Hunting & Fishing Fly rods

[TheBigCountry]

Found an older fly rod of mine I had bought living in Maine when I thought I would use it for bass: 4 piece St Croix Triumph 9’ 9 wt mod. fast action.

I’m wondering if it will do well for fishing for reds here in Florida? I’m used to fishing for trout in NE streams with a 5 weight.

Anyone used the Triumph brand of fly rods? Options are use it, or try to sell it towards a TFO Mangrove I have been eyeing.

 

[diverdon]

Should the hide fail to give you an answer then google: Florida fly fishing charters book a charter and see how your gear works and what you have to change to make it work the way you want it to.

 

[isofahunter]

All depends on how often you are going fishing IMO. You go every blue moon keep what you got and rig it cheap and buy flies on sale. However if you are going to go all the time upgrading equipment will serve you better. I started with a cheap rig and as I fished more and more I upgraded and specialized. If spending lots of time = spend the money, if not be cheap.

 

[afv338]

its not so much the rod, its the reel, you have to have a reel with a good drag, if you dont you will be sorry spend the money and get the best reel you can afford. good reels are expensive but necessary for salt water species. the 9wt you have will work fine.

 

[VVhoisJohnGalt]

Check out Sierra trading post for Lamson lite speeds on sale. I’ve bought a few there at 50% off. The rod will be fine but you need a good reel.

 

[WoobieJ]

I really like your idea of a TFO mangrove if you plan to upgrade your rod. 9’ 9WT. Their warranty is the stuff

The Redington Behemoth is a great cost effective choice as well for reel. I love mine.

 

[ROCKKREEK]

Being that your in florida,get a reel that holds about 200 yards of backing,then you can use it for,snook,bonefish and redfish,,,and you can also fish for largemouth and peacock bass.....

 

[WoobieJ]

Also, Rio flats pro line.

 

[Big Ern]

9wt should be a good do-it-all weight for FL. If you are gonna get serious about the great fishing opportunities, I would take Rockkreek's advice and get something with decent backing. Large arbor and a good drag system is key for saltwater. I would take a look at Tibor. Pricey, but good.

 

[bourbonbent]

The rod will be fine on reds, and baby tarpon as well. Use it til something snaps it, then replace it. I consider most rods to be consumables, like barrels. Some fish are mean, and don’t always do what they’re supposed to.

Like the other posters have said, a good reel with a great drag meant for salt is more important. I have Tibor, Ross, Hardy, and have used most of the big names. Tibor reels are pretty hard to kill. Slap an Everglades on there and look for something that’ll spool you.

Other options are Hatch (if you wanna spend a lot), Galvin (if you want one that’ll outlive you and like their aesthetics), and the newer Ross saltwater reels are supposed to be one of the best things going according to some folks in Alaska that I know. Call Big Ray’s in Fairbanks and ask for Jason, he’ll tell you what’s breaking and what’s not, currently.

After you either break the rod, or get tired with it, Loomis rods are just about all made in Washington, and are solid. Winston has a huge following. I have 2 Scott rods, and enjoy fishing them, but the tip segments are delicate and their warranty program is horse shit compared to TFO and Loomis. You should be able to find a Loomis NRX for a good price, provided they suit your casting style. I do not consider TFO rods, I only buy USA made fly gear on principle (short of extraordinary circumstances). I have had them in the past and they work, but don’t expect to be floored by performance. My only exception to that rule are sales that are too stupid to pass over, like the Echo Glass Switch I paid like $80 for last year (then promptly stuck a Hardy Perfect on).

Reel is more important for salt. I’ve seen a 5lb hybrid bass in freshwater blow up a Redington reel on an 8wt setup. A pissed off bull red will take your lunch money if you don’t have a couple hundred yards of backing, or more. It’s worth spending the money on a solid reel, with an excellent drag.

 

[WoobieJ]

I just purchased a 8wt 9' TFO clouser and a redington behemoth 7/8 in gunmetal. Rio flats pro line. Pretty excited to try it out on the flats (Matagorda, and Port Aransas Texas typically) I'll have to settle for testing it out throwing big bass flies first.

 

[Bantam1]

I can verify that G.Loomis rods are made entirely in the US. The only parts that are not are the cork and the guides. The base material for the rods is even sourced in the US. Much of their material comes from the same suppliers that provide material to Boeing. I've been to the factory way too many times and am good friends with one of the product managers. NRX is the way to go if you like good products.

 

[bourbonbent]

I can verify that G.Loomis rods are made entirely in the US. The only parts that are not are the cork and the guides. The base material for the rods is even sourced in the US. Much of their material comes from the same suppliers that provide material to Boeing. I've been to the factory way too many times and am good friends with one of the product managers. NRX is the way to go if you like good products.

My only gripe with their rods is actually the cork, it’s just not a high grade but that’s aesthetics more than anything. I have a ShoreStalker that I use as a single hand skagit setup for bass fishing in rivers, and it’s surgical at short to mid range. The ferrules want to come loose, but a quick call to the factory and they tell you to bury it 90° from straight, then push down and twist til it’s straight. Haven’t had a problem since, other than getting them loose sometimes.

I have one of their heavyweight 2 handed predator rods I use for anything that needs either a chicken sized fly thrown, or is mean/big enough to need a 12/13wt. If they made that rod in a 4-6wt, it’d be the perfect smallmouth rod.

I don’t have any real complaints with my Loomis rods, they’re tough, powerful, and fight fish very well.

However, my RB Meiser is a rod I literally can’t find a single thing to complain about, I wish he did stuff that’s bespoke, I have a rod I want made and have too many hobbies to pick up rod making at this time. His rods are in a different class of products though, so that’s not an apples to apples comparison.

 

[Bantam1]

There is only one cork supplier left and they are in South Korea, well at least for rods. The original place in Portugal closed their doors in the mid 2000's. This makes it difficult to obtain good cork without using a lot of filler. My older rods made with the Portuguese cork are far superior to any of the newer rods. Unfortunately it's the only decent source these days and it takes years for the trees to generate the cork needed.

I work in the fishing industry so I am privy to a lot of this info that is not general public knowledge.

 

[Akdodge88]

I’ve been using Sage rods the last few years and really like how they respond. A truck for purchasing one is wait until you find a discontinued model and buy one of those, retailers are required to sell them at ~50% off. The benefit is they have lifetime warranty and if they can’t repair or replace your exact rod, they will replace it with the newest catalog model. Luckily I have never had to deal with that, but I know a couple people who have.

Good reals are key. I’ve tried reddington and their drag seems to wear down pretty fast. I’ve played with a couple Sage reels and they are definitely nice, but my favorite reel for catching salmon here in Alaska are the Billy Pate reels by Tibor. I’m a fan of the anti-reverse feature, may have busted a knuckle open or tore a nail off a couple times on other reels trying to palm drag when a monster salmon hit.......

 

[Healy]

Scott fly rods are all hand made in telluride, Colorado . Pretty much the only rod I’ve used besides a couple Winston’s and Thomas and Thomas rods. Sent a 4wt back to Scott after 15 years for repairs they just sent me a new rod with the same serial no on it.