fly rod question

[chuck2701]

I have an old shakesphere wonder rod 9 weight 8'6" standard taper that a friend gave me and was wondering if it would be worth buying a reel for? do the older fly rods cast as good as the newer ones? would like to use it for steelhead but don't know if it would be a good one for it or not. can you roll cast with a shorter rod?

 

[BrookieChaser]

Fiberglass rods, like your Wonderrod, are slower action (they bend farther into the grip) where modern graphite rods are faster action (stiffer). I started fly fishing with a 6'6" 5wt Wonderrod. I still have it. I prefer graphite over glass, they fit my casting style better.

As for it being worth a reel, for steelhead, unless you palm it, you'll want a drag, so that ups the reel price. But a reel is interchangeable so it's not just for that rod. You can use the reel on an upgraded rod in the future.

8'6" is not that short. It should roll cast fine.

 

[Chaz]

It would be worth a reel, and the reel like BC said can be used on other rod. It sounds like it could be used for bass too.

 

[wrighter00]

You can roll cast just fine with an 8'6''. That being said, older rods aren't always a bad choice. I have some older fiber glass rods that I picked up for little to nothing that I use just as much as my $200 TFO and Cabela's graphite rods. There will be a difference in the casting style of a fiberglass rod compared to a graphite rod. Slower on Fiberglass and faster on graphite. I would definitely put a reel on it if the rod is in good condition. Some folks collect old Fiberglass rods/blanks and rebuild or customize them, and a Wonderrod isn't a bad one to have.

Okuma and Cabela's have some affordable choices for 7/8wt reels with decent drags. You could drop a size on the line, and get away with running that on the rod for just the cost of an economy reel and line. You'd be as good off as a lot of people in my book.

 

[Chaz]

What to do is to take the rod to a shop and try different lines and reels on the rod, match up the reel and line that casts the best.

 

[wrighter00]

^^^ There's certainly enough good info here for ya

Matching the weight of the reel to the weight of the rod for balance would be ideal, but Fiberglass rods tend to be a bit heavier and reels today are designed for graphite rods. Plus they go up in price as they go up in wt, and some of the economy ones I mentioned only go up to 7/8wt. My suggestion was to get you started for $50 or less leaving the option for a newer 7/8wt graphite rod later.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

The shakespear that I had was so heavy - I started using it as a walking stick. Well half of it anyways.

 

[ryguyfi]

9wt is a bit too heavy for steelehad in PA, but would work fine for salmon in NY. Most steelhead in PA I would say are caught on 6-8wt rods. Fiberglass rods are for some and not others. They have their place out there in the fly fishing world.

I would find a shop near you, or someone on this board with a bunch of gear and go test cast some rods. Find what you like and then go invest some money in it. You can waste a lot of money in this sport on cheap gear you really don't like.