View Full Version : fly rods
recommend me a fly rod,
want a 9" 6 to 10 foot with a line rating 7-8
and dont want to pay sillymoney,
what rod and why
Also on another note anyone ever used a cane fly rod?? what was it like?
PJMCBear
11-09-2006, 11:48
If you're not wanting to spend silly money, stick with Airflo or Shakespear. Cheap and practically bombproof. I've used rods from both, and whilst not the most refined of rods they will put up with casting huge pike flies across the lakes.
Best of luck.
PJ
when i say silly money i mean a £500 hardy, any feedback about Greys or lureflash??
Montivagus
11-09-2006, 12:03
I’m not sure this reply will be of much use to you because I wouldn’t call myself a fisherman even though I’ve done an awful lot of fishing if you see what I mean.
I can’t really recommend a rod because I’ve only ever had one fly rod and this is a cane rod.
I bought it in a second hand shop while I was at uni. and I don’t even know what make it is because the handle is and always was, so covered in tape and I was scared to take it off.
All I know is it works i.e. I’ve caught a fair amount of fish with it, mostly river fishing but some lake fishing and even some (I guess kind of abusive) bass fishing in the Menai straights and mackerel fishing near puffin island!
The reel is firmly glued and jubilee-clipped in place and all in all it’s a bit of a Frankenstein fly rod but like I say it works…. I guess what I’m trying to say is I think the important thing is what’s on the end of it and the skill with which you use it. It cost me £3. I reckon it has caught me hundreds of times that price in fish over the years.
:)
ilovemybed
11-09-2006, 12:06
recommend me a fly rod,
want a 9" 6 to 10 foot with a line rating 7-8
and dont want to pay sillymoney,
what rod and why
Also on another note anyone ever used a cane fly rod?? what was it like?
Hi,
Depends on what you mean by silly money.
I have a 10' GREYS GRX rod, cost just under £100, and it's a great all-rounder, if a little soft action for my tastes (more forgiving but not as precise as I'd like these days)
It's coverend by an everything proof guarantee and insured against loss/damage with an excess of $20 or so.
Never had any complaints about the fit or finish.
I think they've just brought an updated one out - not sure how it compares to the old one.
Used to sell Lureflash. Good affordable gear for someone starting up but you'll soon see that you get what you pay for. I'd point someone who had absolutely no gear at lureflash to get a starter pack together, then they're able to replace things with better quality as the money becomes available.
Hope that helps,
Neil
PJMCBear
11-09-2006, 12:20
I have two Greys. One a 5 piece smuggler, 4/5#, 8ft brook rod and the other a 7/8#, 9.5ft reservoir rod. Both have a lovely medium soft action and have the power to deal with good fish.
Lureflash are ok, but I find the action a little sluggish and I don't feel they have the finess of the Greys.
PJ
cheers guys been looking at a greys grx and the lure flash kevin moss, pretty new to flyfishing so all advice appreciated
http://i11.ebayimg.com/01/i/08/44/86/34_1_b.JPG
queeg9000
11-09-2006, 13:17
Spoony
If you want some cut price fishing gear, this place "Jims" is one of the cheapest on the net, I've only bought sea fishing and spinning gear to date, but deliveries fast, and they're well packed.
Worth a looksee......
http://www.jims.org.uk/fishing/fly-rods.htm
Steve
PJMCBear
11-09-2006, 14:40
Looks ok to me and not a bad price. See if you can try before you buy, that way you can judge the feel for yourself.
One bit of advice I will give you. Get some casting lessons. I spent 3 years whipping the water to a froth before the wife bought me some for Xmas. I couldn't believe how far and accurately I was casting after them. Well worth the money.
PJ
Looks ok to me and not a bad price. See if you can try before you buy, that way you can judge the feel for yourself.
One bit of advice I will give you. Get some casting lessons. I spent 3 years whipping the water to a froth before the wife bought me some for Xmas. I couldn't believe how far and accurately I was casting after them. Well worth the money.
PJ
i can get the lureflash kevin moss for £39.99 not the £75.99 in the pic,
those shakespear on jims site are cheap to, one thing i dont want to do is spend x amount on a rod then feel i need a new one in 6 months,
fred gordon
11-09-2006, 18:09
I recently bought an Orvis 'Frequent Flyer' Rod. It breaks down into 7 pieces, weighs 3.1 0zs, and comes with a hard case. Available in 8.5 or 9ft lengths I think it's great for hiking in, canoeing, or just having in the car. Cost about £150 but will last a lifetime. I had a 3 pound Rainbow on mine at the 3rd cast! Love it. :)
Labrador
11-09-2006, 18:45
Hi,
hailing from Tyne & Wear I'd suggest taking a trip to Alnwick & having a look at & a cast with the Greys range at the Hardy/Greys factory shop & museum.
I tend to use quite a range of gear; Orvis, John Norris (Bruce & Walker), Shimano (travel rod) & a nice little cane brook rod I built from a cheap Agutters blank (lots of cane rod afficianados moan about Agutters but I love my rod).
The best thing you can do is find a good tackle shop & try a few balanced outfits to see what feels OK. Most good dealers should be able to help you with your first casts & shouldn't allow you to leave with a load of rubbish not fit for the purpose.
Best of luck & tight lines!
Spacemonkey
11-09-2006, 20:50
I use a 4 piece 'Bloke' Bass Special for salt water fly fishing. Obviously, it uses corrosion resistant fittings, and has three lined stripping rings, and the rest are snakes. It's a very fast rod though, which needs good timing, so sometimes it goes all pear shaped...:o It's an 8 weight with which i use a 9 weight WF floating Snowbee XS salty line, which suits it well. It's the same more or less as the bonefish rod here: http://www.bloke-rods.co.uk/salt.html it will also cope well with carp, pike and barbel. What do you want the rod for??
I was going to try the Orvis Frequent Flyer as i want a 6 piece or so in an 9 weight, but it doesn't come with a lifetime guarantee like the other Orvis or my Bloke. I was recommended a rod by a very experienced fisher who tests top rods for major companies like Greys, Orvis, Beaulah etc and it is the March Brown Hidden Water 6 piece in 10 weight for $199, which in real money is a very good deal. It has a no quibble lifetime guarantee for about $30 or so. and is a great rod to fish with. I shall be getting one soon...
All my rods are Grey's now, although they are spinning rods i can't rate them high enough, the quaility on the missionary spin rods is sublime. Have spoken to a few people who fly fish a lot and have found that the blanks go soft after a while on the greys fly rod's, but they do use their rod's A LOT!!!! :eek:
Malcolm Grey lived at the top of my road when i was a kid, and he was always replacing eyes and whippings for me when I abused my old Hardy's rods. My grandfather worked for hardy's and so i am fortunate to have several split cane trout and salmon fly rods dating from the 60's/70's.
Malcolm himself worked for hardy's for many years before setting up his own bussiness in the old railway station, and as he became more successful he was bought out by Hardy's.
i've always used split cane for dry fly, and my record to date is a 25lb fresh run salmon on a 9ft 4 piece hardy, caught on a Greenwells Glory just above the dam/weir at Lesbury (my old stomping ground).
I do own a FG 9 1/2 ft trout rod which was bought for night fishing for Seatrout, but the company name rubbed off many years ago, and can't for the life of me remember who made it...possibly shakespeare. Suffice to say it's 30yrs old and still does the job.
As for reels, mine are all hardys, a marquis No 8 is my standard...not sure how much they cost now...not that mine cost anything...thanks Grandad, wherever you are... :rolleyes:
nice story thanks for sharing, at somepoint io will pick up a splint cane rod just to try, something appealing about them,