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best SWF 7 or 8 rod available

6K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  teflon_jones 
#1 · (Edited)
Question:
What is in your opinion the best rod available in the 7 or 8-weight class for saltwater fly-fishing? I'm looking for long casts and possible delicate presentations.
You could help me by mentioning your experiences. I'm also interested in blanks.
To be honest I kind of got a bit lost in the numerous possibilities nowadays, so many good reviews on the different rods from Sage, Loomis, TFO, Dan Craft, etc. With your info I have a starting point to decide which rods I have to give a try casting.
Rgds AdrianV
 
#5 ·
Adrian -

Your question is fine. You just caught all the Yanks on this board on a long holiday weekend--our Thanksgiving celebration. To keep the thread at the top of the forum on Monday morning and trigger some more answers after we have digested our turkey dinners, come back with a little more information about the size and species of fish you're targeting and the kind of water you fish. Is it open surf, tidal bays, saltmarsh? That may help prompt more responses. On this side of the Atlantic, at least in New England where this board started, eight- to ten-weight rods are the more common choices for saltwater, and longer, two-handed rods are starting to show up on the open beach. I fish with Thomas and Thomas rods, another crisp, fast rod. At the upper left of this page, under the "Flyfishing Forum" logo is a link to sponsors. For more rod choices and specs, you might want to click on some of those links.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for your advice.
To give some more info: the seabass we are after are a bit smaller than the stripers you are used to. Unfortunately we don't have those overhere. Our bass grow up to about 15-20 lbs. If you get one of 5 pound plus you have a nice fish. For the weight/power ratio they are the tuffest fighting fish I have encountered (including fresh run 40 lbs+ Kings, large trout and 30lbs pike)
The ideal rod for the fish itself is, in my opinion a 7 or 8 rod. Sometimes you have to use a heavier line, but that is due to the wind or weight of the flies used. We use about the same flies as you do for stripers, just a bit smaller in general. The kind of fishing is from beaches (open surf) often casting far out to structures. Also popular is belly boating in a secluded area, seperated form the open sea by a large dam of bolders (large concrete blocks). It's very tempting to try it on the outside of this dam too, as it's much better fishing. If you do so you will arrive in England in about one week! Kayaking is possible but haven't tried that yet.
Hope you all had a fine Thanksgiving.
 
#7 ·
Adrian--I, too, might be a bit biased, as I'm co-owner of G&L FlyCraft, a new company based in Calgary, Alberta dedicated to meticulously crafting individual masterpieces in world-class fly rods. After more than two years of R&D, we've just released three different saltwater series, two of which might be ideal for what you describe. Our Magrove Flats Series is available in 6-9wts, and is a smooth-casting, distance-reaching rod with lots of feel. It's based on the tapers we perfected in our Bow River Series for big water, big casts, and big, hard-fighting fish...but also needed to be capable of extreme accuracy and finesse presentations. I have a friend in the UK who fishes for sea bass using blanks based on the same tapers and feels they are the definitive match for your context.

We also JUST released our long-awaited Salmon & Steelhead Series, which has a markedly different feel but is every bit the performer our other saltwater series are. Ultra-fast, ultra-smooth action capable of some pretty staggering distances with superb damping and, again, lots of "feel".

All our saltwater series feature reel seats turned from pure titanium bar stock and titanium-framed SiC ceramic guides. In our opinion (and that of many of the finest casters), they are indeed the consummate fly rod.

My apologies if this post comes off too "advertising-ish"...we're just very passionate about crafting a whole new level of fly rods and I couldn't very well ignore your inquiry about what the best saltwater rod might be! :)

Incidentally, our website doesn't launch until next week, but you are welcome to email me directly if you're interested in learning more. Hopefully you'll also see us around this board in reviews and as sponsors!

Respectfully,
 
#9 · (Edited)
AdrianV said:
Thanks for your advice.
To give some more info: the seabass we are after are a bit smaller than the stripers you are used to. Unfortunately we don't have those overhere. Our bass grow up to about 15-20 lbs. If you get one of 5 pound plus you have a nice fish. For the weight/power ratio they are the tuffest fighting fish I have encountered (including fresh run 40 lbs+ Kings, large trout and 30lbs pike)
The ideal rod for the fish itself is, in my opinion a 7 or 8 rod. Sometimes you have to use a heavier line, but that is due to the wind or weight of the flies used. We use about the same flies as you do for stripers, just a bit smaller in general. The kind of fishing is from beaches (open surf) often casting far out to structures. Also popular is belly boating in a secluded area, seperated form the open sea by a large dam of bolders (large concrete blocks). It's very tempting to try it on the outside of this dam too, as it's much better fishing. If you do so you will arrive in England in about one week! Kayaking is possible but haven't tried that yet.
Hope you all had a fine Thanksgiving.

Adrian,
I used to fish the E.Coast a bunch for stripers. At one time I lived and died for it. I think that given the average size of the fish you're talking about a 7 or 8wt is just fine. If these fish run towards structure and try to rock you then go with the heavier stick because you have got to stop them. If they avoid structure and slug it out in open water I'd go with the 7wt. Any major rod manufacturer makes suitable rods these days and they are all much quicker and more powerful than anything I ever fished with, it just depends on what you prefer.

