Taneycomo Night/Fall rod discussion

[vanven]

I have an Orvis TLS 9' 5wt rod and Orvis Battenkill mid arbor reel that I fish during the day.

I am looking for another rod to bring out at night and during the fall when the odds of hooking into a big fish are a bit higher. My Orvis handles most situations great but there have been times at night when I could almost touch the tip on my nose it was bent over so far. I am looking for a 7 or 8 weight that has a bit more backbone for landing bigger fish and tossing bigger flies.

This will likely be a rod/reel combo that wont get more than 10 nights a year use. I would like to keep the cost reasonable, say $300 for starters for the combo. Any suggestions?

My wife has an 8'6" 5wt TFO that we both like a lot. I forget the model, but it is one of the women's rods with the cancer ribbon. That makes TFO is an option. I am also looking at some of the low end Sage rods like the Launch.

Requirements:

4 piece for travel purposes.

Less than $300 for rod and reel.

6 to 8 weight

I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions.

-Jerod

[Kansas Fly Fisher]

I don't think you could go wrong with a TFO. I've got a nice Sage 5 wt and a couple of TFO's. For the money, the TFO is a superior rod. I took one of their 7 weights to Alaska with me and it didn't have any problems with the sockeyes!

John

[Danoinark]

The Rod made for the ladies casting for recovery Vanven is the TFO professional series. I think they are in the neighborhood of 139 bucks, and would be considered a medium/fast action. The TFO 7wt Pro's are nice. Dano

[Zach Bearden]

Hrmmm something that you might consider if you like fishing a sink tip is a Mill Creek rod that is 80 for the whole package. I fish it with a Bass pro reel and a SA line with 10ft sink tip for big trout and mediocre sized stripers. Its a great rod has enough backbone to turn a nice fish around with a heavy tippet. So that could be an option, if anyone has anything feedback wise about this rod I would love to hear it. thanks

[vanven]

So far a little less discussion than I had hoped for

-Jerod

[Terry Beeson]

OK... I'll bite...

I have two 9 ft TFO 8wt rods. One is a Professional and one is an IM6. I like both rods, but the Pro is the one I pull out the most. It's a 4 piece vs. the 2 pc IM6. Both are good rods for the money for sure.

I wouldn't take anything less than an 8 wt (some may say 7 and even 6) in the fall at night. Usually, you'll be casting big streamers and will need something to get them out there a bit. And if that big fish gets on, you'll appreciate the bigger rod. But I've landed bigger fish on my 4 wt as well.

As for brand, I would say it doesn't make a big difference on brand as long as you have something you like to cast and can do so at night. For anyone who has not cast a fly in the dark, it is totally different in feel for sure... That's the thing... it's totally by feel with no visual. You may think you don't watch your casts in the daylight, but just close your eyes and keep 'em shut from the beginning of one cast to the middle of the next... You'll see what I mean. It's ALL by feel.

OK... I digress... Anyway... Brand, again, is a personal preference, but I would stick with something reliable and that you really like to cast. So, (here is that echo again...) go to your local fly shop (or several fly shops) and talk to the guys there and get them to let you cast several to choose from. Don't buy one just because Leonard, Michael, or a host of guys - even me - on here use them. Try those out along with others not mentioned and get the one that fits YOU best...

(Did I say Echo?... Hey, Michael... Tell Harvey I want compensation for subliminal advertising... )

[Steve Dally]

Lot of choice between 6-8wts.

I don't think Ive found a trout I couldn't deal with on a 6wt. The main reason to go heavier would be fly size, BIG streamers etc etc. Then again if your a superlative caster you can probably deal with that too. If your mortal like me a heavier rod makes bigger flies easier.

Next question what tippet size. You would need way softer hands than me to fish 6x on an 8wt, 6x on a 6wt can be stretching it too.

Another consideration is what else you might fish with this outfit rather than only dragging it out at night. Look at other fishing options.

A 6 can be a great white bass/smallie stick, plus do double duty on high water nymphing or streamer fishing during the day

If you think you might do more largemouth fishing, or have some trips planned down towards the salt then you might think about its role there _ An 8wt can take you a lot of places.

Looking at the question this way might lead you to open up your budget another $100 or so. There is some very very nice rods just over your budget.

I would have been tempted to add the Scott A2 and Sage FLi both of which I rate extremely highly but both are in the mid to high 200s rod alone.

Anyway in your price range you have got many choices, all the TFOs, Sage Launch, Scott V2.

For me to get max-bang for your buck I'd be looking a lower priced reel. Ross Worldwide, which have pretty decent drags inherited from older ross models, reels will run 49-69 ish depending which model.

That's leaving you a $230 budget on a rod. Hence my suggestions. You mention backbone, which to my mind anyway excludes the softer rods like TFO Finesse's or similar.

I'd be looking for fast stiffish rod, TFO TiCr, their 6wt is very nice. The Launch's still have a decent backbone but a more moderate action if you prefer that.

If you get a chance come by the store and cast some different stuff and see which you might prefer.

Cheers

Steve

[Greg]

Just my .02 worth: I've got both a 6 and 7 wt rod but my 5 wt is more than good enough for me for night fishing. In fact I prefer it since it's what I'm used to and when you cast at night - I think it needs to be something you are familiar with since you are casting by feel and memory.

That being said I don't think it could be just any 5 wt that can handle both daytime and nighttime fishing at Taney. The rod can't be too stiff - or it can't protect the 6 and 7X tippets sometimes used in the daytime. But it has to have plenty of backbone to handle bigger fish and large flies.

A couple of 5 wts I have and that work well for both day and night are a St. Croix Avid (older model custom built). And a Sage Fli. I like the Avid a little better and use it 90% of the time. I just like the versatility of these rods. You can go from casting a #20 dry to slinging a weighted #8 streamer with no difficulty. I've caught a pretty fair # of 20" plus fish on both of these rods with no problem at all.

But I have to admit I'm a relative newbie to night fishing. So I'm certainly no expert in this regard - but so far I do prefer my old 5 wt to something heavier.

Greg

[Danoinark]

One other consideration is do you really want to take a 300 or even a 200 dollar rod on the steam at night with a danger of breaking a tip in the brush, car door, or getting it knicked when it falls on the ground and you step on it..I mean as Terry says it a whole different animal this fishing at night. I tend to take a cheaper in price rod, but with enough backbone to land a big fish. I have an old browning 8 weight that serves just that purpose. I also will fish my 6 wt with a 7wt line which tends to slow down the rod some, but still allows me to cut through any wind with a larger bug.

Dano

[John Berry]

I would recommend a seven weight. That is the point where most rod manufacturers add a fighting butt. Since you will be using big streamers and big tippets why not a fighting butt to be able to put some major pressure on the big trout and land him quick. I would opt for the TFO TiCrX. I bought Lori one the other day. Put an Orvis Battenkill on it and you have something.