I am a crappie jig tier and some flies and used a fly rod as a kid many years back, but want to get back into fly fishing some. I want to target mostly crappie, bream & some bass. As I understand it I should be looking at maybe a 5 wt? Not sure the length nor anything much else, but I have picked a combo to think about and would love to know your feeling about the combo I am looking at.
Skip,
There are some true experts hanging around here. I’m not one of them and I didn’e even stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
This is what I’ve learned from personal experience in the last year’s learning curve.
[ul]First, asking fishermen for opinions will get you a lot of answers. All of them accurate, all of them honest, and all of them different. In the end, what works for me may not work for you. But listening to the varying opinions gives you a very good idea of where to start and some of the mistakes the long time fly fishers have made, you can avoid by listening to their wisdom. But you’ll have to end up making your own choices and your own set of mistakes so that you can pass your wisdom along to others sometime down the road.
While I’ve never used the specific rod you linked to, one good thing about Cabela’s is their return policy. If you don’t like it you can return it. My son uses a 7’6" 4 weight Cabela’s stow away (the 5 piece travel rod) and it’s actually a lot of rod for the money, casts well, is well made, good fit and finnish, and quite a pretty rod.
If the one you linked to is similar quality, it’ll serve you well. At least it will serve you well until you start hanging around here and with other fly fishermen and start wanting a Scott or a Winston or a Sage, or heaven forbid bamboo.
As for selection,I use a 5 wt on bass bluegill and crappie. It works well. I am in the process of shopping for a 3 weight. The 5 is a little much rod for small er bluegill and smaller bass. I also fish some very small streams and the 3 wt is going to be great there.
My son’s 4 weight seems to be a very good balance between being able to handle fairly large fish (14" bass, 16" brown, 8" bluegill) and still giving a little thrill when the little guys get hooked up.
A 5 wt will serve you wonderfully. You may also want to think about a 4 wt depending on the fish you’re going to be after (larger bass or smaller bluegill), the body of water you’ll be fishing, the weight of the flies you plan to throw (bass bugs, weighted jiggs/wooly buggers, big nymphs, etc. go with a heaver rod & line)[/ul]
The most important thing is to just get out there and start catching fish. I’ve been fishing for the better part of the last 35 years, and tried fly fishing when I was younger, but not seriously. Last winter, i got the bug and have been having more fun than a fellow should be allowed to have catching fish on a fly rod. Heck, I even have fun those days I go fishing instead of going catching.
I am by no means as old pro at this, I’ve only been fly fishing for about a year, but I will say that I have a 3 wt from Cabelas and I love it. I fish for the same type fish you do. I believe I would go for the 4 instead of the 5.
Just my oppinion…and ya know what they say about those! :lol:
I stayed a Holiday Inn Express…once. So I guess that qualifies me as a pseudo expert.
Go and buy the combo and get fishing. The worst that can happen is that you want something different/better later on, and have to sell it here to another new flyfisher on FAOL. I can’t see a downside to the combo. Go for it.
Hi Skip !
I been fishin since I was a boy. Fished with lots of kinds and styles of rods, from a 10 ft. bamboo cane pole. with braided line, a big cork bobber, a 2/0 hook fulla worms, for catfish. all the way to a 5 wt sage I no longer have. The best advice is simple, ya got two choices, Fishin’…Not Fishin’…
That cabela’s outfit is first rate, and will serve you well. Do like Joe says, Buy it and get fishin’…You’re gonna love it, you’ll be hooked before the fish are…Happy flycasting !
…Modoc Dan
Skip, I am not anywhere near being expert but here is my $0.02 worth. I bought the same combo in a 8wt for Salmon in Alaska a couple years ago and loved it. Caught some 35 and 40 pounders with it and have no complants at all. I also have a 7 piece stowaway in a 6wt and a 7’6’ 3wt Three Rivers rod and love them too. Like the others have said, get what you want to and GO FISHING.
Go with a 6wt 9ft 4pc with medium to medium fast action with a strong butt. I figure you’ll need at least that weight to throw wind resistant bass poppers.
Medium will allow you to lob those poppers, and weighted flys. Medium-Fast if your a good caster and can control your power - it’ll throw a tighter loop, but if you over power it the lure will smash your rod. With this weight you’ll be able to put out good distance. The length will help keep that line off the water. The 4 piece makes it nice and packable.
Go with a reel that will balance the outfit…hint…put the money in the rod.
Skip;
I agree with Joe. The 8’ 5 wt. should cover your needs well. I think you’ll like a moderate/fast action for the fishing you’ve discribed.
IM6 graphite has been around a long time and has proven to be very adaquate.
Just for the record, my 7-piece 4wt Forecast with 5wt line (you have to overline most Forecast blanks to get any performance out of them) cast a #2 Zoo Cougar 50’ with an easy double haul. 6wt is overkill for what he is looking for. If he wanted to target big bass and maybe steelhead, then a 6 or 7 would be the rod. I fish steel with a 6wt St Croix Premier, and have landed many 12#-13# fish without undo stress on the fish. I think we need to stay focused on the original criteria. The bigger rod will take away the fun of catching the smaller target species. It’s like taking an Ugly Stick to fish for gills and trout. Great if you’re filling the freezer, but it’s just meat fishing with no tussle.
