I live at the Jersey Shore and want to try fly fishing for bluefish and stripers. Can anyone suggest a setup for this purpose. I can't go too crazy financially.
Looking for rod and reel for saltwater
I live at the Jersey Shore and want to try fly fishing for bluefish and stripers. Can anyone suggest a setup for this purpose. I can't go too crazy financially.
Give a man a fish and you feed him once...
Teach a man to fish and his wife will be ticked off!
You won't go wrong with a TFO Professional or Signature fly rod and matching reel.Originally Posted by cprov3
TFO rods are reasonable, have a good reputation, strong warantee and readily available. I would suggest a TFO 340 Large Arbor Reel to go with it: good drag, smooth, good warantee.
If money is a problem, put more money in the rod that the reel.
Steve
I fish the Jersey shore and you can do a lot with a 9wt with an intermediate line. If you're primarily doing open surf or jetties a 10wt would be better and for the estuaries an 8wt would be the ticket but the 9wt will do fine anywhere. TFO is a good suggestion, good bang for the buck. Any of the bigger names put out lower priced models that work fine. For example, I use a St. Croix Premier and that's only about $100(they replaced them with the Triumph, same blank with slightly different hardware and about the same price). Pretty much any moderate-fast to fast action rod will do the trick.
Here you'd be lucky to have a striper or blue run you too far into the backing so any reel with a half decent drag will work. Albies are a different story, but there is a relatively short window for them here. Many a fish have been caught on Pflueger Medalists. I use an Okuma Sierra and don't have any problems so you really don't even need a large arbor reel but they are nice if you have a fish run right at you.
Probably the most important thing you need around here is a stripping basket. That and decent long nosed pliers. Everything else is just filler(nice to have but not really needed). If you're going to be on a boat, you may have slightly different needs but what I listed will get you along just fine from the surf.
As to flies, it depends on if you fish day or night. Daytime= clousers and decievers in chartruse and white, grey and white, and yellow. Night= sliders, seaducers, whistlers in black, black and purple, black and yellow. The thought for the different flies for night(besides color) is that you want something to move some water so they can feel it as well as see it when it's dark. Plenty of folks will give you a list of their favorite flies but these would be a good starting point.
Oh, BTW if you're even thinking about jetties, do yourself a favor and get korkers. Felt soles(even studded) don't cut it. And don't wear waders on the jetties. If you dump they make it pretty hard to get back up on the rocks(especially when you're looking at 8 foot swells from a nor'easter).
I hope this helps a little.
Yup, I'd go with a TFO too. Temple Forks Outfitters (TFO) Pro (4 piece rod) about $150. It's got a medium-fast action which is a good choice for someone just starting out, but the rod has enough guts that you'll have plenty of room to grow into it. TFO also offers a lifetime guarantee against breakage (send in the broken rod plus $25 or so). If you shop around factor that in when looking at rods from other brands. Echo, St Croix, Reddington also have rods that are decent and if you go to a local shop (and I'd advise it) they may be limited in their selection of different brands, but could work with you to put a great outfit together.
For stripers and blues up here I'd go with the 9' 9 weight if you'll mostly fish from shore, or do both shore and boat. It's a great all around weight and very versatile in both salt (bones, snook, redfish) and heavier fresh (steelhead, throwing big bass bugs, pike) Consider either a 9 or 10 weight if you will mostly fish from a boat (a 10 is a wee bit better for throwing big flies if you chase bunker schools and for more lifting power for deep fish but can be a bit more tiring to cast and is kinda overkill for schoolies). Match it up to a good quality weight forward, full length (90-100', not a shooting head), cold water (not tropic) line from Scientific Anglers or Rio $50-65 in the line weight matched to the rod (9 for a 9). An intermediate (slow sink) line would be a good all around choice. Ideally you'd want to get some casting lessons from someone that actually teaches casting before you pull the trigger from a local shop to match up the line and rod if you're just starting out. If you can throw pretty well in FW and can double haul, you should be good to go otherwise a tune up might be a good idea (more wind in SW, sometimes a lot more).
For a reel, if you need to save a little this is the place to do it and it's less important than trying to save on the rod and line. At the low end, a simple click and pawl no frills Pfleuger 1598 if you have to for some schoolies, but you'll likely want
to upgrade fairly soon. Ideally, look for a saltwater proof anodized reel, preferrably machined instead of stamped, with a decent dual drag that will hold at least 150 yards of #20 dacron backing plus your fly line. I would look for one with a sturdy metal frame (as opposed to a "lacey" looking one since they tend to get banged around). A Teton Tioga is a great bang for buck sturdy reel and you'll see a lot of them in the salt here. I don't have any experience with the TFO reels, but that's another option. Trions and Orvis MA also have a following. If you buy everything together they may throw in some lessons, give you a break on price and rig it all up for you.
