I am looking for the ultimate steelhead rod combo. I might have some monies coming in so I was looking at the Sage TCX since it comes in 10 ft and match it with the 4500 series reel. Is this the best out there?
Opinions need please.
Mike
Sage, GLoomis or other....
I am looking for the ultimate steelhead rod combo. I might have some monies coming in so I was looking at the Sage TCX since it comes in 10 ft and match it with the 4500 series reel. Is this the best out there?
Opinions need please.
Mike
Fishing the Great Beyond
"You have studied well. grasshopper".
I think the ultimate steelhead combo, will be a double handed rod. While it takes a little bit of time to get used to, the fishability of a spey rod well outweighs the time to learn how to fish them a little better....it's all about line control, and a double handed rod will out-mend and in my opinion more importantly out fish (with less effort, there is no wear on your body) a single hand rod. You can still make 100 foot casts, even with very little room behind you, and the real beauty is you can mend maybe 60-70 feet, instead of the 30 you might be able to do with a single. The only downside is you would have to step up a reel size to fit a spey line of the same line weight on it Depending on what time of year and where you're fishing, the line's get a little quirky, but they're truely not that hard to figure out if you give yourself some reading material.
The TCX is a cannon, and i've had the chance to fish the single and the spey, and they're truely amazing rods. Super fast action, so you can cast it a mile. I have the 4500, and they're great as well.
If you're looking for an amazing spey rod, look no further then the Sage Z-Axis, they're almost always being consistently reviewed as the top spey rod out there lately.
Last edited by bigbadbrent; 03-30-2009 at 06:03 AM.
yeah the waters i will be on is not suitable for a spey rod, a lot of roll casts, so i figured a fast action would be good for this.
thanks
Mike
Fishing the Great Beyond
As were many of the waters I fished. Actually, they were too small for a two-handed rod. A ten footer was much more suited to them, both to cast and mend.
Sounds like this is the one JC, I cant wait to get her and the new reel. I have AirFLo line waiting to put on her.
It sounds like you have your mind made up. I will just mention that I have a Winston BIIx 7 wt. 11'. On it is a Ross Evolution 3.5. I fish the same waters that you do and I would not trade my outfit for anything else. I've had them both for a few years now and have not had any problems with either.
Last edited by ridgeliner; 03-30-2009 at 05:41 PM. Reason: spelling
hmmm that sounds pretty nice too.
i heard good things about Winston as well too.
Mike
Fishing the Great Beyond
If possible, 'try' that line before you buy. It probably will be fine, any line will need to be 'matched' exactly to where and how you fish it. You may find some other brand might be more appropriate for your situation.
I would also suggest that you look into a switch rod -- maybe a Meiser rod in the 10-1/2 ft range. Something along the line of an 8 wt -- although he tends to use a range of line wt rather than an outright 8wt designation. Check out his posting on the beginning fly fishing section and look up his phone number on the internet web site -- call and talk to him -- he is very helpful. YOu can even buy the rod and return it if you don't like it -- or better yet, they have demo rods/loaners that you can try out before you buy.
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