New ST Rod

[rodandwhippet]

Hi Folks,

Wanted to pick a few brains as I have decided to blow the cobwebs off my wallet and invest in a new rod.

Now here lies my dilemma - I am after a fly rod capable of casting sea trout tube flies but I also do a bit of salmon fishing in addition to the sea trout fishing.
I had a chuck with a double hander (reddington) at the the Midland Game fair the other day which I really enjoyed but what I am really after is a single hander that would have the 'beef' to subdue a salmon (should I have the pleasure)

I have considered a steel head rod but guess the lack of length may result in poor fly control on bigger rivers? (I fish the Usk and Tywi) Does the perfect allrounder exist or should I hammer the credit card and get a double hander and a new single?

Cheers in advance guys,

Fred...

[paulwhite]

Fred,

My advice would be a Bruce & Walker Salmon & Seatrout single hander which fishes a #7/8. It is 10ft 6" and is very light but bags of oomph for a salmon.

I've used one for years and never regretted buying it.

Or, how about a light,short double hander from B&W..the Powerlite 12ft "Walker". You can pick them up for about £250 (call Fawcetts at Lancaster). It is rated #7/9 but is amazing with a #10 sinktip for salmon as well. It is an amazing speycasting rod. The same rod but under the "Bruce" banner is a softer version.

I'm not on a commission from B&W but they are very good rods.

regards

Paul

[rodandwhippet]

Cheers Paul, will look into that!

[Paul Dunstan]

There are lots to choose from! I'd stay away from the double hander - lovely to use on a big, open river, very efficient, great for controlling big fish - but for sea trout? Generally no.

For length, I'd look at rods in the 10ft range and line weight 7 or 8.

Action - not too fierce and not too soft. For some time I've used a Sage XP, 10ft, 7wt - supposedly a 'fast rod' but I've found it to be very 'fishable' and quite capable of 'throwing' big lures and subduing large fish as well as surface fishing with a floating line and smaller flies.

Another rod I've used a lot is the Enigma, 10ft, 8wt Jonathan , Sea trout Special. A great all round rod - very good with big tubes and a sinking line - but definitely not a 'poker'.

My current favourite is a 10ft, Winston Boron IIx, 8wt. Very good with a short line but with a progressive reserve of power that will deal with most sea trout and salmon that we're likely to encounter.

Other rods to look at that come highly recommended are the Reddingtons, Loops, Greys and Loomis - of these I've only experience of the Loomis but they're all good rods.