New Rod For The Bow... Need Help

[Roast]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am in the market for a new rod for the Bow. I am not sure if this thread, should be in 'ask the pros', if so please move it.

 

I currently have a 2 piece tfo signature series 8'6" 5wt. I have been fly fishing for a couple of years, and I am looking to upgrade. I am looking for suggestions for a rod that would do everything pretty well. I am finding that my current rod feels slow, and want to get something that is faster. I have read various topics such as the 'Bow River Arsenal' thread, and it seems like a 9' 6wt is what a lot of people are running.

 

I am looking for rod suggestions to try at various fly shop. Will fly shops let you cast a rod before you buy it? Is there any kind of demo program? My budget is around 400 dollars for the rod give or take. I also want it to be a 4 piece, as I now have a small car. I would also like to know what line you recommend using with the rod you suggest. Are there are any great values out there?

 

I know that this topic has been beat to death, but I have used the search function to find out as much info as possible.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated:)

 

Thanks

[ÜberFly]

Sage FLI (Monod's in Banff still has some and if you ask I'm sure they would discount it as it is a discontinued model - they did for me last week), or the new version the Flight - redily available at many fly stores. Redington CPS is also discounted b/c of a model change as well. For $400 you have quite a choice. You should also be able to find something around 3 oz, but definitely cast with it and compare...

 

Good luck!

 

P

 

Hello Everyone,

 

I am in the market for a new rod for the Bow. I am not sure if this thread, should be in 'ask the pros', if so please move it.

 

I currently have a 2 piece tfo signature series 8'6" 5wt. I have been fly fishing for a couple of years, and I am looking to upgrade. I am looking for suggestions for a rod that would do everything pretty well. I am finding that my current rod feels slow, and want to get something that is faster. I have read various topics such as the 'Bow River Arsenal' thread, and it seems like a 9' 6wt is what a lot of people are running.

 

I am looking for rod suggestions to try at various fly shop. Will fly shops let you cast a rod before you buy it? Is there any kind of demo program? My budget is around 400 dollars for the rod give or take. I also want it to be a 4 piece, as I now have a small car. I would also like to know what line you recommend using with the rod you suggest. Are there are any great values out there?

 

I know that this topic has been beat to death, but I have used the search function to find out as much info as possible.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated:)

 

Thanks

[danhunt]

Nothing wrong with Uberfly's suggestions, but you can also consider a higher end TFO like a TiCR or TiCRX, or maybe an Amundson Wind Warrior and have some coin left over for a new line or maybe even a reel...

[ÜberFly]

Yeah the TFO TiCr & TiCrX are good rods, but I'd have to say that a lower end Sage or High end Redington (at the discounted prices which are even lower in cost then a TFO TiCr[X]) are superior to a high end TFO, any day, IMHO, of course. (To qualify that statement, yes I have owned a TiCr, and currently own both rods I speak of). And of course there are many, many other quality rods in your price range, as well!

 

P

 

Nothing wrong with Uberfly's suggestions, but you can also consider a higher end TFO like a TiCR or TiCRX, or maybe an Amundson Wind Warrior and have some coin left over for a new line or maybe even a reel...

[bhurt]

TricX, is a great stick but has been discounted and replaced by the Axiom which I have never casted.

 

I personally love my Loop Multi's that I own, never was much of a sage fan myself, but by the people I know that have them and use them they love them.

 

Personally I suggest to go to your local fly shop or big box store (WSS or Bass Pro) and try out a couple and find the one that YOU like the most.

[Jayhad]

I think you'd be hard pressed to surpass Uberfly's suggestion, those rods are great bargin. I am using a 6 wt Redington CPX for the Bow and i am very impressed with the rod.

[headscan]

My suggestion is more of a process one. Go to a few of the different shops in town and look at the rods they have that are in your price range. Then ask if you can test them. Buy the one you like best. Make sure to test a bunch before you plunk your cash down and try to test them all the same day. If a shop won't let you test their rods, thank them for their time, turn around, and walk out the door.

[ÜberFly]

I 2nd it! Very good advise!!

 

P

 

My suggestion is more of a process one. Go to a few of the different shops in town and look at the rods they have that are in your price range. Then ask if you can test them. Buy the one you like best. Make sure to test a bunch before you plunk your cash down and try to test them all the same day. If a shop won't let you test their rods, thank them for their time, turn around, and walk out the door.

