5 Wt Rod Recommendations

[jgrossi]

So I finally broke my first fly rod after 2 years of pretty heavy fishing and finally can justify buying a new replacement!

 

I was wondering if you guys could help me out and recommend any mid priced 5wt rods ($150-$400) that perform well? I am thinking more towards a moderate to moderate fast action rod for some versatility but any input would be appreciated 😌

[Sage]

Orvis Recon 5wt....brilliant rod. You can cast them at several shops in Calgary. Pieroway Element is also good value and a little slower than the Orvis Recon.

[Cutbow16]

I have the Orvis Recon as well in a 5 wt and I love it. It may be a little above your price range but its still a nice rod. The Orvis Clearwater is another medium-fast rod that performs great for the price. I know some guy's love the TFO BVK as well.

 

I'd suggest taking a look at the Yellowstone Angler's 5 weight shootout to get an idea about some of the different rods that are out there (http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/gear-review/2016-5-weight-shootout-fly-rod-review-5weightflyrodcomparison-new-fly-rods-best-all-around-fly-rod-g-loomisnrxlp-scott-radian-orvis-helios2-hardyzephrus-hardy-wraith-sagemod-sage-bolt-loop-optistream). And as Sage mentioned, don't buy a rod without casting it first!

[Brokentippet2]

don't buy a rod without casting it first!

X2

[jgrossi]

Awesome thanks guys. Will some shops actually stick some line on them and let you go cast outside to see if it fits your style?

[jgrossi]

Yea the recon looks to be a very nice rod I will have to check out.

Was also talking to a guy today that said fenwick rods have some pretty good bang for your buck, does anyone have any experience with this brand?

[Sage]

Awesome thanks guys. Will some shops actually stick some line on them and let you go cast outside to see if it fits your style?

 

I typically bring my own reel that I plan to pair with the rod for test casting, balance, weight and feel.

[Brokentippet2]

Awesome thanks guys. Will some shops actually stick some line on them and let you go cast outside to see if it fits your style?

Yes they will. I haven't found a shop in the city that wouldn't.

[bjlee]

Go to fish tales, I tried out 6 different 5 weight rods (like 3 weeks ago). Was in the same situation as you and broke my rod. I tried everything from 150 bucks to 800 bucks that they had in stock. Very patient staff, and very knowledgeable. I ended up getting the temple fork BVK and love it!

[SilverDoctor]

Try before you buy. A favourite of mine is the Loop Opti Stream. But everyone's taste in casting is different. Find something that suits you.

[BigFoamy]

My go to 5W/rod is a Temple Fork BVK. I have a couple G Loomis rods (4w and 6w) and a couple of Sage (6w and 8w) rods as well. You can get a BVK for less than half what you would pay for another NAME. I fished enough rods and over enough time to realize that no matter what rod you buy. You're going to go out and catch fish and have fun and love your rod. Maybe save some money for gas and food and flies

 

Im not pushing brand name, Im pushing price. in the grand scheme of things you'll love your rod regardless. I have both high and low price range rods and name brands. my go to is my 5w BVK unless I'm fishing the Bow with nymphs or streamers. then its a 6w StreamDance. if I didnt already have it, I would never buy it today. It cost almost triple the BVK

 

No matter what rod you buy, you're gonna brake it eventually and be without it and have to pay to get it fixed or replaced. Thats always time consuming and expensive as well, depending on the NAME you buy. You could buy 2 really god rods for the price of 1 really good rod, just saying. Having back up is good.

 

TRUST ME DUDE, YOU DO NOT NEED TO SPEND AN EXTRA 5-600 TO HAVE A NAME ON YOUR ROD. Unless its your own name and its a custom rod. I would spend the money but, only for a Bamboo at this point.

 

FISH CANT READ YOUR ROD AND DONT CARE HOW MUCH YOU SPEND if you can cast, you can cast any rod.

 

If I could start over again. I would save money for fly tying material and gas and food and knowledge. Time on the water is everything.

[Dangus]

The only aspect the bvk is limited in is it's fit and finish- Which shouldn't be ignored. If you have been fishing Shakespeare's your entire life, a tfo will feel like a dream. but if you've had any high end rods, it's kinda hard to get over the slightly cheap feel despite how nicely it casts.

If you've got the money burning a hole in your pocket, you'll be more proud of a higher end rod, but if you're slightly strapped, bvk is a good option. I'd say it's action is moderate-fast with it being on the fast side of that rating.

That being said, I think I paid around 300 for my sage fli's about 10 years ago, and I've always liked those rods.

So you can get a big name with good quality for similar price.

Another nice moderate action rod is the sage vxp, which is a few years old and may be able to find a used one in your price range.

[jgib01]

Orvis Recon 5wt....brilliant rod. You can cast them at several shops in Calgary. Pieroway Element is also good value and a little slower than the Orvis Recon.

 

I have a 6# Access, and like it. If I had a good excuse to get a 5'er, the Recon would definitely be in the running, as it seems to be quite an improvement from everything I've read. There is a bit of a sticker shock these days when looking at anything Orvis because of our dollar; but the same applies to any other US made/marketed stuff, and to a certain extent other brands priced on the USD for the North American market. If you are wanting to stay closer to the lower end of your budget, keep Redington in mind too. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like my son's Path, and our experience has been that their warranty service is awesome. That said, nothing beats the warranty experience of walking into TFO Calgary and leaving a few minutes later with a repaired rod in hand.

[BurningChrome]

I fished enough rods and over enough time to realize that no matter what rod you buy. You're going to go out and catch fish and have fun and love your rod. Maybe save some money for gas and food and flies

Then why didn't you save even more money and buy a rod for under $100 from Walmart or Canadian Tire instead of a BVK?

