Saltwater Fly Fishing Thread, First Fly Rod in Fly Fishing; Went to pick up an old Penn 704Z............came home with the Penn and
my first Fly Rod..........what the hell.........
The ...
Went to pick up an old Penn 704Z............came home with the Penn and
my first Fly Rod..........what the hell.........
The Rod is a Sage RPLXi 10wt 9'..........read here that 9wt Rod could handle anything in Socal.........in the Mako Shark report, an 8wt Rod was used.
Was just told this rod would handle up to a 30lb fish?
Took Rod to Bob's and they sounded like this rod was not strong enough for
yellowtail, Yellowfin, Blue Fin Tuna, etc ??
Confused...........is it the Rod make/construction or the wt designation of the Rod that determines what fish the Rod will handle?
Anybody have a nice used reel (loaded) that would work well with this Rod......want to go FLY Fishin this weekend
A 10 wt is a decent all around size for local saltwater (offshore). Will work fine for football sized tuna and most yellowtail you'll encounter. Probably undergunned for any jacks or tuna once you start pushing 25+ lbs.
Your looking at spending a minimum of $200 for a new reel with a capable drag. Some options in this range are the Redington CDL and the Sea Level Tempest.
If you want to go up to $250 on you budget, I have a Ross Canyon Big Game 6 reel. In great condition. The reel has over 300 yds of 60# spectra backing and I will throw in an intermediate sink Sci Anglers 10 wt. line. Perfect for RPLXi. I used to run mine on an old RPLX. Great drag and still has blank warranty card from Ross.
The reel, backing, and line are worth around $500, so you get it shipped to you for 1/2 the cost.
Fly rods are measured by what weight line they are designed to throw. However, you can usually go up one line weight without destroying the performance. For example, if it is really windy, I will sometimes rig an eight weight rod with a nine weight line. This allows the rod to load (puts big bend in rod) with less line out and allows better casts into the wind.
As to your other question, a ten weight is a great saltwater size as it is plenty big for most inshore fishing and also will work for schoolie tuna, small Yellowtail, and even kelp patty dorado. If I was targeting bigger tuna, I would use nothing less than a 12 wt., and even go up to a 14 wt. However, after a 12 wt., rods feel less like they were made for casting and more like they were made for lifting. You could certainly catch a 30# tuna on a 10wt., but it would take over an hour to get it in. As you can see in my pic above, I caught the Yellow Fin Tuna on a fly, but broke the rod when I finally got it boatside by highsticking the rod (lifted it too high).
That being said, the ten is perfect for bonito, rooster fish, and other hard fighting game fish.
Its early.............haven't had my prune juice.............but thinkin I should get
one old school tough reel with extra spool, add a 12wt rod...........use the reel
on both 10 & 12 wt rods..............Maybe a Hayden or Pate Reel......
Damn sweet fish on de fly......T-Bro......
Watfly, both the Redington CDL and the Sea Level Tempest sound solid.
I have 5 Tibor and 4 Billy Pate fly reels and dont have an extra spool for any of them. Instead, I use 60# hollow Line One Spectra for backing and whip a blind loop into the backing and loop to loop connect it to the spectra loop I build on the end of all my flylines. In this manner, I can change a line by picking apart the cats paw knot on the connection and change a flyline almost as fast as it takes to dissasemble the spool on a direct drive reel and way faster than taking apart an anti reverse reel.
Sizing a reel to a rod is a matter of line capacity and also balance. I really like my Tibor Riptides or Billy Pate Tarpons for 10weight use, but find that I prefer the Tibor Gulfstream for the 12 wt. While the smaller reels probably hold enough line for the 12, it just balances the rig better and makes casting it for several hours much easier.
If you are looking at the cheaper end of the reel options, my Ross offer is pretty good. If you are looking to spend more, I would recommend the Billy Pate Tarpon. Look on Ebay and expect to spend around $500. Bulletproof reel with an amazing drag. I like the Anti reverse version I own, but I think you might be able to find a direct drive version occasionally, which some folks prefer.
Watfly, both the Redington CDL and the Sea Level Tempest sound solid.
Yea but ... I'd seriously think about taking T-Bro up on his offer. The Ross Canyon's are very nice reels, some say better than Ross's current saltwater offerings. That reel also has some collector value, as well. Your going to spend $100 for GSP backing and the fly line alone.
While not critical the Ross will match the same vintage of your Sage rod.
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