Syndicate Rod Question

[stroutman81]

So I'm about to start dabbling in tight line nymphing. From the sounds of it, the Syndicate P2 PIPELINE PROs off a very good bang for your buck. I understand an 11' would give better reach and that's great. I just don't think I'm ready to use an 11' rod. It'd feel like a telephone pole in my hands!

I've settled on the 10'. I'm still deliberating between the 2wt and 3wt. I'm hearing about guys bringing in some slobs of fish on the 2wt so I think it's capable for what I fish.

Seeing as how I've never TLN, I almost made the error of slapping a 3wt reel on it, assuming I go with the 2wt. From what I'm reading, though, it seems going even heavier might make sense. You don't necessarily want to balance the rod. You might actually want it a little tip-heavy since you're going to high sticking a lot.

Does anyone have any specific advice about the weight reel on a Syndicate 2wt or 3wt? Or general advice, in general, would be appreciated, too.

Thanks!

 

[afishinado]

stroutman81 wrote:
So I'm about to start dabbling in tight line nymphing. From the sounds of it, the Syndicate P2 PIPELINE PROs off a very good bang for your buck. I understand an 11' would give better reach and that's great. I just don't think I'm ready to use an 11' rod. It'd feel like a telephone pole in my hands!

I've settled on the 10'. I'm still deliberating between the 2wt and 3wt. I'm hearing about guys bringing in some slobs of fish on the 2wt so I think it's capable for what I fish.

Seeing as how I've never TLN, I almost made the error of slapping a 3wt reel on it, assuming I go with the 2wt. From what I'm reading, though, it seems going even heavier might make sense. You don't necessarily want to balance the rod. You might actually want it a little tip-heavy since you're going to high sticking a lot.

Does anyone have any specific advice about the weight reel on a Syndicate 2wt or 3wt? Or general advice, in general, would be appreciated, too.

Thanks!

I would lean towards the 10 3wt rod. It would be a more all-around type rod to switch over to fish dries or a dry dropper on the stream.

While the reel itself is less important, the weight of the reel is very important. Buy the rod first and match it up with a reel that balances out the rod in your hand. I didn't buy a special reel for my 10 footer I added weight to the spool to balance it out. Moving and Holding up a tip-heavy rod all day would be miserable.

I looked up Syndicate rods and found an article with good advice on selecting tackle for tight-lining > https://bluequillangler.com/learn-fly-fishing/european-nymphing-methods/equipment-for-european-nymphing/

Good luck.

 

[kobalt335]

For my 10' 4wt I put a bigger reel on it to help balance. I think my reel is rated for 5-7 weight rods, but balances my 4 wt nicely. I know some people add weight to their reels, but I found it much easier to just buy larger. Plus now i can buy an extra spool and have a backup for my heavier rods.

 

[stroutman81]

Thanks for the info so far guys. Very helpful. The linked article was great.

 

[jacob]

You don't necessarily want to balance the rod. You might actually want it a little tip-heavy since you're going to high sticking a lot.

It’s actually the opposite. Balance with euro systems is one of the most important aspects of your rig. If anything, you would want it to balance well into the cork to support holding a high rod angle all day.

For this reason, I pair my 11’ rod with a 5/6 reel and made a counterbalance to fit on the butt of my rod to balance it more towards the back. Although the total weight of my rig is heavier like this, it feels lighter in hand because it is balanced properly for euronymphing.

Another option is to use some lead core line before you put on your backing to add weight to the reel without adding junk like I did to your rod.

Also, in my opinion, the best all around option for this style of fishing would be a 10’6” 3wt. Probably the most versatile stick and it won’t take long to get used to the extra length. It’s always a plus to have the extra reach when high sticking (hence why I dig the 11’). If I’m in a tight area where it’s too much, I just grip it further up on the blank, and voila, although not ideal, it’s now a “shorter” rod.

Check out tactical fly fisher - his blog has some good info that may be useful as you decide. I hear the syndicates are great rods for the price point so I don’t think you can go wrong. Id personally love to have a 10’ 2wt for smaller streams.

 

[fwh14]

I had the 10 ft 3wt syndicate and a lamson guru 1.5 with rio nymph line and it balanced perfect for me. The syndicate rods are good for the price.