Fly rod advise

Ghetofarmulous

Hi All,

I am looking to invest in a new fly rod to replace my old 7# 30 Euro fly rod but I am not sure which way to go. 150 is my target spend.
I usually fish Lough Conn or around the midlands area but not that often. Recently I had a half day on the Backwater for Brown trout in Waterford and caught a nice sea trout of about 2 pound. Most fish I will be targeting will be 3 pound max I would say.

I looked at the Greys GRXI+ 4# for Eur150 (without Reel). Does anybody have any advise on the weight of rod I should use given the size of trout that I usually catch?

Appreciate any advise.

Gheto

TheEngineer1

Ghetofarmulous wrote: »

Hi All,

I am looking to invest in a new fly rod to replace my old 7# 30 Euro fly rod but I am not sure which way to go. 150 is my target spend.
I usually fish Lough Conn or around the midlands area but not that often. Recently I had a half day on the Backwater for Brown trout in Waterford and caught a nice sea trout of about 2 pound. Most fish I will be targeting will be 3 pound max I would say.

I looked at the Greys GRXI+ 4# for Eur150 (without Reel). Does anybody have any advise on the weight of rod I should use given the size of trout that I usually catch?

Appreciate any advise.

Gheto

Would it be mostly lakes or mostly rivers you'd be fishing?

Ghetofarmulous

TheEngineer1 wrote: »

Would it be mostly lakes or mostly rivers you'd be fishing?

Mostly rivers.

I have a WF 7# so I can use this for lakes. Its splashes on rivers so I think I need a different rod for rivers

Ghetofarmulous

I Just Purchased a Greys GR10 8' #4. I just need a matched reel and line and I am good to go

TheEngineer1

Ghetofarmulous wrote: »

Mostly rivers.

I have a WF 7# so I can use this for lakes. Its splashes on rivers so I think I need a different rod for rivers

A 10ft 4wt would probably be the best for general river fly fishing. This will be a good rod for dry fly, wet fly, and European nymphing in all its forms.

The only thing it wont handle is streamer fishing with heavy flies but your 7wt will cover this style no bother.

If you find yourself fishing smaller rivers more often, maybe a 9ft 4wt would suit you better, even an 8ft if its small streams.

If its mostly larger river where you can get strong winds, beef it up to a 10ft 5wt but a 10ft 4wt is, in my opinion, the best all-round river rod.


There are very few "bad" rods out there these days, but try and use your full budget as this will typically get you a better warranty should you suffer a broken rod.

SeaFields

Ghetofarmulous wrote: »

I Just Purchased a Greys GR10 8' #4. I just need a matched reel and line and I am good to go

I fish a Grey's and I know several others that do. Great rods and it'll be s pleasure to fish with. Tight lines

Ghetofarmulous

Well all. After much consideration and from the advise above I decided to return the 8 foot Grey's and came away with 9foot 5# agility 2. I got a Grey's GTS 300 reel which really balances lovely in the hand. Holding it naturally in my hand results in a horizontal resting rod.

Line is Grey's premium stealth WF5. I figure it's a well balanced setup that will give me more options for the bigger river. The 8 foot is too specialist for me and I wouldnt get use for what it's built for.

Iv decided to save and buy a rod for lake fishing to go with my GRXi #7/8 reel. The current rod I'm using the weight is unknown and comparing against my new rod it's shorter than 9 foot.

I have caught plenty of fish on it but probably because I'm so used to fishing with it iv adjusted for sever imbalance over the years.

Any suggestions on a lake rod is welcome

Very excited to try my new balanced setup. Thanks for all the advise.

Gheto

Ghetofarmulous

Twice it was required to remove the fly line and remove excess backing material to fit the main line!

viper123

Ghetofarmulous wrote: »

Twice it was required to remove the fly line and remove excess backing material to fit the main line!

Its a pain when that happens. What I usually do is put on flyline first, then backing until the reel is properly filled, then reverse them :-)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

viper123 wrote: »

Its a pain when that happens. What I usually do is put on flyline first, then backing until the reel is properly filled, then reverse them :-)

That's how I have always done it too.

SeaFields

And remember that there is a considerable length of fly line gone off the reel before you ever cast it so even if he seems very full now, you take a bit off it threading the fly line onto the rod.

Ghetofarmulous

viper123 wrote: »

Its a pain when that happens. What I usually do is put on flyline first, then backing until the reel is properly filled, then reverse them :-)

This sounds good I'll do this for the next line I buy. Pain in the arse spooling a reel by your lonesome