General purpose, go-to trout rods
- This topic has 15 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated Oct 29, 2007 at 12:14 pm by
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I’m sure it doesn’t exist, but hey, I can dream can’t I?
In a couple months I’m going to be shopping hard for a new rig.
Why not go for a rod with a lower price tag?
Since you want a rod that is easy on traveling, why not try those 5-9(?) rods made by dependable companies like Orvis, Cabela’s or LL Bean? These multi piece rods aren’t the fastest rods, yet with current technology aren’t sloppy joes either. Their service is second to none which is always nice to know.I’m sure you will enjoy a ton of fun with these rods fitting in your suitcase.
In the mean time you might want to improve your casting. Once your casting is better, you’ll probably know which type of action (super fast – fast- medium – slow) you like best. I’d say then go for a nice high end rod which fits your style.Too many times I’ve seen people using a rod which doesn’t fit someone’s casting & fishing style, yet they keep fishing it because ‘it’s such a high end rod’…
About fishing with nymphs on slower rods:
I fish 95% of the time using (heavily weighted) nymphs. It’s not a matter of the faster action of the rod turning of the rig but to keep the tension of the line when casting. You don’t need a lot of speed in the casting either, just make sure the rod is loaded when casting forwards by keeping the tension (= no slack) on.
I fish both bamboo & graphite rods with different actions.Jay
Well I’m a sucker for nice gear too!
But it’s also a weird idea to ‘be ready for things to come’ if you do most of your fishing in TN?
I’d like to do bonefishing too but I see no point in getting a Xi2 with a Nautilus if no near future I’m heading for Christmas Island. But I do have a 8 weight rig that is still a fine rig for bonefish yet costs just a about 40% of the price of the high end stuff.I do have all the finest gear I need for trout fishing which is just about 99% of the fishing I do.
About Orvis:
I love Orvis for their history as well as their nice rods of the past. I’m not excited about heir rods from the past 15 years, but their Superfine rods (which are slow rods considred today) are fabulous when the conditions are matched. I have this 7.5ft #3 rod (Tippet) that kicks butt with heavy nymph rigs on streams and medium sized rivers.But if you just love high end gear (and have the money), just go for it! ;D
Jay
Just to let you know, this years blanks from L.L. Bean were manufactured by Loomis (2007 – I heard this won’t be true for 2008 but I don’t know who will be making them).
My current version of the perfect all around go to trout rod is a 5 wt Sage SLT. I’ve only had it a few months but I really like it. It suits my casting style perfectly. I find a really fast action rod (XP, Zaxis) tiring to use and just not that pleasant. To me the SLT has that perfect balanced action. It’ll cast tiny dries and weighted streamers equally well.
Construction and hardware is first class. They did recently stop making it but you can still find them out there. I’ve not cast the replacement for it – the ZXL? But I have looked at them. I think they are very similar to the SLT.
Greg
First a disclaimer – I’m an international member of team Sage.
I fished the 590 ZAxis a good deal in New Zealand last summer, often with big tandem bead head nymphs and NZ style strike indicators – I also used it as a dry fly rod, its a marvellous all round rod, slower than the XP and faster than the SLT which in my book makes it just about perfect. I also used it with T8 shooting heads on the big rivers and intermediate lines with bead head streamers in the lakes and could not fault it. Over the past year I have fished the ZAxis range (5,6,7,8,9 &10) extensively in all kinds of situations from bones and permit to barramundi and trout with all kinds of flies and fly lines. I describe these as genuine “fishing rods”. They’re not made to punch out tight loops at 120 feet they’ve been designed to be extremely effective at normal fishing ranges 30- 70 feet – and shorter, they load beautifully at short ranges and seem to carry whatever flies and lines you want to load them with with aplomb although i do believe thay are all true to line weight so need no uplining. I do rate the #5 8’6″ as the great rod of the series, and the #4 8’6″, which I’ve just received, is an absolute friggin gem, I can’t wait to fish with it – I’m going to have a crack at some big NZ brownies with it in a few weeks.
I’m not comparing these rods to any other brand, just commenting on how I think they fish.
The SLT is a lovely rod but I recall when the TCR’s came out and replaced the SP+ – I thought nothing could ever touch that series of rods (the SP+ series) – until the TCR’s came along. We think the technology isn’t moving until we cast these rods side by side. If you want to know how the SLT stacks up against the ZXL cast them side by side, you’ll get a big surprise.
If you’re looking for value the new Redington RS4 range is well worth looking at.
Morsie
First a disclaimer – I’m an international member of team Sage.
I’m not comparing these rods to any other brand, just commenting on how I think they fish.
Morsie
Great information! Morsie, I appreciated your review!
MarkAbe,
I have have a Loomis GLX Streamdance HLS in a 5 weight for over a year now, and absolutely love it. It is a fast rod with that suits my casting style well. This is my general purpose rod. If I don’t know exacly how I am going to be fishing when I leave my vehicle it is the rod I pick. For example, right now in Montana I could do anything from nymphing, throwing heavy streamers, or delicate dry fly fishing on a single outing. (I rarely change up that much in a single day, but it is a possibility.) In conditions like that I feel perfectly adequate taking my GLX out for the day. It can handle about anything that I tie onto the end of it. It has a fairly soft tip that will protect tippets, but at the same time has a strong backbone that I have used to control some large fish with.
This is just my recommendation, of a rod that suits me very well. GLX’s will be my first consideration whenever I am looking at a new rod. The only other rod that I have used, and like close to the same amount is an XP.
I have also been thinking about selling off my two piece rods and replacing them with 4 piece rods. The first to go would have been my Orvis Silver Label Tip Flex 5 weight. However, I test cast a new Rio Gold line for it, bought the line, and it’s a whole different rod and I love it. Changing the line has taken a rod that was not my favorite and hard for me to cast, into a rod that I can cast all day without thinking about it and with great results. I’ll keep it a while longer. I have learned that a line can make a HUGE difference in how a rod feels and casts.
I have always given myself a $275 limit on rods, only once spent more than that and I have a collection of nice rods now. You can buy some nice rods way under the $6-700 that the new high end rods cost. Orvis used to roll down their line, what was last years top line, was a middle line rod later at a lower cost. I have cast the FLi and really like it.
One rod not on your list that you might consider is the Scott A2. I have a 7 weight A blank that I built and love it. I recently cast a 5 weight A2 and liked it also. I think it would feel great with the Rio Gold on it also. I love that line 🙂
-wayne
I am a big fan of both the Winston BIIx and the Sage Z-axis for good “all purpose” rods. Both of these rods are capable of both long and short casts and have the back bone to handle big trout when you get into them. They are both fast action rods but have soft tips on them so you can feel your line. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy either of them for an all purpose rod.
Joel
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