Gone Fishing Again:
Looking into the Fly Rod set up for Rock fishing, Tinker sent me to this section, looking at the redington combos, but they seem to be all out of stock. willing to try other brands but I do like the idea of buying another fishing rod. any thoughts or advice is truly accepted
Tinker:
I just started talking about it! I gotta learn to type faster.
In this section, uplandsandpiper posted a video titled "Boobies, commando heads, and kayak fly fishing" (https://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=21767.0). With the exceptions (a) he's freshwater fishing, and (b) I use a 9wt fly rod for ocean fishing, he does a fine job of explaining the way I set up a fly rod for deep water fishing. At around 7:05 into the video, he also does a good job of demonstrating how to lift the fly for the next cast, and he's far more entertaining than I'll ever be.
Basically, my ocean fly line is in four parts: (1) the backing, (2) the running line (can be any fly line, monofilament, or a level running line), (3) the sink tip, and (4) the leader/tippet.
I hope others will join in here because there are lots of ways to fly-fish the ocean and one will grab your attention and get you going. It's important to think about how you want to use the fly rod before thinking about what fly rod you buy.
Nobaddays:
The two rods I use in the ocean are:
Orvis Clearwater 8wt 4 piece Lamson guru reel with Rio Outbound T14 custom line. 490 gr, 14 gr/ft This reel has a sealed drag I really like this setup for rockfish.
Redington Predator 10wt 4 Piece Cabelas Tlr4 reel with unk type 6 sinking line I don’t know if they still make that reel. It is inexpensive and I’m sure doesn’t have a sealed drag. I use this setup when I’m targeting lingcod
If you are getting one setup for both rockfish and lingcod, I would get a 9 or 10wt. Not all rods are recommended for use in saltwater. Get the best large arbor reel with a sealed drag that your budget allows and spool it with a product like the Rio Outbound custom in T-14 and cut some of the tip section to best fit your rod if needed.
I’m a big fan of use what you have first then see if you need to upgrade. That said I wouldn’t suggest using anything smaller than an 8wt.
surf12foot:
The set up I use is a Beulah Surf rod 11' 9/10 wt. (I know-11 foot -but it was the rod I had to fish off the Jetties before I had a kayak) 9/10 Albright large arbor reel with backing with a inter. running line with 15ft. of T-20 but changing slowly over to 30ft. of T-17(goes through the eyes without hanging up) and then depending on what I'm going for 4ft. of 12lb. or 15lb. and maybe the sometimes 20lb. test straight mono for a leader.
Tinker:
Nobaddays gave a great explanation and I should have done something similar. DUH!
My primary rod/reel is an Echo 3ti sw 9wt, 9'0" 4-piece paired with a Waterworks-Lamson Litespeed 3.5 reel. I use ~150 yards of 30# Dacron backing, a Scientific Anglers Full Intermediate shooting line, 15 - 32 feet of Airflo T18 sink tip, 18 inches of 20#-30# Maxima Chameleon for the leader's butt section, and 3 - 5 feet of 8#-15# Maxima Chameleon as the leader/tippet.
I like this rod for everything in the ocean, save maybe sharks and halibut.
My other saltwater rod is a Echo ION XL, 8wt, 9'0" 4-piece paired with a Waterworks-Lamson Guru HD 3.0 reel. Everything else is the exactly the same except it works best with 15 - 20 feet of Airflo T-18.
It would work equally well for rockfish and lingcod.
Both reels have fully sealed drags. I have a reel that's not sealed and when it gets wet, there's zero drag.
Both of my rods are rated as Moderate-Fast action, but the Echo 3ti is a true saltwater rod and has a somewhat stiffer tip than the Redington Echo ION. You'll notice both of Nobaddays rods are also Moderate-Fast action. The Vice you're interested in is rated as Ultra-Fast.
When I'm sitting in a kayak, tossing heavy lines and weighted flies, a fast action rod simply doesn't work. I need to make a slow, smooth cast and that doesn't match up with fast action rods. It's hard to control where the fly will land when cast with a fast action rod - as many a tree and piling can testify to.
Rod? The Redington Echo ION XL 8wt is what I bought for when the kids come to visit. It's well-made, rated for saltwater, reasonably priced - and it doesn't require expert casting skills to use.
Reel? Maybe the best bang-for-the-buck in saltwater fly reels is the Redington Behemoth. They're close to bulletproof and have one of the strongest sealed drags available. Lots of folks use them in saltwater and they're a favorite with some guides.
I wholeheartedly agree with Nobaddays about using what you have until it no longer works for you. Remember a big fish will tow you around in your kayak. It's not like standing on the shore, and you're not going to stop it in it's tracks - so size your gear with that in mind. If I thought my freshwater 4wt could turn a lingcod away from its rocks and lift it to the net, I'd use it.