Redington Vice opinions?

[Otter]

Looking for opinions on the Vice in a 6wt, either 9' or 9'6". Main use would be for beach fishing SRCs and pinks; secondary use as an all-purpose river trout rod (dries, nymphs, and small streamers).
I saw these sticks in a shop today, but they don't have any place for test casting. I hate to buy a rod without casting it first, but hearing experienced opinions might change that.
Thanks very much in advance, people!
Otter

 

[IHFISH]

No experience with the 6wts, but I have a 590 Vice. I like it much better with lines like SA MPX and Titan than the RIO mainstream it's sometimes sold with. I have these lines in 6wt only so that's what I use on it, but I think 5wts would be fine. It is fast, light and a cannon with the right line, but doesn't have a lot of feel and isn't especially "fun" to fish. Bottom line, I think it is a pretty good river streamer/SRC rod with the right line for the price point, but nothing exceptional. I don't recommend it as a first fly rod or a dry fly rod and typically fish other rods, but it has served me well recently throwing frog gurglers on local bass ponds and swinging cone head muddlers in the river.

 

[Otter]

Thanks very much, IHFISH. I appreciate your experience with the way the Vice casts, how it feels, suggested lines, and where you fish with it. Excellent info!
I looked up the grain weights for the MPX and Titan; they are half a size and two sizes heavy, respectively. It's interesting that your 5 wt. Vice likes a 6 wt. Titan, which weighs as an 8 wt. line.
Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[SSPey]

I have briefly thrown the 4 wt and 9 wt. Both are stiff rods that require an aggressive casting stroke, but are not really powerful blanks down low, just stiff.

As to the SA Titan 6 wt line being an 8 wt … not really. It has only a 33.5’ head, basically a shooting head taper (with integrated shooting line). Uplining 2-3 wts is standard and appropriate for shooting heads.

For example, I tried 375 grain 30’ Rio Outbound shooting heads on the 9 wt Vice, and still found the rod a bit stiff for my tastes - workable, but work. These 375 grain heads are just a bit heavy on the 9 wt rods that I normally fish.

 

[Otter]

Thanks for your input, SSPey. The need for an aggressive casting stroke doesn't really thrill me and my old joints.

As to the Titan's weight, I'm familiar with uplining rods and casting shooting heads, but I also find it very useful to use the AFFTA standards, which lists the weights of the first 30' of any line. SA lists their Titan 6wt. at 210 grains, for the first 30'. The AFFTA standard for a line of 210 gr. for the first 30' is 8wt. If interested, here are links:

Mastery Titan Fly Line | Scientific Anglers

The Mastery Titan fly line is designed with a short, aggressive head to turn over the largest flies. It's the best fly line for big flies. Period.

www.scientificanglers.com

Standard Fly Line Weight Charts

Standard Fly Line Weight Charts: AFFTA Approved Fly Line Weight Specifications Standard Fly Line Weight Charts give us parameters for specific fly line sizes. We have listed the fly line weights as they relate to actual weight of the fly line in grains or grams. This is a measure of the weight...

www.murraysflyshop.com

 

[Stonedfish]

Thanks for your input, SSPey. The need for an aggressive casting stroke doesn't really thrill me and my old joints.

As to the Titan's weight, I'm familiar with uplining rods and casting shooting heads, but I also find it very useful to use the AFFTA standards, which lists the weights of the first 30' of any line. SA lists their Titan 6wt. at 210 grains, for the first 30'. The AFFTA standard for a line of 210 gr. for the first 30' is 8wt. If interested, here are links:

Mastery Titan Fly Line | Scientific Anglers

The Mastery Titan fly line is designed with a short, aggressive head to turn over the largest flies. It's the best fly line for big flies. Period.

www.scientificanglers.com

Standard Fly Line Weight Charts

Standard Fly Line Weight Charts: AFFTA Approved Fly Line Weight Specifications Standard Fly Line Weight Charts give us parameters for specific fly line sizes. We have listed the fly line weights as they relate to actual weight of the fly line in grains or grams. This is a measure of the weight...

www.murraysflyshop.com

210 g is actually on the lighter side for 6 wt integrated head lines. A lot of them are in the 230-240 range.
Any decent 6 wt rod will have no trouble handle any of those weights.
SF

 

[Long_Rod_Silvers]

The vice is a very solid rod for the price IMO. Have used the 9' 6wt and liked it enough to think about buying it as a backup streamer rod. Ended up not because I already have enough 6wts (including ones that could be a backup), but it is a descent rod. It doesn't have a ton of feel, but that's probably expected at the price point.

 

[Otter]

Thanks very much for your assessment, Long Rod Silver.

It's sounding like the Vice is mainly good for chucking stuff out some distance, which is good for the beach. I was hoping it could also be decent for dries and nymphs on the river. I'm sure there are rods capable of handling such a wide range of conditions, but I'm also sure that those will cost more than my budget could handle. But I'll keep up the search.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[Sageguy]

I've had a number of Vice rods over the years. I have 5100, 596, 590 and 890 currently. I have fished the 690, 696, 796, 7100 and 8100. Great rods for their price. They are fast action but great for nymphing and also dry flies subject to your casting experience and style. Go for them.