 

[ÜberFly]

If you end up with "fast action" rod (i.e., quite stiff) you may want to over line it "slightly". I think the SA "Head Start" is extremely good value for line. It is weighted a 1/2 weight heavier. I also have some exp. with SA GPX, as well and it is also a tad bit heavier. I am not as familiar with other brands, but I'm sure there are other bands that are the similar, but with Head Start, you'd be hard pressed to find something similar for $35 - $40!! Again, just my opinion... In a perfect world shops would have a variety of reels pre-loaded with a bunch of lines for you to cast on various rods, but I'm sure most do not...

 

P

 

(

Hello Everyone,

I would also like to know what line you recommend using with the rod you suggest. Are there are any great values out there?

[maxwell]

i would recommend a loop multi dude! sick little stick in a similar price range taht is hard too beat!!!!

 

 

[Roast]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

 

So I think that I am going to try a:

• Sage Flight- sounds like a great stick from some reviews
• Sage Fli- If I can find one to try out
• TFO TiCr/Axiom- I like the warranty living in Calgary
• Hardy Demon- I have read a few posts on these, any other oppinions?
• Loops Multi- what makes these rods stand out bhurt, max?

 

I am a little worried about warranty on the Loops and Hardy. Do any of you have any experience with warranty and cost with either of these two companies?

 

I was also looking for line recommendations for each of these rods. I will be picking up a floating line as well as a sink tip.

 

Thanks again for all your help

[theiceman2]

Last week I ended up getting a new Sage Flight 5wt 4piece after narrowing it down to and testing all of the rods mentioned on the post. The Reddington, SAGE Flight, and Hardy Demon, ang Greys are so close, flex all within 6inches of each other, are all the same speed, and only a few grams apart in weight. The only difference that stuck out to me is Reddington had two `stripping eyes` versus only one on the Sage and Hardy. The Greys rod looks like a $1000 rod with the Walnut stock, Reddington and Hardy have an aluminnum stock, the sage has a basic wood stock.

 

I chose the SAGE Flight out of these three because they all felt so close the SAGE it was the only one that was hand made, had a case that fits your reel, has a fast turn around warranty, and has the latest in SAGE graphite technology (re inventen in 2009). I think I would have strongly considered the loop AEG if it wasn`t $100 more then the rest of the rods. If you are going to buy a TFO save yourself the money and see Wayne at Hansons Flyfishing downtown, they have their own Rods very similar to the TFO's in my opinion.

 

The new SAGE Flight is actually 20% cheeper at our new jumbo box store then other guys in town. I am a supporter of the local shops so I got a price match with a local guy.

 

Matt

[Taco]

TFO's have a helluva warranty for a reason, they are prone to breakage period, got one sittin' here that's been fished maybe 6 times in the past 3 yrs...broke it twice while fishin'... of my other dozen or so graphite rods, Lamiglass, Loomis, Fenwick, Sage, broke 3 in 25-30 yrs.. one very early Fenwick on a big fish and 2 to stupidity.. truck door and a spare tire. I'll never buy another tfo.

[theiceman2]

As for rod weight, I went with the 5 weight over the 6 because I fish the Highwood, Oldman, and Castle as well as the Bow. The 5 weight is alittle more nimble then the 6 but I did find it hard to throw big streamers yesterday in the wind. I suggest the 5wt.

 

Matt

[theiceman2]

The G-lumis I tested felt like a wet noodle, flexed very far down the shaft.

 

 

[bhurt]

I like the loop multi's because of the mid flex with a fast tip recovery (You have to find out what type of rod you like, if all you have used is a TFO Signature Series you may have trouble or not like a fast action rod so a mid flex would make sence to me.) Also not sure of your experince with fly fishing but some of the faster action rods are very difficult for new casters, sure you could overline it but then you are just covering up bad technique.

 

At the price that the Multi's are going for you just can't go wrong, I used my TFO TRICX for 3 years and loved it that was until I started to use my new Multi 6wt 9' 6", the extra 1/2 is also great cause it allows you to high stick high nyphms (or overhand cast) along banks with relitivly ease, I was also able to toss little #16 BWO dry's with absoultly no problem and the extra length is great for this cause it adds a bit more backbone to the rod when fighting larger trout on the BOW.

 

As for line I am still experinmentig, won a Rio Gold 6wt line @ the Fish Tales customer apprication day so I tried that one out so far and found that I really like it for the overhand casting but when it came down to roll casting (I spey fish alot so I do know how to roll cast) it sucked ass. Untill then I always used a SA nymph Taper line and loved it regardless to what some might say I found that I never need to cut any of the front end off.

