So I've been looking at fly rods more and more...

[Redlinerobert]

and have come to the conclusion that I may have to get one.

I'm feeling the Sage TCR 9wt with an Abel Super 8 or Super 9, in the artistic finish #4 to match my abel pliers/knife combo.  Any other guys here fly fish for stripers or bass?

[HUNTER19]

I fly fish all the time trout bass, crappie,steelhead, and hopefull some day some tarpon!!!! I'm very jealous of the rod choice sage has some amazing rods i've test casted them all! you might also want to look at R.L winston rods the most amazing rod i have ever laid hands on!!!

http://www.winstonrods.com/wt.html

[rfrazier]

I have a couple of sage 9 weights. Good rods, perfect for stripers.

[Alpster]

Robert,

I only have one Sage Fly rod, it's a VPS 4wt. trout rod, Sage make a fine rod. I use a G-Loomis FR1089 GLX 9' 2 piece for stripers when boat fishing and a 10' 12wt that I built on a Mahogany blank for fishing in the surf. Two Orvis 6wt rods for LMs. I only have one Abel (TR Light) and it is an awsome reel. For heavier stuff I am using Fly Logic, Orvis Mach IIIs and a Pflueger Trion. Fancy aluminum fly reels and salt water don't mix very well. Let me warn you Robert, fly gear is a special addiction and can be way more expensive than conventional bass gear. You certainly won't be disappointed with Sage rods or Abel reels. JMHO

Ronnie

[Redlinerobert]

Thanks guys,  I value your opinion.  I wonder if I Santa may be getting me one.... :

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Stick with the 9wt and you can use it here for Stripers and Blues next yr.  If you were looking for a largemouth rod, I would stay with a 7 wt,..maybe an 8.

So what happened, you accidentally turn to a page in a catalogue that had all kinds of billeted, gold reels and you just had to have one, huh?

;D

You can't go wrong with a Sage, but also look into Redington, Orvis and Loomis

I WILL say this though,.....My 1st fly rod set up was a $25 Eagle Claw combo.  Bob ended up feeding it, tip first, into the prop with a Bluefish on and he replaced it with a Sage (what a guy, huh?)  well, I ended up buying another combo (same one) for teaching newbies how to cast w/o worrying about a $300 rod.  I use the $25 combo more than the Sage to this day,lol.  Low Budget?  You bet.

[HomersTomaco]

I've been fly fishing forever. I just got a new rod too.  I had it down to two choices, the Sage Z-Axis and the Loomis Native Run GLX. I ended up going with the Loomis, and its a great rod.  They call it a single hand spey rod because its 11 ft long and 8 wt, but its not really a spey rod, its more of a switch rod.  They extra length would be great if you want to use it for stripers and other fish in that class.  If you have any fly fishing questions let me know.

[Redlinerobert]

You got me LBH.  ;D

I think I've pretty much made up my mind on the Sage.  My only question is what length, as they come in 9ft and 10 ft I believe?  What does the extra foot in length really do?

Considering the flies I will be using, I'm looking at the 9wt and the 10wt.  

[fish-fighting-illini]

... Let me warn you Robert, fly gear is a special addiction and can be way more expensive than conventional bass gear. You certainly won't be disappointed with Sage rods or Abel reels. JMHO

Ronnie

OoooH nice save Ronnie. I thought about getting a fly rod someday but if it is way more addicive and expensive I'll need to pass, I'd have to murder the Bait monkey instead of just beat it on occasion! LOL

Matt

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

The longer rod does a few things but the main 2 would be

1.  Longer casts

2. More leverage

The line is what makes a huge difference.  There are all different kinds of designs from floating, sinking, sinking tip, floating tip, shooting line, etc.  That's where your research will pay off.

[Alpster]

Just bear in mind if you fish all day, a longer rod will wear you out a lot quicker. I only have one rod over 9' and it's reserved for surf fishing where distance is important. With a weight cored line or a heavy shooter you can get a lot of distance with a 9' rod. If you fish floating line for trout or bass you will want accuracy more than distance. JMHO

Ronnie

[flyphisher #]

Sage just came out with two new rods especially for tournament bass fishing you might want to check out..7'10 9wt and a 7'9 11 wt i think... .. talked to a few pro-staffers/guides i know in Fla...and have heard nothing but good things and they were really impressed with rods that they were very skeptical about... Powell and or scott has some similar rods...

some of the older sages are much better than the new ones.....and some are getting more expensive than the new ones on ebay...  

I use a TFO sig series 8wt and 6wt for almost all my flyfishing for bass/stripers...... but also been known to fish 2 and 3 wts when i can....

[flyphisher #]

DO not go below an 8'6" rod unless you go with one of the new sage bass rods... 9ft gives you both accuracy and distance..... and the right rod and reel/line setup you can cast an 8 wt all day long.... biggest key is learning to cast selectively.... 8wts and over are not good for blind casting.... I would recommend a 6 or 7wt for general fishing... My 2nd largest bass was a 9.5, I caught on a 5wt with a #6 woolly booger....

check out www.byrdsultrafly.com or google bill byrd... also check out the flyfishing section on florida sportsman mag forum..... these guys have lots of good info....

Really just for lmb I would go with an 8'6 or 9ft 7wt.... it will be good for all you need to do and will fish alot better and enjoyably compared to an 8wt. then buy a 9 or 10wt for days you got to have a cannon...

[.dsaavedra.]

i flyfish for bass occasionally, but i tie bass flies alot (aint that weird? i tie them and dont even use em)

but i have an 8foot 6wt and its perfect for bass...provides for a nice fight...specially with 2-3 pound fish!

the rod i have is some cheapy flooger rod and the reel is a reddington red fly. since i dont fly fish much, its suits me well

[TournyFish001]

You got me LBH. ;D

I think I've pretty much made up my mind on the Sage. My only question is what length, as they come in 9ft and 10 ft I believe? What does the extra foot in length really do?

Considering the flies I will be using, I'm looking at the 9wt and the 10wt.

Well your boat is probably big enough to fit that 10ft fly rod in your rod locker- lol  I just read your sig- cool boat, in a perfect world I'd run side by side with ya at 80+! Let me know if ya need prop work.  I had a ding in mine sent it to an outfit in NorCal and they did a fine job got me 200rpm and 3mph- it looked brand spankin new when I got it from UPS.

[Redlinerobert]

It was the biggest floating tackle box I could find megatron.  

[Bass XL]

I've cought plenty of trout on a fly rod, but i'll say that catching a bass on a flyrod (when using a dry fly or a popper) is abot 10x better

[HUNTER19]

I've cought plenty of trout on a fly rod, but i'll say that catching a bass on a flyrod (when using a dry fly or a popper) is abot 10x better

1000x better

[flyphisher #]

something else to thing about is once you go to an 8wt or bigger, you have to cast them totally different than lighter rods. Might be good to take a few lessons if before you buy one bigger than an 7wt...