looking for single-handed dry line summer rod suggestions

Hey Bill--

For what it's worth, here's my two cents: I fish a 9140 all winter and on the Dean, and fish the 7136 with sinktips in early summer. For dry-line fishing, my favorite rod is the RPL+ 796. I also own and have used the 890 (awesome type 5 sinktip rod for deep, fast slots, but a little short for dry-line) and a 7100 that for whatever reason, just doesn't do it for me. So, for drylines, love the 796, hate the 7100. Of course, that's just my own personal preference, but that 796 is lighter, crisper and just fishes a little livlier in the hand, and I feel it's plenty long enough. Does that "livlier" comment make sense? I don't know how to describe it other than I think it fishes better, I guess in the way that I feel Loomis rods cast a mile but don't feel as "fishy" as Sage rods in general. But that's a whole other topic of conversation. Anyway, the RPL+ 796 would be my recommendation. However, if you're still dying for the 7100, I have one I'd gladly sell you for a reasonable price. Just let me know if you're interested--I don't even know what they cost retail. Or I'd trade for an SP four weight four piecer. Well, as I said, this is just my personal preference--I'm sure everyone has a different opinion, and I'll be interested to see what the other guys have to say.

Peace,

Dylan

Hey Bill--

For what it's worth, here's my two cents: I fish a 9140 all winter and on the Dean, and fish the 7136 with sinktips in early summer. For dry-line fishing, my favorite rod is the RPL+ 796. I also own and have used the 890 (awesome type 5 sinktip rod for deep, fast slots, but a little short for dry-line) and a 7100 that for whatever reason, just doesn't do it for me. So, for drylines, love the 796, hate the 7100. Of course, that's just my own personal preference, but that 796 is lighter, crisper and just fishes a little livlier in the hand, and I feel it's plenty long enough. Does that "livlier" comment make sense? I don't know how to describe it other than I think it fishes better, I guess in the way that I feel Loomis rods cast a mile but don't feel as "fishy" as Sage rods in general. But that's a whole other topic of conversation. Anyway, the RPL+ 796 would be my recommendation. However, if you're still dying for the 7100, I have one I'd gladly sell you for a reasonable price. Just let me know if you're interested--I don't even know what they cost retail. Or I'd trade for an SP four weight four piecer. Well, as I said, this is just my personal preference--I'm sure everyone has a different opinion, and I'll be interested to see what the other guys have to say.

Peace,

Dylan

Hey Bill--

Haven't fished the Scott, but I fish the RPL+ 796 and the 7136 quite a bit. In my opinion, the 796 is an awesome fish fighting tool--as with any single-hander compared to a two-hander, the amount of control you have over the fish and the feel you have to respond is excellent. The 796, in my experience, also has plenty of backbone to fight big fish. I use it for both sink tips (type 5's in deep slots) and dry-lines on the upper part of the Dean every year, and have landed some huge fish. As you probably know, the Sage single-handers tend to be right-on for their listed line weight at 9 feet, but at 9.5', the added stiffness seems to fish one line weight heavier perfectly--so I usually fish an 8 weight line on that 796. Anyway, you'll never need anything stiffer than this rod for steelhead. In comparison, the 7136 is very soft, and while I recently landed a 28lb king with it, I don't recommend it for big fish. I don't believe rod strength has anything to do with how far a fish will run, but when you're trying to move a fish in close or in heavy water, the 7136 makes for a lot of work and finesse (not to mention luck). I do love casting and fishing the 7136, though, and it's a real treat after lugging and casting the 9140 all winter. Incidentally, the primary reason (for me) for using the heavier rod in the winter/spring has to do with the size of the flies I fish at that time. Anyway, I think that 796 is the perfect compliment to your two-hander--it fishes everything from floaters to type 5's beautifully, and man, can that rod whip steelhead. If I havn't already bored you to tears with all this tech-babble, I wish you luck on your decision making, and keep me informed of what you decide.

Peace,

Dylan

Now that you've got me started...another great single-hander--especially if you're going to primarily fish sinktips--is the old workhorse 890. This rod is a classic, and though it's been updated a bit over the years, is always an excellent choice. It may feel a bit short, but in tough, windy conditions when you need to fish deep and fight big fish, it's a killer. For years when I was working in Alaska and fishing 150 days a year, this was my standard rod--I actually wore one out from fighting fish (a condition the good fellas at Sage swore was impossible, until they fished it and promptly handed me a brand new one.)
Also, as I look at my posts, they seem heavily biased towards Sage, and I want to be clear that although I had a Sage pro-deal for years, I no longer have any connection to the company other than that I think they're great rods. There are also a lot of other great rod makers out there, and I've fished a number of them, own a few, and even done some work for another, but when it comes down to it, for the style I fish (and this is a matter of purely personal preference) Sage is usually the rod that fishes best for me. I just didn't want you guys to think I was some kind of shill for the boys from Bainbridge, so I thought I ought to at least be clear about where my biased point of view comes from.

Dylan