One of the rods of choice where I fished was a 9' 7-8wt Sage RP. Stiff rod for its day...however, not much of a stick powerwise compared to what's being offered for sale now. Just for an illustration, I knew of a guy who landed a 26 lb bass in an area full of docks, bouys and all sorts of junk where he could of got wrapped. At night. Rod was a 5 or 6wt Sage RP. If you're just throwing smaller flies, you don't need much stick for stripers. But that was pushing it.

The rods I fished were a 908-4 Scott "T" rod and a Winston 9' 8wt IM6 "XD" rod. Both very moderate, even soft rods by today's standards. I only felt the need for more stick once, but that was on an exceptionally nice fish in some current that ran for a bridge.

Hear of a lot of 9 and 10, even 11 wts out there now...why I have no idea.
Maybe it's the size flies being thrown these days, some of which are the size of a billfish fly. Or an Atom Swimmer.

Oh, and the rods I mentioned above all doubled as bluefish, bonito and albie rods as well.

I'd like to see what these critters look like. Can you post a photo of one?

Michael
 
#11 ·
O.K. so we have got the Loomis Cross Current, the Sages Xi2 and RplXi, and the Scott HP and S3S rods. On those I can lay my hands on as we have dealers of those in Holland. On the others it will be difficult as I have not heard of any dealers over here.
Still no news from the Loomis fans, TFO's or the Dan Craft rods. I do expect all of these brands to have great rods. Btw my own experience is that good rods do not have to be expensive ones, but they can be. Also I feel that a superfast rod is not necessary to be the best casting one although I am a quite fast caster. I'm often using Gatti rods IM6 and higher modulus ones though the last one makes me nervous if using Clousers)

Adrian
 
#15 ·
Best 8-weight I've cast

Adrian,

The best 8 weight, saltwater suitable rod I have cast in the last several years is the great tournament caster Tim Rajeff's Echo 9 foot 8 weight. This has what he calls a medium fast action. It has a quick but sensitive tip on top of a deeply powerful progressive action mid and butt section. Over the years I have cast virtually all the American 8 weights (Sage, Loomis, Winston, Fly Logic, etc.) at various venues. The best I have cast is the Echo. Amazingly, it is also the least expensive of the very good rods I have cast. In the hand it is extremely light and feels like you are casting a six-weight rod, but it will easily cast an entire WF8 line. It has plenty of fighting power for saltwater fish, especially the size of the ones you indicate.

However, I think it extremely unlikely you could find it overseas.

You might, however, be able to order it through someone like Mike Cummins (MJC) at the Red Shed Fly Shop. I know he has sent some rods to buyers outside the US. He is great to deal with.
 
#16 ·
Good information guys, thanks.
To get back at Michael's question:
yes, they do take lures both at the surface as well as deep.
I expect them to be about the same as stripers but just smaller.
I do not know about the power of stripers but by the looks of it, it should
be powerfull too. I'd better check it out for myself once, fishing the Cape or
Monomoy. I am not well aquainted yet with seabass fishing, just did it a couple of times now, but it sure is addictive. For me it's a one and a half hour drive to the coast, and for Dutch standards that's quite far. Last time I was fishing with a bellyboat in a secluded area separated form the open sea by a dam of man made boulders. We fish close to the boulders. I felt the andrenaline running when I had a bass on and in the same time got soaked by a big wave thrashing on the boulders from the open sea. Big big fun! (well secured, life vest, etc). You have to paddle very firmly to stay at the same spot. After a couple of hours you feel like you did something. We just say that it's "not for sissies".
Fly fishing for seabass in Holland has in fact just started since a couple of years, given some exceptions. It's getting more popular now. If anyone wants to know more about the European seabass: here are some very nice sites: ukswff.com(I believe it's a sister forum of this one) myfishcasting.org/approach/index.html , zeebaars.nl
Adrian

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#18 ·
prolly a little late, but what the heck. i was looking at a rod for redfish (8#/9') recently and chose the G.Loomise CrossCurrents against a Sage FLi, Sage Launch, TFO Pro, White River 270, and Sage DS2. i chose the Loomis because to me, it felt like it had good loading feel yet remained stout and powerful in the lower section of the rod to really throw out a line. the FLi was good but stiff and not as finess-y; a gun. the Launch, i don't remember much about except that it's somewhere in the middle. the TFO was an enigma to me. and the White River felt decent but lacked the quality of any of the others. the DS2 is discontinued, but it had a very loady feel and may have been a bit soft. all this may be a fuzzy mess because i tried these rods over the course of about a month before going with the Loomis plus i haven't slept in a very long time. nite.
 
#19 ·
Just wanted to tell you that I bought the TFO TiCrX 8 weight.
First try casts made and I am quite impressed. Effortless casting!
Still a bit too soon to give a definite judgement, but it feels very good.
As soon as I can test it further I will post my opinion.
Still thanks to all people who reacted.
AdrianV
 
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