Anyone else here fly fish?

[pjstevko]

The reason I'm looking at Redington rods is because I can get them at 40% off retail..... I saw a Vice rod in a store yesterday and I'm not overly impressed so I'm now looking at the Hydrogen of Predator series.

If I go with the Predator series it can be used in the saltwater as well so that might be a consideration....

[jurelometer]

Warranty is everything in fly rods - they break more frequently than regular rods.   Many brands offer a no-fault warranty for some/all of their rods.  No-fault means any break will be repaired for free or a fixed preset fee.  It is  good to pick a brand that is big enough to most likely be in business  for awhile.    I think that Redington offers a no-fault warranty for all but their low end rods.  But the rod has to be purchased from an "authorized" dealer. Redington got picked up by the same company that owns Sage, and the service is out of the same town in Washington.   

My experience with some of the premium brands that don't do high volume:   Very long time for warranty repair (like months!).     At the high volume end of the business, the turnaround times for the better run brands is usually much better.   

If you can do a short crisp double haul,  you will be able to work pretty much any rod just fine.    Otherwise it is more work to find a rod that matches the individual casting stroke, as the caster has less ability to adapt.  Usually the faster the action, the harder the rod is to use for a novice/intermediate caster.    The timing has to be better with a faster rod.   Not that you need to double haul to catch trout,   but if you can haul correctly, you will have the timing skills down.

[steelhead_killer]

3wt for creeks, 5 wt for streams and lakes.  Floating line.  bead head nymphs below a dry fly or emerger....deadly combo... 8wt with dry line and a spare spool with a sink tip if needed.  covers most everything I have fished in the Pacific Northwest

Andy

[pjstevko]

I finally did enough research and decided on what gear I wanted to buy for our local rainbow trout population and the first of it arrived yesterday. I spent a little time last night spooling up my reel with the 20# backing and 5wt wf5f line. I might have put too much backing on the reel but only time will tell. I love the way the reel looks and can't wait to see how the whole outfit looks and feels when the rod arrives next week..