Keep questions coming as you shop around, there are a lot of NE striper guys on the board. Good luck
peregrines
Last edited by peregrines; 07-14-2008 at 03:36 AM.
Like others have said; if money is an issue, spend it on a rod first and a reel second. For myself, I like a longer rod fishing from beach or shore. I like a rod on 10' or so. Not only does it help with casting and line managment, it can really pressure the fish you hook.
You're getting really good advice. Definitely go for the best rod you can afford in a 9wt and I like 9.5 and 10 foot models as well.
The only thing I would add is to consider the durability of the reel if you're fishing jetties, rocks etc. I've seen lighter weight, less expensive reels warp when they bounce off of a few rocks when dropped. I've been saved by having a reel machined from bar stock when I've sent it banging down the rocks. So if you are as prone to butterfingered rock hopping as I am, spend a little on even an inexpensive bar stock model.
Best of luck.
A couple of folks above have mentioned the Pflueger Medalist reels
Normally, I'm a big fan of those reels and I have a pair of the 1495 1/2 models that I use in the salt regularly
As these reels are not meant for the salt, they take constant maintenance. They're not for everyone.
Even thought I own a number more salt tolerant reels, (I like the SA System II) this past winter I bought myself one of the Medalist 1598 models mentioned above, as I thought this large reel would balance out well on a 10' rod.
...Don't do this
This reel is way too heavy to balance out a modern graphite rod.
Other, more modern, Pflueger reels will suit your purpose well, but the Medalist 1598 is a dinosaur and should only be used on heavy "classic" rods
The simpler the outfit, the more skill it takes to manage it, and the more pleasure one gets in his achievements.
--- Horace Kephart
cprov3......
I live in Deptford and bought a Diamondback Backwater 9' 8 wt. 3 pc., Scientific Anglers Concept 2 7-9 LA (large arbor) reel and SA WF9F fly line, in anticipation of trying saltwater one more time. To date, ain't happened and now it won't. I fish anywhere I want, anytime I want and catch a ton of fish of various species on fly. Don't have to wait for tides, gulls, baitfish or fight wind, insects, etc.
The Backwater series did what Lou Tabory did with the XX series; tip and mid sections are 8wt., butt section is 9wt. I've played with the outfit on freshwaters lakes and the lawn and with two double hauls can toss the full line. No brag, I've been fly fishing exclusively for 10 years now and practice casting 15 minutes a day on a vacant lot next to my property.
I was going to list the outfit here....so, take a look and if you want it, $125 and we can make arrangements to meet halfway.
This is new stuff in Excellent++ condition.
jsentell@snip.net
Jim
I would have to respectfully dissagree with the choice on spending most of your money on a rod. While having a good rod is important, it's the reel that takes the brunt of the punnishment when a big fish takes you for a ride. You WILL want to get a reel with a good drag system...period. You can certainly get away with a so-so reel, but a reel with a good drag system will save you much frustration, and possibly some heartache (if that once in a lifetime fish comes along) should a poor quality reel fail at just the wrong time.
You can buy a host of good rods for around $150, some have already been mentioned, TFO, St. Croix, etc. Don't forget the cortland fly rods too. I have had several, all some of my favorite, and all less than $100. I got a just above entry level reel for salmon fishing to go with my Cortland 9wt. Disaster! The drag was catchy and caused a lot of break-offs, especially when they started on a run. I bought a much better reel for my first saltwater trip, and let me tell you, the difference was UNBELIEVABLE!!! I went from catchy/jumpy to butter smooth. I just can't emphasize enough the improtance of having a good quality reel, so that's where I'd start looking at your budget and what you can afford.
Talk to as many surf fishermen as you can to see what the consensus is on what they use. My guess is that only a handful will have reels that cost over $300, most will be in the $150 to $250 range. It may sound like a lot of money...well, it is a lot of money, but if you look at it as a long term investment, and break the cost down into how many years you use your rig, it's relatively inexpensive.
If you don't already tie flies, take a class and learn to tie the patterns you'll fish most often, it will save you HUNDREDS of dollars in purchased flies over time.
Like I have said, and has been mentioned already, you don't HAVE to spend much on a saltwater rig. Ultimately your budget will automatically decide what you can or can't get, but get the best quality reel you can afford, you won't be sorry.
Hope this helps,
Thunderthumbs.
By the way, that diamondback rod and SA outfit would be a good buy. You could keep the reel as a back-up and go with something just a bit better for your primary (if it would be in your budget)...won't go wrong there.
TT.
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