Setup

[Bcsteel]

Experienced fisherman, got into the Spey a few years ago and love it, I'm looking at purchasing an 8 weight fly rod, looking at trying some fly fishing with it.

please excuse me for asking, but what type of lines  leaders etc should I be using. I will be fishing smaller creeks rivers for smaller trout species.

thanks.

[ÜberFly]

8 wt will be too much rod for smaller creeks and smaller trout!! If you are new to fly fishing, I would recommend a 5 wt (to start)...

[Jayhad]

3 hours ago, Bcsteel said:

Experienced fisherman, got into the Spey a few years ago and love it, I'm looking at purchasing an 8 weight fly rod, looking at trying some fly fishing with it.

please excuse me for asking, but what type of lines  leaders etc should I be using. I will be fishing smaller creeks rivers for smaller trout species.

thanks.

The 8 weight will it be a spey as well?

I would rethink an 8wt for small creeks and smaller trout, it is more targeted toward larger stronger fish, perhaps look at a 4 or 5 wt

[danhunt]

As others have said, you'd probably be better served something in the 3-5wt range for the kind of fishing you describe.  To give you some perspective, an 8wt is commonly used for coho, steelies, chum, and it might be on the light end (depending on the rod) but do-able for springs.  If you're on here I'm guessing you're in AB, and looking to fish AB streams - a 5wt may be overkill for some of the truly small stream fishing, but it's a very versatile weight for the east slopes and it will work well for about 90% of what you're likely to encounter.  A medium fast action rod is probably where you'd want to start, depending on your budget you could spend $150 for something like a TFO Sig II to the sky is the limit.  As far as a line is concerned, you'll want a weight forward (WF) floating line (F) to start but this is where things get a little dicey - you can spend a $1000 on a high end rod, but if you put the wrong line on it, its like putting 13" rims on a monster truck.  Go to a flyshop, tell them what you're planning to do and what your budget is and they should be able to set you up. If that's not practical for your circumstances, then generally speaking more "traditional" tapers like a cortland 444 or a Rio Gold match better with M/F action rods.  Lines like the Mastery MPX, Rio Grand, etc tend to have more aggressive tapers and are typically about a half a line size heavy for their given rating, which helps load fast to extra fast action rods, but may overwhelm a slower action.  For leaders, I typically get something like a 9' 1x -3x and then tie a 3x-5x tippet to them, but a 1x or 2x with a 4x tippet is probably what I use the most.

[SilverDoctor]

Although I fish a Meiser Highlander Trout Spey 4 wt. on the Bow personally I would not use it for smaller creeks. Too long at 12.5 ft. If I needed spey casts because of back cover a Skagit Shooting Head with a 3 to 4 wt would be the ticket for large streamers.

[Bcsteel]

Thanks for the replys, I'll get a 5 weight for the smaller creeks etc. I will use the 8 weight for medium rivers for steelhead salmon etc.

looking for advice on setup.thanks.

[scel]

On 4/16/2020 at 10:02 AM, Bcsteel said:

Thanks for the replys, I'll get a 5 weight for the smaller creeks etc. I will use the 8 weight for medium rivers for steelhead salmon etc.

looking for advice on setup.thanks.

What is your budget?  A good fly line costs $80-$100.  What do you have left for a rod and reel?  Are you looking for advice for both lightweight and 8wt setups?

For an 8wt for salmon/steelhead, you definitely do not want to cheap out on the reel.  For handling sink tips and longer casts, there are advantages to faster action rods.

I am going to give a slightly contrarian opinion---I think the 5wt is a good overall rod and a good complement to an 8wt,  if it is the last rod that you plan to purchase.  A 5wt does not cast dry flies nearly as nicely as my 4wt.  A 5wt does not deal with sink tips and streamers nearly as well as a 6wt.  Casting triple nymph rigs and hoppers on a windy day, I definitely prefer a 6wt.  For a calm day on mountain streams, a 3wt is nice, but our regular Alberta winds necessitate a 4wt.  If it is too windy to cast a 4wt, then it is definitely time for a 6wt.

I almost never use my 5wt rods anymore, and when I do, despite being high-quality rods, I always feel that I could have chosen a better rod.

[Bcsteel]

No budget, still looking for advice for the 8 weight. I have a sage 8010? Reel I use on my Spey outfit, will this suffice?

[Current]

It's hard to give advice for an 8 weight rod to use for smaller creeks and little trout. Any eight weight will cast far enough and have power to fight small trout. Dry fly presentation will be tough!

If you're looking just to match a reel you already have, you'll need to give more details on budget and what you might want to use it for in the future (e.g., pike, salt, steel, big bullies?). Otherwise just go grab whatever Sage is in your budget and balances the reel (or looks pretty). Or if you've a limited budget, pick up a TFO beater. 

That 8010 is a big reel even for an 8 wt. 

Cheers!

[monger]

I have a TFO BVK 8wt that I have used for Steelhead and bonefish. It gets the job done