New fly rod and reel?

[fishinmidget]

Howdy lads

Looking to get some nice shiny new fly kit soon and the shortlist of rods its:

Hardy Zane saltwater 9' 9#

Scierra Blue water II 9' 8/9#

Vision GT4 Saltwater 9' 9#

Bloke Bass Special 9' 8/9#

Greys Platinum Saltwater XD 9' 9#

Which one would you get? I'm tempted by the hardy as i have always wanted to own one but the Bloke has got great reviews. I have no idea about reels so i'm open to suggestions. I'm not new to SWFF so i thought its about time i got myself some nice gear to not catch fish on.

Thanks lads

Alex

[JimH]

Before you buy any of these take a cast of the Redington CPX - and if your considering spending the type of money to buy a Hardy there are superior american rods available at similar prices.

[JimH]

ps in terms of SW reels take a look here http://www.danielsson-flyreels.se/index ... da&lang=en - suitable for many applications in Ireland and will travel the world too for fast moving BIG fish with NO problems - saw it empty past the middle of the backing on my one very recently more times than I can remember!

[fishinmidget]

Thanks for the link to the reels, they're a bit pricy but i'll take your word for it that they are worth it.

As for redington, i had a trout rod by them and it snapped, and getting it warrantied was such a pain i said i would never buy from them again.

Out of the rods that are there, which one would you have?

Thanks,

Alex

[JimH]

Each of the rods performs differently - and having fished with all of them at some point in time they have their own merits - I take it your application is bass and pollack etc? In the following order with a emphasis on roughing it for bass fishing in Ireland the following might be one choice (Greys last - Scierra first)

Greys
Hardy
Bloke
Scierra

there are a number of factors involved here including price/perception/application/casting style/performance etc - in my opinion for what its worth the scierra and the bloke (although very different) should be cast by you before the decision is made. Tackle Names dont do it for me im afraid.

Bear in mind that if you are only fishing in Ireland then drop the spec on the reel and increase the spec on the rod - this may force you to 'tighten up' your casting - it might be worthwhile to consider the following - Sage, Thomas and Thomas, G-Loomis or Scott.

Remember continuous blind casting for bass is a different requirement than making one shot casts which i am sure you know.

Redington are a very reputable company and offer lifetime warranties on their rods with a return -its difficult to understand your problems with them, they are now owned by SAGE!

[fishinmidget]

Thanks Jim, that helps alot. I suppose my main problem is that i have no opportunity to cast any of these rods here in galway, as no one i know owns one, and so i have to rely on advice and hype.

Admittedly my problems with redington were about 5 years ago at this stage, and i have heard that they are now a very good company to deal with. Im just a bit shy of going back to a company i had problems with, even if that was a long time ago.

I'll look at all the rods you mentioned, but I'm sure i cant afford the sage, although no doubt it is a brilliant rod. Well, unless i was able to get an old Xi2 on sale somewhere.

Thanks for all the info

Alex

[JimH]

No probs FM

I am always conscious regarding 'hype' and equipment - combining this with what you actually might want to do in regards to SWFF - especially because its something that may get under your skin OR you might absolutley hate - so spending 1000 on a 'hyped' rod and reel could be an expensive excercise if you realise you dont like SWFF - then again you could become very enthusiastic and want to do some destination fishing so re-investing or stepping up will cost you again.

Invest like this for Ireland (within your budget) with the intention perhaps of doing some destination fishing in the future

Rod
Line
Reel

You dont need a SAGE to SW fly fish here in Ireland but if you do have a budget its always best to direct it at good capable equipment

You should be able to get a very good SWFF outfit for bass and pollack fishing etc for just under 500 - eg - Rod scierra - Reel Loop Evotec CLW - Teeny/Rio Lines - Rio hard mono etc

This of course will catch you fish all over the world too - But the labels may not be right!!

Hello everyone!

I'm James and I will start fly-fishing this year. I already bought some equipment but especially the range of fly fishing reels is confusing me...
One of my mates recommended Z-Reels (http://www.z-reels.de/home.html) but before buying one I'd just like to make sure that it is the right choice..
Does anyboby know Z-Reels? Any experience? Any comments? Anybody knows where I can buy them in the UK?
Thanks for your help..

James

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[Sparkie]

I have a scierra hm3 rod, it would deff handle sea water fishing. It's a great rod to cast and it takes no effort to do so! It is also reasonably priced. I ain't tried it in salt water yet, but I'm thinking off giving up the fresh water fishing. So it will be tested at sum stage this spring/summer.

[beachcomber]

For what its worth I have a scierra bluewater for approx the last 5 years 10 weight, A nice rod allround for bass but had a little problem with it and had it replaced without any difficulty. The scierra person I delt with in Wales was an absolute gent.

Hardy do a cheaper rod
the uniqua 9' #9 which I find excellent for bas fishing