salmon rod

[bgibb]

I know its a long way off but i'm planning my first salmon trip for the next upcoming year in Pulaski. I believe from what I've read I need a 9' 9wt or 10wt rod. My problem is I love Winston B2x and b3x rods. I own them in 4,5, and 7wt matched to ross and lamson reels. I cannot however justify the cost for a salmon rig. I don't plan on targeting them as often as trout and steelhead. Does anyone know of any rod and reel combinations that are cheap ( or reasonable) that are strong enough to handle salmon without ruining my trip with broken gear? It seems like everything in this weight range is ultra fast action for salt. I don't like super fast action rods. But if thats what i need I'll learn to cast one… The nearest fly shop to me is over an hour away. I can call them to order in rods to test cast before i drive out but i don't know what to have them get in. Any advice would be welcome. Thank you in advance.

 

[MBJRL]

Try a 9 or 10 wt glass rod, you can pick them up for a good price.
Let me know, I can direct you to a few.

 

[kobalt335]

I picked up the orvis encounter combo in an 8 wt for my salmon outfit. I used it this year for a couple days and it handled salmon fine. The reel is alright, but for $150 for the rod and reel you can't expect too much. I plan on using the encounter reel until it breaks then invest in a better one. For all the more I'll use it though, it will last a while.

 

[sandfly]

glass is great for salmon, have a 9'6" 9wt harnell with a anti reverse medalist to handle the brutes.

 

[AkDan76]

How big is this water? What kind of flies and lines are you running?

My go to for everything but kings is a old loomis gl4 7wt. I have a cheap im6 9wt I keep for an all around backup.

For kings I run a loomis mega rod. She's sweet with a t400 or t500 line! I also run a old fenwick iii 10-11-12wt. She's also a nice stick and cheap!

You can slow a rod down by jumping up a line!

If you like slow a im6 9' 9wt will do the job well It isn't the greatest with the t400. A typical type 3 it's ok. I like a little faster throwing big bugs!

 

[moon1284]

Use your winston 7 wt. 9'+ glass gets very heavy. Or get an older rod. Sage in graphite II our III is a not super fast action. Scott G series or arc are not super fast action. I'm sure there are plenty on others too. You really can get by with a 7 wt though.

 

[krayfish2]

Go to Walmart, grab 2-3 ugly sticks in 9wt because wou probably have a few tomato stakes by the end of the trip. A pizzed off 30# king in fast water wl do a number on your gear....especially if tail hooked. Rather than chance breaking a good rod, sacrifice an el cheapo. It's not like you need a high performance rod for chuck and duck

 

[Biggie]

Krayfish is pretty much on.......you don't need to worry about casting techniques........roll casting is mostly what you'll do........early season the cohos will beat you up, but after that, it's a bulldogin them in kinda fishin........just have a good reel.....and 8wt rods are more than enough......

 

[bgibb]

Thanks for the info. I'm not much of a glass guy but the lower end graphite is more what I'm after. looking into the clearwater outfit and echo ion with a guru at the moment but thats around $500 rigged. Medium-fast action is the ticket for me. Kind of put off by orvis due to past warranty repairs. but the price is good at $270 at the moment. A little worried about the clearwater reel strength though. I had a tls rod that broke- took 6 to 8 weeks to get the rod back. can't remember exactly…it was just way to long. Not cool when it broke in late april. Winston took half the time when i was an idiot and smashed my 4wt in the tailgate. I know i can't have everything cost, warranty etc. but a guy can wish.

 

[AkDan76]

Tfo lefty kreh im6 2 piece 7,8, or 9wt all 9 footers. 130 bucks

Buy two you'll likely never use the second. Should you break one tfo's warrenty is great! And you didn't break the bank in the process!

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Reddington. GG

 

[gfen]

MBJRL wrote:
Try a 9 or 10 wt glass rod, you can pick them up for a good price.

Because nobody wants them. There's a reason for that, too.

There's a time to cash out scene points, 9' 10wt fiberglass rods isn't one of them.

 

[MBJRL]

OK,I'm sorry.............