Rod selection advice.

[JACO]

So… I bought my first rod / reel combo in November. An Echo Traverse 5wt. Recently I took a casting lesson, and learned a lot. MBased on my form, my instructor suggested that I consider a more medium action rod when buying another. I have been considering an Orvis Clearwater, or perhaps a Sage Vantage or Foundation. I’ve been thinking either a four or six weight to compliment my 5. Today I visited a different shop, and the expert told me that I have it all wrong. He says I need a faster action rod. Im pretty confused.

Now I know that I need to consider where and what kind of fishing I’ll be doing. The honest answer is I’m not sure / all types. I have reservations at Lake Pearrygin near Winthrop, The Metolius, Deception Pass SP, The Yakima River, and I want to do some SRC fishing in the South Sound.

Is there anyone out there interested in steering me in the right direction? Perhaps I should just practice with what I have and try to fight my G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

 

[jaredoconnor]

If you're going to buy something, I think you should buy something significantly different that can do things your current rod can't. For example, a euro, Spey or Tenkara rod.

 

[iveofione]

I'm in the Run What Ya Brung camp. This can be done by finding the line that brings your present rod alive, a poorly matched line can certainly make you feel like you need another rod.

Life can be tough for the gear whores as they chase their tail in pursuit of the latest and greatest. Every year new equipment will appear claiming quantum leaps in performance with an attendant higher price. To counter this tendency I drew a line in the sand at GPX lines in weight forward and 444 peach lines in DT. I bought GPX in 3,4,5 and 6wts to cover my bases and did a similar thing for the DT lines. Same with sinking lines, I tend to find one manufacturer that builds quality stuff and stick with them rather than hopping around between brands looking for some minute advantage.

For rods it is much the same as I buy from two companies and have about 5 rods from each one. I have others of course that I like equally as well but like the standardization of using the same family of rods.

I have solved the problem of not having the right line for the reel I'm using by buying 3 identical reel bodies and a total of 9 spools and 2 other identical reels with 5 spools. Both are out of production now with spools no longer available but 14 lines cover all the needs of the simple fishing I do. I will always believe that time on the water with modest equipment is far more valuable than high end equipment used sparingly. I see little evidence that fly fishing success can be easily bought, it is earned by experience.

I caught my first fish on a fly on July 28, 1951 and yet am still not a great caster nor do I own any high end equipment although I can afford it. But man-do I have a lot of fun!

 

[Buzzy]

Saturday, I had the opportunity to fish an Orvis 696 Helios F series strung with a Teeny T-series T-200 line. This rod/line combination casts so well it made me look like a great caster (I'm not). If I fished big rivers from a boat more often, I might be tempted to splurge.