage replaces it with. I just hope they don't replace it with an ultrafast action rod. There just aren't that many rods out there with a sweet medium/fast action like the Launch. Especially not for a reasonable price.

I asked the guy about reels and he was really pushing the Lamson Konic 2 (5/6 wt), which I think was like $130. What do you guys think about that reel? Is that the right size or should I look for a little smaller one like a 4/5 wt? What other reels in that ballpark would you recommend?

He was also pushing the Rio Gold XS line. Any opinions on that? What are you guys' favorite lines? I definitely want something WF.

Eric I'm a fly fishing equipment junkie so I'll throw in my .02

I own a 5 wt Sage Launch and I absolutely love it. My 2nd favorite rod is a Sage SLT that cost about 3 times as much but I really prefer the launch. Even though it's not that expensive (compared to high end rods) - It's just a great all around rod. I'm old school and I do prefer 2 piece rods although the 4 piece is definitely a bit more convenient for travel. The 2 piece rods just seem to have a slightly more consistent and smoother action to me. Plus even the best ferrules are week points - I prefer to have 1 rather than multiple weak spots.

I have a Konic and its a very nice reel. Best drag I've ever used.

I don't think you can go wrong with the rio gold line. I slightly prefer SA's lines to Rio but both are very good. I think even their lower priced lines are pretty good.

Good luck,

Greg

[eric1978]

Thanks Greg. That makes me feel pretty good because I wound up with a Sage Launch, a Konic reel and Rio Gold line! The rod and line I bought online, so I haven't had a chance to play with my new toy yet. I think it will be a good beginner set-up and I'll let you all know how I do with it. Thanks for all the pointers, fellas. I'm sure I would have wound up making a bunch of mistakes and spent way more than necessary without all your help. OAF comes through again!

[vanven]

If I had a friend wanting to spend $300 on a solid setup that would last for years I would have recommended the exact setup you bought.

-Jerod

[catman]

My wife fishes a 9ft 5wt TFO Pro series rod. I like it and it casts well. She likes it as well and for an absolute beginner she swings the rod quite well. Last fishing trip she had a knot and wanted to change flies so she handed me her rod and I handed her mine. I fish a 9ft 5wt Sage Z-Axis with a Lamson reel.

She made one cast and looked at me rather upset. "#$*@* H @!@!#, OMG this @%$#%#$ rod, now I understand why you spent so much @%#^ money on it." I fished with her TFO for the next hour.

Expensive rods are expensive for a reason and in most cases they are worth the cost.

-Jerod

Those Z's are fine, I like my 8'6" 4wt 4pc

[fiveweight]

I think you got the right rod. I was going to respond that my choice in your situation would be a 5 wt, medium fast 9' rod. It's the best all-around trout rod and more than serviceable for smallies. I wouldn't have suggested a compromise between the two species because a 6 weight, while great for smallies and most trout, will be a little heavy to appreciate the gentle presentation of a dry fly. You might suffer a nominal hit on distance when casting heavier streamers and hair bugs but for the most part you can still do 90% of your smallie fishing right and enjoy your trout fishing 100%.

As for 2 vs 4 piece, I have never felt the difference when casting. I have both and appreciate the 4 piece for traveling even when just in a car because it fits so easily in my trunk. But When I've just driven several hours and can't wait to set up my rig and get going the 2 piece fits together a little bit faster.

Enjoy your new rod.