My dad surprised me with this really nice reel my brother and I gifted him back in the late 90’s/early 2000’s ish. He doesn’t fish anymore and I’ve been really into trout fishing over the past year or so. Have plenty of ultralight spinning and bass setups. I’m clueless to fly fishing and looking for recommendations on an inexpensive beginner rod to pair it with and practice. I’ll eventually buy something nicer once I get a better grasp of the sport. The creeks and rivers I generally fish are usually on the smaller side with lots of brush and cover although I do plan on fishing some wider bigger rivers as I progress. Should I be looking at something in the 7 foot range or will I be better off just getting a 9 foot to start? What would pair well with this reel as far as weight is concerned?
Thanks in advance for helping a noobie out.
Posted by ULTRAAF414
7 Comments
That’s a 5-7 weight reel so you should get something you can target both bass and trout on, I would look at the options by steffen bros and Graywolf rods. Skip the starter rod, get something nice in the mid price range. Worst case scenario you come back to sell it on here in a couple months but atleast then you’ll get some bucks for it where as with a beginner rod you won’t. Consider it an investment in your health and well being.
Edit: both are out of stock right now but I did find this ~ https://moonlitflyfishing.com/products/moonlit-lunarglass?variant=46734371389663
tfo rods or ovis clearwater 5wt
Dude hell yeah. Get a TFO or Orvis 9 foot 5 weight rod that is in your budget. Either of those will keep you happy for a long time.
TFO, Orvis, and Reddington are good places to start. If you’re confident you’ll be getting into the sport, a 9ft 5wt Sage might be a good fit for that reel. For small streams you’ll want a 7’6″ rod, most likely. Maybe makes sense to get a real budget or used 7’6″ and spend bigger on the 9ft down the line.
I will always Stan the reddington wrangler as a great 5wt starter rod. Orvis has good stuff too!
The Reddington Classic Trout is a great value at about $175. Not sure if that’s too steep, but I really like mine. I believe that reel is for 5-7 weight line, so I’d go with the classic 9ft 5wt. Not exactly ideal for really brushy creeks (I would be going for a shorter 3wt in that case), but you can make it work, and the extra length over say a 7.5ft rod can actually be helpful in reaching over brush.
Edit: Orvis Clearwater is also a good option and their warranty is great.
This may or may not attract a lot of criticism, but I think the Reddington vice is a great rod for the price, especially if you’re just starting out and can throw a tight loop with it and it’s pretty forgiving. I have a 6wt and I keep it in my car. I’ll probably fish that more than my expensive rods. if you can get over the green color, it’s really good. Here’s a pretty good video. https://youtu.be/pBzU-pHP7N4?si=MguCq_GF_onFdSmY