 

As for warrenty I have yet to have to do anything with it yet but I believe Brain Nyska (Sorry for the bad spelling) out of Whistler Fly Shop handles some of the warrenty stuff for canada, so I would say it would be along the same line as Sage or Orvis or any of the other N. American dealers.

 

Hope that helps some, if you want you can always meety up with me on the river this week (I have the week off) and I will let you try out my loop Multi to see if it something you like.

[misterbig]

Which fly shop carries Loop Multi rods. I am in the market for a new rod and would like to look at them.

 

M

[reevesr1]

If you are going to buy a TFO save yourself the money and see Wayne at Hansons Flyfishing downtown, they have `No name`sticks that are actually TFO`s that will save you a bunch.

 

I've been fishing the 'no name' rod from Wayne for over a year now. I certainly wouldn't say that it's actually a TFO though. I have a couple of TFOs and this rod is nothing like the TiCR or TiCRx. It is quite a bit faster. Mine is a 6, and I love it. I actually got to fish one of the first ones made as a test. I had both the 5 and 6. I liked the 6 more for the bow. More power, and I love extra power in the butt end-you can really turn a fish's head with it.

 

 

 

 

 

[birchy]

You should also be looking around for any leftover Scott A2's.. beautiful casting rod. They were discontinued as well just like the Sage FLi, and replaced with the A3.

[Hawgstoppah]

My suggestion is more of a process one. Go to a few of the different shops in town and look at the rods they have that are in your price range. Then ask if you can test them. Buy the one you like best. Make sure to test a bunch before you plunk your cash down and try to test them all the same day. If a shop won't let you test their rods, thank them for their time, turn around, and walk out the door.

 

Bingo.

 

I'd also add, if your budget is 400 bucks, ask the shop to cover up all the names on the rods, and find the one that suits YOU best. I find more people think a rod's better becuase of the name on the side of it. No rod is all that much better than another.. you just have to change YOUR casting to match each stick. I've seen guys cast a 50 dollar canadian tire rod with perfect loops all day, and guys with 1000 dollar high end sage's and 30 years fishing not throw a nice loop, ever.. so go find something that suits you and that you like to cast and that your accurate with, and forget about the name on it You might prefer a 100 dollar rod, you might find that you prefer an 800 dollar rod (and if so, hopefully your not married yet LOL). You never know.

 

[maxwell]

Which fly shop carries Loop Multi rods. I am in the market for a new rod and would like to look at them.

 

M

 

 

southbow flyshop will have em in a few weeks time! in teh mean time if u wish too cast one drop me a line i have the 2,4,5,6 and 8wt multis

[theiceman2]

I started the hunt saying "I do not want a sage" > I thought they were over priced and you were paying for the name. Not the cse, I tested every rod with a bias against Sage, but still bought one blindfolded.

 

Bingo.

 

I'd also add, if your budget is 400 bucks, ask the shop to cover up all the names on the rods, and find the one that suits YOU best. I find more people think a rod's better becuase of the name on the side of it. No rod is all that much better than another.. you just have to change YOUR casting to match each stick. I've seen guys cast a 50 dollar canadian tire rod with perfect loops all day, and guys with 1000 dollar high end sage's and 30 years fishing not throw a nice loop, ever.. so go find something that suits you and that you like to cast and that your accurate with, and forget about the name on it You might prefer a 100 dollar rod, you might find that you prefer an 800 dollar rod (and if so, hopefully your not married yet LOL). You never know.

 

[Hawgstoppah]

I started the hunt saying "I do not want a sage" > I thought they were over priced and you were paying for the name. Not the cse, I tested every rod with a bias against Sage, but still bought one blindfolded.

 

Oh dont get me wrong... I never said there's anything wrong with sage's, just meant that maybe they might not be for him..

[Roast]

Hello,

 

I just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions. I ended up going with a Sage Flight. The sage just felt a little better compared to some of the others I tried (though I am not an expert caster, and didn't notice a huge difference between the rods I tried). I also ended up picking up a SA gpx line. I was a bit surprised that fish tales wouldn't price match some other stores in town on the rod. However I understand that the buying power of the small shops can't compare with the big box retailers. The price difference wan't huge and I wanted to support the local shop. I am hoping to get out tomorrow morning to give it a go. Thanks to those who offered to let me try out their personal rods to make my decision.

 

Thanks Again,

Brent

[headscan]

I was a bit surprised that fish tales wouldn't price match some other stores in town on the rod. However I understand that the buying power of the small shops can't compare with the big box retailers. The price difference wan't huge and I wanted to support the local shop.

What Fish Tales couldn't match in price they will more than make up for in customer service.