I have been thinking lately about picking up a 10’ 5wt rod for tailwater trout fishing. After trying several friend’s 10’ 3,4 and 5wt rods, in the Grey’s Streamflex and Echo Shadow (or maybe it was the solo?) varieties, I have been impressed with the med-fast actions of these rods. I am well aware of the advantages of mending, and the ability to pick-up and re-cast a bunch of line like when swinging a team of soft hackles, etc… I have a line on a Sage RPL 5100-3, and am leaning in that direction as I have owned and cast a bunch of RPL’s in 9’ 5,6,7 and 8wt versions. I can’t imagine the action being all too much different in a 10’er as the RPL progressive flex seemed consistant across the rod line in my experience. Anyone who has fished this specif rod please chime in! Any other 10’ light line fly rod aficionado’s please share your favorites too!
Hi aa,
I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts on the 10’ er after you’ve fished it a while… I’ve noticed over the years that we have similar tastes in rod action, etc. Haven’t tried anything that long yet. I manage to get myself in enough trouble with my 9’ rods.
Best,
Steve
I am a firm believer of using long rods in certain types of fishing. I use 11 foot Sage rods, both in 6 weight, a XP and a Z-Axis. Anytime I am nymphing I use the long rod, it is great for pick up and casting a multi-fly rig. The 10 footers are a great rod as well, you will find that it can really save your shoulder when making casts and especially large mends, the longer rods work so well with that compared to the 9 footers. Another advantage of the long rod is the shock absorber effect it has. You will find that the fish will be fighting the long rod with you having to let out hardly any line. A great way to get the fish in close to release it as soon as possible.
aa,
I have that rod you mention, the RPL 5100-3 Graphite III. It is an absolute workhorse for me. In fact, it is on my bench waiting for me to replace the tip section yet again…3rd time. I LOVE that rod!!!
When it is “whole”, we use it to toss top-water bass bugs. It gets used at Pyramid to toss “indy” riggs and buggers on shooting heads. It gets used for swinging for coastal steelhead and tossing for surf perch as well. It gets first call for stripers, halibut, and anything except Smith River kings, panga fishing in Baha, northern pike in NWT, or Alaska floating with John and Joe.
Now that I think about it, with it’s absolutely abundant use and our inept casting skills, it is no wonder the tip has broken several times…“clousered” I bet. Guess I’ll just order several tips when I send it in.
…lee s.
I’ve got a 10’ 4wt TFO BVK. I like it for many of the reasons you mention – longer reach, easier mending. Its great for nymph fishing, especially on bigger water. However, I have broken it twice (over a few years). TFO has a life-time, no questions asked warranty with $30 fee and pretty fast service, but it’s still a pain to break a rod.
I cast quite a few 10’ rods before buying the TFO and would offer some general observations …
10’ rods are heavier. That might seem obvious, but the actual weight difference and the added fatigue from casting / rod handling all day might not be so obvious. The extra weight and length also makes it more of a challenge to balance the rod with a fly reel (I ended up putting a Konic 2 on mine rather than the Velocity 1.5 that I had intended). In any case, check the rod weight and if possible, string up the rod with the line / reel you intend to use and see how it feels.
Quite a few guys I know are going to lighter line weight 10’ rods. So rather than a 5 wt or 4 wt, many are going 3 wt or even 2 wt. My buddy got a 10’ 2wt Sage ESN several months ago and he loves it. He uses it for small and large stream fishing and both dry flies and nymphs. If I was doing it again, I think I’d go with a lighter line weight 10’ rod.
It seems to me that the manufacturers are pushing the envelop with the rods. As the rods get longer and they try to keep down rod weight and maintain faster action, the rod walls get thinner and more fragile. Breakage with 10’ seems to be more common. I’d make sure the rod has good warranty service.
A couple of minor points … They are harder to transport – my strung up 10’ rod fits in my RAV4 but just barely. The extra length makes it more of a pain to clear iced up guides.
I own and fish a 10 foot 3 wt streamflex and an 11 foot 4 wt streamflex (both are older versions) and love them. they will handle dry flies, soft hackles, wet flies and nymphs very well. my son-in-law recently bought a Douglass 10 foot 5 weight, and I think it feels a lot like the streamflex, but it is significantly less money.
I have been using a 10’, 5wt. rod for tailwaters and big freestones since Scott made up a “G” series for me in 1985. It is one of my all time favorite rods for nymphing and it has served me well for dries and smaller streamers. I also have several other 10’, 5wts. and use all of them Here, the old guy is using that rod (upstream) and my son is using a 10’, 5wt. Loomis Streamdance…
Well, bought the 10’ Sage RPL from Stroud Tackle in San Diego. Nice folks! The guy pulled the rod out from the back of the shop, while he had me on the phone and said, “wow…I think this is the first time this rod has been out of it’s tube…ever!”. I am excited to receive it, and plan to mount a Bauer Mac2 reel on it! Will get a report out after a day on the river!
Sounds like you took the plunge. I have a number of Sage RPL rods and they are my favorite all-around rods. I have a 10 foot 4 weight that I use in my kayak from time to time. I have a Hobie Outback sit-in kayak that sits low in the water so I use the 10 foot rod to keep the back casts off the water. It has a different feel to it, but it is a nice rod to fish and still very light in the hand.
The TFO BVK 10’ 4wt is my favorite rod for a huge chunk of the fishing I do these days… I bought four different 10’ 4wts and cast all of them quite a bit before dumping the other three. A Thomas and Thomas was the least favorite, followed by a Sage FLi (IIRC), and a G Loomis was pretty good, but what I had been looking for was a Metolius…
I broke the BVK the first day I fished it and they were very good in shipping me a replacement tip… I was out of town fishing and they shipped to an alternate address before getting the broken tip back. They admitted the tip had a manufacturing defect. It has caught a ridiculous number of dolly varden, grayling, lake trout, rainbows, round whitefish (a seriously cool fighting fish!), and a number of salmon that just had to get in the way. It is an extremely smooth casting rod and really loves the AirFlo Ridge lines.
I have been enjoying my new-old-stock RPL 5100-3 rod on the three brief outings thus far. Best fish so far was a 13" Brown, so I have not been able to fully test it’s fish-fighting characteristics. I will say that it really shines with the Airflo Ridge Supple Tactical WF5F line for light nymphing with long leaders and an NZ style yarn indicator system. I have also fished it with a Cortland 333 HT 10’ sink tip (wf5f/s) and it threw and handled this line with aplomb using smallish wooly buggers. Was fishing yesterday off the buttress off an old mill dam, smacking stocker bows in the pool below and each time I would miss a hookset, or clear a snag, the rod tip flexed back right up against the stone wall behind me…cringing. Needless to say, she has some fishing scars (hopefully just surface scratches)now, from what was a truly ‘pristine’ rod. I think I am now hooked on the idea of fishing a 10’ rod and hope it shines in other arenas too! Already thinking on getting another 10’ rod:rolleyes:
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