632 bucks

[djtrout 0]

I need to check with Steeldrifter myself, I always assumed his price point was up there a bit. Worth it I know, but I passed on thinking of his when I went looking for budget rods.

 

Now to yours, budget of 632. Good suggestions above, but $632 can go quick. I have the most expensive rods and reels, and some of the cheapest. While I enjoy my premiums, I ooh and ahh every couple years when technology advances, but I can't afford to keep buying top of the line equipment every couple years. That said, I am in love with my Redington butterstick (about $250 as I recall). I reeled it with a Redington Drift reel on sale for $75 (3 wt). Cheap setup but I love it. Action on an Orvis glass rod was a bit smoother, but that's $800. I bond with my equipment choices over time, so I am not afraid to choose something that works well for me in my price range; I'm very, very difficult to upsell.

 

I like the 2 rod recommendation. I went from 9' and 8'9" 5 and 4 wt respectively to my 7' 3 wt butterstick. the smallest for small brookie streams, the 4 and 5 for varying trout and panfish situations. I kayak fish and like the 9' length for that. If you stick with 4 wt (no reason not to) you can have one line and reel, 2 rods.

 

Here is my recommendation on spending priorities:

rod - low end, not cheap, just low end. around $150 - $250. For 2 rods, need to keep to the $150 range. I think Orvis has one; I've been impressed with Redington's lineup, check them out.

Go good on line. I'd spend the $70-$90 for a good weight forward line (I like Rio right now, but Wulff triangle taper and Scientific Anglers are good), IMHO that matters, having a top quality line. Figure in $30 for leader and tippet material. So, without tax, about $100-$130 for the complete line setup. You can save money by getting a $35 fly line, and upgrade it later if your budget is hard, because your stuck with the rod and reel choices sort of more permanently, but good line matters.

Reel: for trout you don't need to get fancy. Redington has fine reels for under $100 and just over $100. Sage 2200 is a nice reel for around $125. Shop around. Definitely, if at all possible, cast the rods you're looking at.

2 rods at $150 each + $130 line/leader/tippet (top price) + $125 reel = $555. With sales tax at, say, 5% = $584. That gives you a little slack to go up on one or both of the rods. I'd leave the reel where it is, and focus on upgrading rod, unless you just fall in love with a reel you gotta have. It happens.

Settle on the line and reel, then do your thinking on 1 or 2 rods; look over all you can in the $150-$250 range. If you really can push your total cost to more than $632, consider a "better" rod, but one mistake new folks to the sport often make is looking at the price of a rod and forgetting all that goes with it. Limitation of this strategy is I'm unsure I'd want two different rod lengths in the same weight line, so I'll discuss below.

 

If Steeldrifter can meet your need within your budget, wow I'd scarf that up. Only thing is you can't test cast it, but I think you would be thrilled with his work.

 

Final note on the 2 rod thing. If I had a 9' 4 wt as first choice, for #2 I would be looking at a 6'-7' 2 or 3 wt. That would mean, reference my strategy above, you settle on one rod right now, and get the shorter later. Otherwise, you might not be happy with two 4 wts even though they are different lengths. I am amazed how different my 3 wt feels compared to the 4 wt. In practice, I shoot either the 3 wt or the 5 wt, my poor 4 wt sits in the car as backup anymore. So, you might, in my scheme, want to upgrade a bit on your 9' (or whatever length you decide, I think 4 wt is probably a good choice) rod and wait to acquire the lighter shorter rod. If you must stick to your budget, it's going to be difficult to pull off 2 rod/reel/line complete outfits. Doable, but you might make more compromises than you'll be happy with.

[Dave G. 0]

I mentioned a ways back in the thread the idea of two rods. Purely by my own choice it would probably be a 9' 5wt though and either a 3 or 4 wt around 7ft. Oh that's what I have now that I fish most, what a coincidence LOL ! Seriously it matters what you are fishing for and where. If those larger rivers have 17 and 18 inch fish or even 20" in them by chance, a 5 wt is nice and it cuts the wind in open areas a bit better than a 3 or 4 wt will. If it's pretty calm where you will be fishing the 4 will do fine. Here in New England we use 6 wt ( I own three different 6 wt rods) quite a bit in larger bodied waters mostly due to wind in spring and fall and fast currents, it's a pleasure to settle in with the 5wt or even 4 wt in later June when the winds calm down. Mid summer, especially Aug can be dead calm in some places and that makes a huge difference on what rod you take along or can potentially take along.. When water is high and real fast a 15 inch fish can feel like a monster if it gets down stream a bit on you and you can't move down with it. Every range or zone across the country I suppose has it's own set of circumstances.

 

One brand not mentioned is Echo, be that for a combo , for a single rod or for a single reel. We own a couple of Echo rods, one in 6 wt and my wife has one in 9 wt and they are excellent casting rods. The owner of Echo is a casting champion and rod designer who decided to start commercial sales of some of his designs. As such they perform quite well. Worth a look, I know I won't be throwing away my Echo 6 wt. Not saying you have to buy one of these but just worth consideration, to put on your trial list.

[FlaFly 0]

Cgull.... what everybody is telling you is that the rod you pick needs to fit how you fish. Not just matching the weight, but also length. If you're fishing in a narrow stream, or underneath lots of tree limbs, you'll wish you had a shorter (e.g. 7 ft) rod. If you're sitting in a kayak, a short rod will result in your dragging water on the back-cast, so you'll need a longer (8-9 ft) rod.

 

So many decisions! That's why guys that fish a lot of different waters have so many rods... one for every purpose.

[McGnat 0]

Might want to keep you eye on Steep and Cheap for rods, reels and line. I have ordered from them twice and was totally satisfied both times.

[CGull 0]

Thanks