Honestly, who fishes intentionally for small fish? If you think about it, your advising to go with a lighter rod and reel combo to make the small fish feel big.
Skip, give us some insight on the size of bass your after and if your catching and releasing the crappie…
Is this the size of bass you prefer to catch…
…Or this…
Do you release crappie or do you keep it (I myself tend to keep’em)
Skip, Even though they are not a supporter of this website, I will agree that that combo should be just fine. Some time in the future you may end up with a dozen rods, but you need to get started someplace. Go for it.
Skip,
You asked an easy enough question and I think you have a number of good answers and some things to ponder.
To the original question, the outfit you mentioned is more than sufficient to meet your needs now and into the future. I think the biggest decision for you is the 5wt, 4wt, or 6wt.
6wt will throw a heaver fly better but smaller fish will not fight" as fun. However, hog bass are fun no matter what you catch them on (as are hog bluegill).
5wt is a great choice (I have a couple 5wt rods and they’re fun on the smaller bass and the occassional hog bass or gill are a lot of fun and a 18" brown trout is a whole bunch of fun).
4wt - my son has the Cabela’s stow away 4 wt and it’s a fantastic rod. The smallis bluegill and bass feel like hogs. The few really big fish he’s caught on it were landed and they were released unharmed. It may be a little on the light side for a real hog bass (8lb +).
Bottom line, I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of your choices.
I sure do hope this is helpful for you. Like I said in my first post, you’re going to get a lot of different opinions, and each person who has replied has been accurate for them and their style of fishing.
My personal opinion for a starter rod, since you said that you mainly fished for crappie and bluegill with an occasional bass thrown in, would be a 5wt rod. A 5wt is a good all around rod to use.
Silverexpress…Those are good pictures, but, that tray of crappie would get you a pretty good fine in TN since we have a 15 to 30 crappie limit here depending on what body of water you are fishing!
I think that I would start with a 6 or 7 weight rod because it is easier to cast. Don’t be afraid that you won’t feel the fish. I’ve had a ball catching 5 inch bluegill on my 8 weight rod. In general, a heavier line weight is easier to cast than a lighter one. Complications like wind only amplify the advantage of a heavier line. Big, fluffy flies, even if they are light in weight, also require more muscle to throw. For whatever it is worth, 7 and 8 weight rods were considered the best way for a beginner to start when I bought my first fly rod. When you are confident with your casting and know what sort of flies you will be using, a 5 weight might be your next rod. Locally (middle Tennessee) the 9 foot, 5 weight rod is probably the best, most versatile, all-round rod if you could have only one.
You don’t size the rod based on the fish species. The tippet is the weakest link. You can have 2-6 pound tippet on a 4wt or on a 7wt. You size the flies first. You don’t say you will be backpacking. You first determine what flies you want to cast. Then you size the fly line to the flies. Then you size the rod to the line. I have a picture of a fellow who landed an 8.5 pound rainbow in a stream quite easily on a 9’ 4wt rod. I can e-mail that pic. You do not need a 6-7 weight rod to catch bass. Your youth casting style is going to affect your now rod choice. I had a 6’ fiberglass 7wt line 50 years ago. Used it a lot. Now taking up flyfishing again…my body muscle memory still wants to cast back and forth like the old rod. I have a difficult time with the new 9’ graphite rods. Still working on it and looking for the holy grail of a fly rod for me. I cast one that turned out perfect for me but a fellow needed a rod so I gave it to him. Go to a good fly fishing store and let them help you find a rod. You are already starting out on a spendy outfit in my opinion. And it will not be your last. JC won the distance casting contest recently with the SA Combo from Wal-Mart for $69 and I think at times I have seen it for $49. You will spend money over time buying rods YOU THINK are correct. You will spend more money on rods and have junk rods…that will bottom line cost you more…and you still won’t have that one best rod…than if you just go to a good fly fishing store and let them help you find a rod. It may be a bit more spendy. But it will be more right…right off the bat. Save you time and effort over years searching for that one be best rod.
You don’t need more than a 4wt for your fishing. If you wanna get right in the middle…sorta where clinton stood…get a 9’ 3pc Fetha/Styx. edited…(OOPS…MEANT TO SAY 5wt 9’ 3pc Fetha Styx) You will be happy and confident in your fishing. When you order the Fetha/Styx…it will come in a tube. Opt for the tube with the reel pouch instead of just a shipping tube. They are great. Keep reel on and inside is a slot for each section. Discounted when you get it with the rod.
Just fyi and my nickels worth. Just trying to help you. Hope you have fun
gemrod
never 10 words or less except when I used to talk to my wife
“JC won the distance casting contest recently with the SA Combo from Wal-Mart for $69 and I think at times I have seen it for $49”
I must counter this with the perspective that it was the man and not the rod who won the distance casting contest. Natural talent, skills honed over the decades, practice, , and years of experience can probably turn almost any rod (even a broomstick!) into a winner. This is a far selling point for a beginner to purchase a $49 combo. I hope Skip was able to see through this, I’d hate to see him gain the image that he’ll be casting 50+ ft with deadly accuracy on a Walmart Special. :?
Why? There’s no reason he should not be able to do that? In fact, I’d be disappointed if it was just 50’. If this kid can cast 50’+, then why not Skip?
Hey Skip. Let’s get together and I’ll have you at 50’ the very first day. It aint rocket science.