[BigFoamy]

Then why didn't you save even more money and buy a rod for under $100 from Walmart or Canadian Tire instead of a BVK?

What a shitty attitude man. Not everyone can or wants to afford a $600-1000$ twig. Shitting on people that appear to not have money is really weak. Im a humanitarian. IMO, you all have a chance to be good people. Your comment is so ignorant that its hard to digest. People shop at these stores because they have to or want to.

 

If I started flyfishing today, I may have had to. Thank god theres a price range for people that aren't you and well, people like uberfly. Not to mention they don't sell much fly fishing stuff.

 

Just for clarification, I dont feed the walmart machine, they running *hit!

 

I'll bet you and uber both shop there. You guys just saw an opportunity to *hit on someone and you did. nice work fellas!! you guys are awesome lol!!!

[BurningChrome]

What a shitty attitude man. Not everyone can or wants to afford a $600-1000$ twig. Shitting on people that appear to not have money is really weak. Im a humanitarian. IMO, you all have a chance to be good people. Your comment is so ignorant that its hard to digest. People shop at these stores because they have to or want to.

 

If I started flyfishing today, I may have had to. Thank god theres a price range for people that aren't you and well, people like uberfly. Not to mention they don't sell much fly fishing stuff.

 

Just for clarification, I dont feed the walmart machine, they running *hit!

 

I'll bet you and uber both shop there. You guys just saw an opportunity to *hit on someone and you did. nice work fellas!! you guys are awesome lol!!!

Yeah see, you missed my point. You said that any rod will catch fish and you'll love it. Yes any rod can catch fish but you will not necessarily love it, otherwise we wouldn't have so many different rods out there with very different actions and tapers. Your preference is for a BVK and that's cool. Other people have cast that rod and not liked it. Personally I hate all the new glass rods out there because they're too slow to suit my casting style but other people love them. On the other hand I bought a Sage Method a few years back because I liked the way it cast in the parking lot, but once I got it out on the water I totally hated fishing it because it was too stiff and didn't load well at short range. So, it's not all about buying the cheapest rod out there - if it were you could've bought something less expensive than the BVK - or even about buying the most expensive rod - if it were I'd still be fishing that Method - it's about buying the rod that best suits your casting style so that you'll enjoy using it. Luckily there are lots of different rods in different price ranges.

[BigFoamy]

The only aspect the bvk is limited in is it's fit and finish- Which shouldn't be ignored. If you have been fishing Shakespeare's your entire life, a tfo will feel like a dream. but if you've had any high end rods, it's kinda hard to get over the slightly cheap feel despite how nicely it casts.

If you've got the money burning a hole in your pocket, you'll be more proud of a higher end rod, but if you're slightly strapped, bvk is a good option. I'd say it's action is moderate-fast with it being on the fast side of that rating.

That being said, I think I paid around 300 for my sage fli's about 10 years ago, and I've always liked those rods.

So you can get a big name with good quality for similar price.

Another nice moderate action rod is the sage vxp, which is a few years old and may be able to find a used one in your price range.

I started fishing on a sage sp 6w. I have a Sage 8w FLI, G Loomis Streamdance 6w (great rod at not a great price), 4w GLX, had a sage one 6w (that i sold) I have casted expensive and less expensive rods. Ive casted them all and now my go to rod is a BVK, its a killer rod and it cost less than half of what the name brand rods cost. I also have a lefty kreh sig. series 5w that is like a 6W that I bought a TU auction, I only bought it to spend money (Dumb). Way to beefy for me, I gave it to my nephew

 

A few years back i had a gift certificate for 400 and ended up walking out with that BVK 5W. It was hard, I used to be one of those guys that wouldn't fish a temple fork because its a temple fork. Now Im one of those fools that fishes a temple fork.

[BigFoamy]

Yeah see, you missed my point. You said that any rod will catch fish and you'll love it. Yes any rod can catch fish but you will not necessarily love it, otherwise we wouldn't have so many different rods out there with very different actions and tapers. Your preference is for a BVK and that's cool. Other people have cast that rod and not liked it. Personally I hate all the new glass rods out there because they're too slow to suit my casting style but other people love them. On the other hand I bought a Sage Method a few years back because I liked the way it cast in the parking lot, but once I got it out on the water I totally hated fishing it because it was too stiff and didn't load well at short range. So, it's not all about buying the cheapest rod out there - if it were you could've bought something less expensive than the BVK - or even about buying the most expensive rod - if it were I'd still be fishing that Method - it's about buying the rod that best suits your casting style so that you'll enjoy using it. Luckily there are lots of different rods in different price ranges.

 

 

dont i always

 

 

Buy a rod and you will catch fish and love your rod, yup thats what i said alright.

[BigFoamy]

Sorry Junkie. I didnt mean to start a fight, was just trying to give you some insight when buying your next twig. With the amount of elite people on this site its really hard to have a serious conversation without someone being a jerk.

 

Sorry man. I wont comment on this thread anymore.

[Dangus]

Here we go again, mr.thinskin getting worked up because someone called him on something.

People aren't jerks for discussing and debating and disagreeing with your opinion. People are jerks for calling someone mr.thinskin.

[angler]

Best theory.......

Spend whatever you feel you can afford.

That way you will not wish later that you had spent that other few bucks.

Not sayin by expensive, just don't buy lower than your target price.

[FlyFishingEMT]

I think its hard to go wrong with a BVK. I own one and if I could go back in time I would probably own more instead of other rods I have acquired. I'm also a big fan of the Pieroway Tactical series rods however the price point has gone up on those so BVK might be better value. If BVK is too pricey the signature series is still a really good rod for a lot less money. $30 dollar warranty replacement is really convenient if you break your rod and don't want to wait 6 weeks for a replacement to come in the mail.