Official Beach Rod Thread

I like 9’6” or 10’, six and seven weights.

My first beach rod was an older 7wt 10’ IMX. Since then I’ve collected a plethora of fast action 6 and 7’s from a variety of manufacturers.

My go to currently is a Beulah G2 Platinum 6wt 9’6”. Love it, but am also tempted by that 696 IMX Pro on the classifieds!
 
Merle said:
I like 9’6” or 10’, six and seven weights.

My first beach rod was an older 7wt 10’ IMX. Since then I’ve collected a plethora of fast action 6 and 7’s from a variety of manufacturers.

My go to currently is a Beulah G2 Platinum 6wt 9’6”. Love it, but am also tempted by that 696 IMX Pro on the classifieds!
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Day and night, probably, but I had a 5100 IMX Pro that I loved. I beadheaded the tip about 10-inches down.
 
Rod depends on the conditions/species. Corbina season it's 5wt. winston blx. In the protected bays it's a 9ft. orvis 7wt. zero gravity. when wind kicks up or Blind casting and bigger fish like halibut it's 7wt. 11ft. beulah opal two hander.
 
Compared to a 9', the only thing a 9'6" got me was more swing weight and fatigue. I don't think the extra length transfers to a longer cast or keeping my fly off the beach during the backcast. My limited experience with a Lost Coast Outfitters beach rod suggests that maybe a longer two-handed rod may have a place in the quiver but I'm so far so good with the single-handers.

Current favorite: Echo Boost Blue 9' 6wt, but I'm really liking the Echo 84b 6wt from the beach as well; it's got even less swing weight and no noticeable difference in distance than the 9'. I look forward to trying the TFO Axiom II-X 6wt that's waiting for me.
 
Here’s what I own and have fished in the last two years:

PNW Beach:
9’ 6wt Burkie Sea Trout
8’4” 6wt Scott Sector

Warm Beach:
9’ 7wt Sage Igniter
8’4” 8wt Scott Sector
9’ 9wt Sage Igniter
9’ 9wt T&T Sextant
8’10 11wt Scott Sector

Here’s what my son used to fish before he went to the dark side:

9’ 6wt Echo Boost Blue
9’ 6wt Echo Ion XL
9’ 8wt Echo EPR
 
I've always been contrarian with these things....right now? I can't take my hands off my Steffen 8' 8/9. It's light, easy to cast with anything from 6-9wt lines, just a blast. I've had fun catching anything from streamer trout up to carp in fresh up to skipjack and Aussie salmon in the salt....so yeah, I'd go with that. line would probably be dependent on what I was targeting but I really like it with shooting heads around 240-270gr even though it'll handle up to 350gr pretty easily.
 
J Watrous said:
PNW Beach:
9’ 6wt Burkie Sea Trout
8’4” 6wt Scott Sector

Warm Beach:
9’ 7wt Sage Igniter
8’4” 8wt Scott Sector
9’ 9wt Sage Igniter
9’ 9wt T&T Sextant
8’10 11wt Scott Sector
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show-off.... :LOL:
 
clarkman said:
I've always been contrarian with these things....right now? I can't take my hands off my Steffen 8' 8/9. It's light, easy to cast with anything from 6-9wt lines, just a blast. I've had fun catching anything from streamer trout up to carp in fresh up to skipjack and Aussie salmon in the salt....so yeah, I'd go with that. line would probably be dependent on what I was targeting but I really like it with shooting heads around 240-270gr even though it'll handle up to 350gr pretty easily.
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See? You could have a garage full of fly fishing shit, but instead you blow it on trips to Australia.

Damnit! Yours sounds better again.
 
My current Coho rod is a 9' 7wt TFO Blitz that I'm absolutely in love with. If you can get over the bright green exterior, it is light in the hand, fast, and I was confidently casting 95% of my SA Titan 7wt Int/3/5 (before it disintegrated). I can also vouch for TFO's warranty as I broke the Blitz a few weeks after I got it (my fault, grabbed the rod above the cork while beaching a salmon) and TFO replaced the 2 sections I broke free of cost with no hassle. I also have an Echo Boost Blue 6wt that is my coho backup and my main SRC rod, but we will see if the TFO Axiom 2x 6wt I picked up a few weeks ago will take the crown as I have yet to fish it.
 
clarkman said:
I've always been contrarian with these things....right now? I can't take my hands off my Steffen 8' 8/9. It's light, easy to cast with anything from 6-9wt lines, just a blast. I've had fun catching anything from streamer trout up to carp in fresh up to skipjack and Aussie salmon in the salt....so yeah, I'd go with that. line would probably be dependent on what I was targeting but I really like it with shooting heads around 240-270gr even though it'll handle up to 350gr pretty easily.
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Nothing wrong with that! You are not contrarian at all. Think the ECHO 84 series of single hand rods or the Meiser 909 series of 2 hand rods. Someone mentioned no real value 9ft. to 9'6". Well that 9'6" 90% chance has a 1" butt. if you add 3" more handle making a standard 4" switch rod handle you get 9'9" just like that Meiser 909 series....surprise surprise!
 
My main beach (Puget Sound) rod for poking around is the 691 TCR. Basically a 7 weight or a strong ass 6 weight. This and my fresh water adventurer the 691XP are exploratory rods for a lack of better word. Just fun to fish with and can handle many surprised fish on line if needed. 😉
 
I just ran through a mental inventory of rods I’ve accumulated as “PS Beach” rods over the last 25 or so years, here’s what I came up with:

Loomis IMX 1207-2 (7wt / 10')

Redington CPX 9664 S

Sage TCX 697-4 (6wt / 9'6")

Sage xi2 690-4

Beulah Platinum G2 696-4

Echo Ion XL 7100-4

Sage Z-Axis 7100-4

Redington Predator 9664

I’ve not really fished the Ion XL, but among the others my favs have been the Redington CPX and the Beulah as mentioned earlier.

The TCX and Xi2 were a bit too stiff and fast for my liking and casting skills.

I would like to get a Boost Blue in 6 weight after hearing such great things about them. I just wish it came in a 9’6” or 10’ length.
 
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The thing with the tcx and the tcr is they basically run smooth with A 7.5 type line weight. After many years of fishing with the TCr I have the 6 weight dialed in addition n a 240 grain floater and a Airflo 265 intermediate.
 
Any reports on the 690 Echo Ion XL? Seems to be the bottom end of the current production rod options.
 
MarshRat said:
Any reports on the 690 Echo Ion XL? Seems to be the bottom end of the current production rod options.
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It’s as good a rod as it ever was, it’s jus been eclipsed by rods that are lighter, recover quicker, track straighter, lift a fish or line better, and punch harder into the wind.

It’s got a pretty nice medium to medium fast action, and my son loved his on calmer days.
 
How about the Redington Vice 690? Any comparisons to TFO or Echo?

I noticed the Vice 690S is listed at 3.4oz, whereas the Ion XL 690 is 4.7 oz.
 
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