If you only could buy two saltwater rods....

[gammarus]

I'm in the process of rebuilding my rod collection. After purchasing rods for freshwater use at home I only have enough cash left for two premium saltwater flyrods ($1100). I'm wondering what two rod weights would give me a well rounded sytem for traveling in the tropics until I can afford to fill in the blanks next year. I'm leaning towards a 9 and a 12. Or is there a cheaper rod that performs just as well as the top dollar rods?

[Mark Dougherty]

Dont forget your reels....line....If I were to do it over (worked at a shop and got great discounts, but no more --124-3 ).....TFO rods....and Ross reels....
I like ross reels....fish 3 of em....on an 8, 9 and 12wt. You can usually get the line and backing thrown in as a "package deal".....Then there is target species......I am not an expert but..I like my 8 for bones....I keep the 9wt rigged for permit.....the 12wt has not been used YET....looking forward to some dolphin, small sails this spring on Abaco. Hope this helps. TFO's (I catsed nearly every one of them) are great sticks.....reasonably priced hence allowing some $$ for better reels....Hope this helps !! :-%

[Guy]

I have gone exclusively with four piece TFOs for my travel saltwater rods. Four piece rods are very convenient to travel with and The TiCr rods and Pro models perform great. I sold a Loomis and a Sage becuz I found I was using my TFOs more than those rods. For two rods, I would look at a 8 wt as the primary rod for bones and 11 wt for the bigger stuff, sharks, tarpon etc. However if you went with TFO for your $1100, you can get another two rods. In that case I would add a 9 wt for when the wind is up on the flats that could also double as a permit rod, and a 7 wt for smaller bones and those rare occasions when the wind is down; or perhaps a 10 wt instead to rig up as a cuda rod.

Guy

[Mark Dougherty]

Sold a Loomis and a Sage ? Amazing, but I totally understand....I was fortunate to get some high end stuff for almost nothing...8wt Sage TCR, 9wt Orvis T-3, and a nice BXII Winston 12....with Ross reels to boot !!! But frankly, as they bang around in the boat, I wish I was fishing TFO's...TFO's are built well and built tough...and cast like a dream (Hey, I should be getting paid for saying this)....I agree with your wt selections....I think our friend can get 2 TFO's and a pair of Ross Big Game reels and be in tall cotton....the consumer needed a product like TFO for a while now......I'd get'em while they are still priced within reason.......

[gtopche]

I fish primarily Thomas & Thomas Horizon rods for saltwater. Either an 8 or 9 (depending on whether you will fish more for strong fish like albies in the north or FLA bones versus smaller bones in the carribbean) and a 12. I prefer the 12 to my 11 for tarpon fishing because I fish Islamorada and frequently run into fish over 110 lbs (I had a 2 hour fight with a very big one that didn't jump on the 11 ... it was painful). They just changed the design, so you can get new ones of the older model very cheap on-line ($350?). Also, watch for slightly used rods, I have had great success trading rods (selling one I didn't like and buying used ones) for a small cost.

The best reel I fish is a Charlton. They are discontinued, but Scientific Anglers still services them. You can occasionally find a good deal on E-Bay, but they were very expensive, so "a good deal" is relative.

Good luck!

[jkrogers]

I agree on the rods TFO, I have (5) TiCr's, (2) rigged for salt:
(1) 9wgt and (1) 12wgt both with Hayden's

Talked to the TFO rep last month, they are working on a 16wgt ;)

[rhino]

i fish powell scott tfo diamond back some great rods to be found here if i had the money i would fish thomas & thomas helix series but i do not so i fish powell advantage and in 5 and 8 wts and owen a scott sas 10 wt ialso build rods so i have a 12 wt i built on a h&h blank . i use to have a 12 wt diamond back backwater series the think was a harpon cannon i thing it is not sold any more but it lists for $295 you can also check out the powell ti-max series 279 ech and it come in all the line wts needed here is were to find the powells www.powellco.com any ways

good luck and tight lines rhino --123-3 --123-3 --123-3

[gammarus]

I already have reels. I have Loops (5/8fw, 6/9lw, 8/12lw, 11/14hd). I used to be able to borrow Sage rplxi's demos from a friends flyshop for my trips, but they recently stopped keeping demos in stock. I can buy Loop rods for around $200 but they only have 3 piecers (the new Loop Grey Salt is 4 piece but costs around $700). So I'm eyeing the Ticr since everyone is raving about them. Of course I'll have to try them out first. Plus they're the right price for rods I'll only use a few days a year.

Mark, I won't be able to meet you in Abaco. I just lost my shirt on the sale of a leaky condo I was renting out, so I won't be heading to the Bahamas until November (chez pierre's?). Maybe next spring we can get a few groups together and rent a house...........

Rhino, what's the deal on the Powells as far as warranties are concerned? I can pick up a 3wt and a 4wt for $100 each. At that price it probably doesn't matter anyway.

[rhino]

[QUOTE=gammarus
Rhino, what's the deal on the Powells as far as warranties are concerned? I can pick up a 3wt and a 4wt for $100 each. At that price it probably doesn't matter anyway.[/QUOTE]


at that price i would think it would not mater any ways becauce they are more than likely used and powell has a orignal owner warranty




i have not had to use it yet on the powells but they do come whit great warrantys the only reason they are cheap is they cut out the middle men which include sale reps and local dealers bad part is you can buy them at local delears but at a higher price i think the advantage xl's run 289 reg and factory direct they run 189 now ti -max run about 579 i want to say regulary and factor direct they are 279 tell you what sooner or later they are goingto run a sale on these rods again and it will be about 195 for the ti max and 132 for the advantage xl's they had a christmas sale of those prices they did the same thing a year ago and i picked up my 5 wt and i had my sister buy me a 8 wt for christmass for 116 and bought my 5 wt for 132 when they ran them on sale again then they cleared them out for 79.99 each. on there web site they sell these rods they have a on line sale desk and web check out any ways


god luck and tight lines rhino --123-3 --123-3 --123-3

[rhino]

I'm in the process of rebuilding my rod collection. After purchasing rods for freshwater use at home I only have enough cash left for two premium saltwater flyrods ($1100). I'm wondering what two rod weights would give me a well rounded sytem for traveling in the tropics until I can afford to fill in the blanks next year. I'm leaning towards a 9 and a 12. Or is there a cheaper rod that performs just as well as the top dollar rods?



this is how i have saved money is buying a blank and building a rod to try it out at first i would try H&H blanks they can be ound at www.hookhack.com then maybe find some thing you like in blanks and build a rod around it with only the finest componets lie rec recoil guides and rec reel seats rec grip and fighting butts or the best i here winston sells componets to oh ya tfo does not sell blanks but scott does and they are one of the best warrantys in the world they compare to tfo's warranty but better casting than tfo in the better rods i here the better rods are s3s's

well good luck and tight lines rhino --123-3 --123-3 --123-3

[TimOBrien]

Since you already have your reels I would suggest the Sage Xi2. It is by far the best saltwater rod I have owned. I was fishing in 30 m/h winds today in the Yucatan and I was amazed at the distance I was getting. My Mexican guides were extemely impressed with its sensitivity.

Tim
Xcalak, Mexico

[capt ed]

TFOs work for me. Can't beat them for the price!