Choosing a fly rod
John Zeringue You have decided you want to start fly fishing. Congratulations, you are about to enter into a new world of fishing. There is nothing like catching a pound and a half sacalait on a fly rod. Even those 6 inch bream can feel like a monster on the fly. You now need to purchase a rod, reel, and line to get started. Lucky for you we now have the internet to research and figure out what is the best outfit for you. I was not so lucky when I got into the sport in the mid ‘90’s. All I had was my dad. He gave me an old fly rod with and old automatic fly reel. I would later buy a really cheap combo from Academy and became a really nuisance to the bluegill population in the drainage canal at the end of my street. Since then I have learned most of the terminology in fly fishing when it comes to the “hardware”. I’ll share most of that now to take the mystery out of choosing your first set up.
The first thing you are going to need is probably the most obvious; the fly rod. Fly rods are long and limber. When used in combination with the matching weight line, I’ll get to that in a minute, you can cast the sometimes near weightless fly. Most of the rods you will find are made from fiberglass, graphite, or bamboo.
Fiberglass: these rods are tough, moderately light, relatively inexpensive, and tough. The stand up well to general neglect and are cheap enough to have as a back up rod.
The first thing you are going to need is probably the most obvious; the fly rod. Fly rods are long and limber. When used in combination with the matching weight line, I’ll get to that in a minute, you can cast the sometimes near weightless fly. Most of the rods you will find are made from fiberglass, graphite, or bamboo.
Fiberglass: these rods are tough, moderately light, relatively inexpensive, and tough. The stand up well to general neglect and are cheap enough to have as a back up rod.
With a price range starting in $800 range, the Helios 2 is what most experienced fly anglers want. Graphite: These are the most popular rods out there. They are strong, easy to cast, and low maintenance. They range in price from “That’s not bad” to “Holy cow, who can afford that?” I’ve been eyeing an Orvis Helios 2 that is in the latter category. With a price range starting in $800 range, the Helios 2 is what most experienced fly anglers want. Since I’m on a budget and saved up gift cards, I use Temple Fork Outfitters Finesse series rod. TFO is not paying me say this. I purchased the rod at full price, but I love that rod. It’s light and has an unbelievable warranty, I’ll get to that later in the post. Now if Orvis wants to give me a Helios rod, I would name drop them 20 times in every post. Until then I’ll tell you what I buy and trust. A word about price: the cheaper the graphite rod the heavier it’s going to be. As the price goes up, the lighter the rod will be.
Bamboo: The first fly rods were made of bamboo. I’ve never fished with one because they are expensive. They start in the $1000 range! They are also not for the beginner and require a considerable amount of care and maintenance. They are also quite heavier than the graphite and fiberglass. If you are buying your first rod, I would recommend graphite.
Line weight
Fly line comes in different weights that were measured in grains, kind of like bullets. Since most people do not understand that, manufacturers assign a number to lines from 1 to 14. The bigger the number of the line, the bigger the fly can be cast. Rods come in weights as well. Match the rod weight with the line weight. The line weight you chose will depend on what you will primarily target. For bream and sacalait, I recommend 3 to 5 wt; bass, 6 to 8 wt; and for redfish 7 to 9 wt rods.
Rod length is another thing to consider, although it’s not that important for fishing down here. Depending on the manufacturer,
you can find rods from 6 ft. long to 10 ft. long. For fishing here in south Louisiana an 8 and a half or 9 ft rod is all you need. You’re also going to find rods come in 1, 2, 3, or 4 pieces. You’ll find more 3 or 4 piece rods locally. This choice is all personal preference.
Another tip I give, is if you’re going after the bigger stronger fish like redfish, jack crevalle, and to an extent bass, get a rod with a fighting butt. A fighting butt is just a
little extension on the end of the fly rod that is covered with the same material as the handle. It’s there so you have something that you can press against your belly so you can get better leverage when fighting bigger fish. Most rods 8 wt and above have a fighting butt.
Bamboo: The first fly rods were made of bamboo. I’ve never fished with one because they are expensive. They start in the $1000 range! They are also not for the beginner and require a considerable amount of care and maintenance. They are also quite heavier than the graphite and fiberglass. If you are buying your first rod, I would recommend graphite.
Line weight
Fly line comes in different weights that were measured in grains, kind of like bullets. Since most people do not understand that, manufacturers assign a number to lines from 1 to 14. The bigger the number of the line, the bigger the fly can be cast. Rods come in weights as well. Match the rod weight with the line weight. The line weight you chose will depend on what you will primarily target. For bream and sacalait, I recommend 3 to 5 wt; bass, 6 to 8 wt; and for redfish 7 to 9 wt rods.
Rod length is another thing to consider, although it’s not that important for fishing down here. Depending on the manufacturer,
you can find rods from 6 ft. long to 10 ft. long. For fishing here in south Louisiana an 8 and a half or 9 ft rod is all you need. You’re also going to find rods come in 1, 2, 3, or 4 pieces. You’ll find more 3 or 4 piece rods locally. This choice is all personal preference.
Another tip I give, is if you’re going after the bigger stronger fish like redfish, jack crevalle, and to an extent bass, get a rod with a fighting butt. A fighting butt is just a
little extension on the end of the fly rod that is covered with the same material as the handle. It’s there so you have something that you can press against your belly so you can get better leverage when fighting bigger fish. Most rods 8 wt and above have a fighting butt.
if you’re going after the bigger stronger fish like redfish, jack crevalle, and to an extent bass, get a rod with a fighting butt.
Another thing to consider when buying a fly rod is a warranty. Since fly rods are considerably longer than casting rods, you will be prone to have an accident with them and probably break them. I have heard of people closing them in car or house doors, jamming them against their ceilings, smacking them against trees while fishing, or breaking them on a big fish. For those reason and many more, I recommend getting a rod with a warranty. Orvis rods come with a 25 year warranty that covers breakage on anything but intentional breakage. Temple Fork Outfitters as well as Winston Rods gives you a lifetime warranty. A word of caution, the warranty doesn’t cover loss of a rod or a rod piece. If you are going to store you rode broken down make sure you store all the pieces together in the rod sock if it came with one, or get a rod tube. Rod tubes are great things to have for transporting your rod to the lake or with you on vacation. Because they are rigid you don’t have to worry about something breaking your rod in the truck or car. Also since they are as long as the individual pieces of your rod, you can keep your fly rod
in your car, truck, or SUV all the time. I always have one of my fly rods in my truck and take it with us when we go to Tennessee for Thanksgiving.
With the exception of Tenkara rods and switch and spey rods, I think that will just about cover choosing your fly rod. I’ll cover reels, lines, and leaders in another post.
Tight lines JZ.
