Whirling Dervish! My first attempts.

TomBettle · 05-09-2006, 14:44

Well I have said I would give it a go and I taking the plunge....

...or at least I am dipping a toe in the water with a relatively cheap set up to start with.

I have just purchased a Greys GRX reel that takes a 9/11# line and also an unnamed flyrod that is 8/9# off eBay.

The reel is a good starter reel and seems reasonable quality. The rod I am confused about.
It looks beautifully built with a ceramin stripper and snake guides. 9 foot and only 2 piece (but for the price I couldn't complain) it should do the job.

My question about the rod:

It is labelled as being 8 to 9# which is about the power recommended for a good all round UK salt water fly rod.
How stiff and what sort of action would a reasonable rod of this weight have?

The reason for the question is that the rod seems remarkably light in action.
It is really quite a through action rod and (I understand the blank is different) it has about the sort of power you would imagine a 25grm spinning rod to have.
Is this correct?

Thanks for your help.
Tom

**lobsterkid** · 05-09-2006, 15:26

I would expect it to be reasonably still if it has a WF of 8/9. But i'd say it was a bit short in length. 9ft is fine for river fishing but from the shore or boat i'd plumb for 11ft. But hey ho i'm no expert.

TomBettle · 05-09-2006, 15:46

Originally Posted by lobsterkid

I would expect it to be reasonably still if it has a WF of 8/9. But i'd say it was a bit short in length. 9ft is fine for river fishing but from the shore or boat i'd plumb for 11ft. But hey ho i'm no expert.

Went for 9 foot 9# as that is what Mike Thurssell recommends on here, however this seems to be light to me.

Could anyone give a comparison of relative "stiffness" compared to a rod I can relate to? Eg: 6lb class Boat rod, 12lb class boat rod.
Sorry for being so dumb, but I am trying to learn.

**NigelB** · 05-09-2006, 16:04

The action of fly rods tend to vary according to the purpose they are designed for rather then the actual weight of line they are rated at. For example a 7/8 "dry fly" rod would have a siffer action then a 7/8 "nymph" rod which would have a more through action

Difficult to make a direct comparison to boat rod ratings but #9/10 rated fly rod is about as heavy as most people would use for resevoir trout fishing so would be roughly the equivilant to a 30/50lb class boat rod, #7/8 = 20/30lb, #6/7 = 12/20lb, #5/6 = 6/12lb

**Manx Fisher** · 05-09-2006, 16:39

I understand how you feel Tom - I also bought a cheap fly rod to see if I liked it, and my first impression was 'how on earth do you control a decent fish with that, surely it will simply collapse'

Well, the good news is that my first fish on it was a mackerel, and the very good news is that the 'floppy rod' did indeed have enough backbone to control the fish (to my utter amazement !!!). I am still very much at the novice stage, but the point I am trying to make is that I think you might be pleasantly surprised at how the rod actually handles ... despite your initial reservations. There's only one way to find out, enjoy

TomBettle · 05-09-2006, 17:59

Thanks for that Manx Fisher!

I am a fan of light line fishing from the boat and my concern was that the rod simply wouldn't have the power to cast the line and fly, however I shall give it a go and see what happens!

I am reasonably aquainted with the main man at Greys (we spent a weekend fishing together in Alderney last year), certainly not lifetime buddies, but he is a great source of info on rods so I have dropped him a line and asked his advice too.

Nigel, thanks for your response, much appreciated.
I can see where you are coming from with your comparison, but this 8/9# rod is nowhere near a 30lb class boat rod. It is more akin to a very light salt water spinning rod. I would guess the test curve is a pound or less.
I have no quarms about stopping a reasonable fish with it, but dubious about being able to lifted a heavy line off the water with it... We shall see.

Cheers Guys
Tom

Originally Posted by Manx Fisher

I understand how you feel Tom - I also bought a cheap fly rod to see if I liked it, and my first impression was 'how on earth do you control a decent fish with that, surely it will simply collapse'

Well, the good news is that my first fish on it was a mackerel, and the very good news is that the 'floppy rod' did indeed have enough backbone to control the fish (to my utter amazement !!!). I am still very much at the novice stage, but the point I am trying to make is that I think you might be pleasantly surprised at how the rod actually handles ... despite your initial reservations. There's only one way to find out, enjoy

**lobsterkid** · 05-09-2006, 18:10

[QUOTE=TomBettle;300442]Thanks for that Manx Fisher!

I am a fan of light line fishing from the boat and my concern was that the rod simply wouldn't have the power to cast the line and fly, however I shall give it a go and see what happens!

I am reasonably aquainted with the main man at Greys (we spent a weekend fishing together in Alderney last year), certainly not lifetime buddies, but he is a great source of info on rods so I have dropped him a line and asked his advice too.

Nigel, thanks for your response, much appreciated.
I can see where you are coming from with your comparison, but this 8/9# rod is nowhere near a 30lb class boat rod. It is more akin to a very light salt water spinning rod. I would guess the test curve is a pound or less.
I have no quarms about stopping a reasonable fish with it, but dubious about being able to lifted a heavy line off the water with it... We shall see.

I think you have answered your own question. You say it has a reasonable bend with a 1lb strain so it'll be in the 1/2lb to 1lb bracket. Very light for sea fishing but twice the fun

**bigads** · 05-09-2006, 20:58

You've also got to remember that the rod is designed to bend with the weight of the fly line. You have to compress the rod to cast the line....same principle applies in shore fishing etc. The butt section is where the power of a fly rod is.

By no means an expert, but these are my observations.

TomBettle · 05-09-2006, 21:32

Thanks guys for your help.

I am still abit confused as to whether I need a fast taper (tip action) rod for belting a big sandeel or joey immitation into the wind or should I have an all through (bendy) rod for the purpose.

I am trying to bare in mind that I have to pick up a fair bit of heavy fly line along with a big fly and punch it into the wind....

Any experts here?
Maybe Mike T snr. would like to add a thought as I tried to pick up tips from his write ups?

Whoever replies, thank you!

Tom

Originally Posted by bigads

You've also got to remember that the rod is designed to bend with the weight of the fly line. You have to compress the rod to cast the line....same principle applies in shore fishing etc. The butt section is where the power of a fly rod is.

By no means an expert, but these are my observations.

**Carleonr** · 05-09-2006, 21:49

Tom,
Can I throw in my thoughts on this. I am fairly new to Sea Fishing, but fly fished for more years than I care to remember.

Dont get too hung up on the tapers and actions. This in my opinion relates more to presentation of trout flies, dry and small nymphs in particular, rather than relatively huge eel and joey imitations. Use what is comfortable and what you have sounds more than up to the job.

To get big flies into wind is more about technique, than brute force. And dont worry about an 8 or 9 wt rod not handling the line or fly, more than strong enough as long as the technique is good, progressive rather than snatchy.

Coming back to getting line and fly into wind, (if it makes sense), you need to keep small loops, and these come from keeping the arc of the cast between 10 oclock and 2 oclock (12 oclock directly above your head). Any more than that, and the vertical difference in the arc cast makes large loops that lose any chance of distance in anything but a following wind.

Hope that doesnt confuse you too much, PM me if you get tied up in Knots

Cheers

David