Fly Shops & Gun Shops...

mkwerx · Mar 3, 2018

Places I shouldn't be left unsupervised, or allowed to linger long in.

I took a rod into River City last week to consign, as I don't use it, and could've put the money to better use. BUUT I stayed 10 minutes too long after coming to rock bottom price that I wanted out of the rod. I was browsing, BSing with the owner (a great guy who has always treated me well) when he just drops a casual comment, "if you see anything over there you like, we can do some trading and I can give you a bit more value" - it was like hitting super man with kryptonite. He had some vintage rods I was looking at - and I brought home a pair of American made Penn Gold Medal fly rods - a 9 foot #6, and a 9 foot #7, IM6 graphite 2 piece rods. 1990's production. I "needed" these rods like another hole in my head. But "need" is subjective in fly tackle.

Doing some sidewalk casting, both rods are winners. I dig the softer flex of an IM6 rod compared to today's stiffer, higher modulus stuff. The 6 is delicate enough to fish dry flies down to about a 4lb test tippet, but with enough chutzpah to throw some smaller bass bugs, streamers to probably an articulated size 4, and everything in between. It'd handle summer steelhead too, if I wanted to have some light tackle fun.

The 7 weight, on the other hand, is going to be a great bass rod. It'll be good for hucking poppers and probably upto my 6 inch long streamers with authority. Of the two, the 7 has a more comfortable, fatter grip, which is nice. Both have smooth medium actions.

Penn fly rods never took off in the way that Loomis, Lamiglas, and Sage did - but Penn has always been known for rock solid spinning/casting tackle, and these rods are no different. Doing some digging on the Internet, it seems these rods were produced under contract for Penn by another maker - but no one seems to be able to pin down exactly who - Lamiglas is the leading candidate, other likely culprits are G Loomis and St Croix.

Either way - I'm happy as a clam, I managed to grow my rod collection by one, and didn't cost me a dime.

Flymph · Mar 3, 2018

It seems like you made the right choice!
From what it seems you're already in love with that 7wt.
I should really be looking seriously at a bigger fly rod, and you've peaked my interest.

mkwerx · Mar 3, 2018

Flymph said:
It seems like you made the right choice!
From what it seems you're already in love with that 7wt.
I should really be looking seriously at a bigger fly rod, and you've peaked my interest.

I used to be pretty hardcore ultralight guy - 2 or 3 weights were go to rods. Still are on mpuntain trout streams, but getting more heavy into bass fishing and streamer fishing, I have swung into heavy rods. Last year I spent 3 or 4x as much time with a 7 or 8 weight in my hands than anything else. My last acquesition before this was a 10 wt for Muskie and large bass - to throw flies upto 12+ inches with. These new rods are troutier

If ya like Fiberglass fly rods, IM6 graphite should tickle your fancy. One of my all time favorite rods of all time was my WW Grigg (was a Canby based company) IM6 graphite 4 weight. It was 8 foot, two pieces, and I used the crap outta that rod. I pushed its limits by throwing everything from Tricos to size 2 deceivers. Bass, trout, panfish - I fished all over with it. Most of the graphites of that period were moderate action rods with lively feel to them, and a 5 weight was a 5 weight and not a down-rated 7 or 8 weight

I love my glass rods, and I love my IM6 rods. I do have some more modern rods that are great for distance casting, or throwing larger stuff. We are spoiled with so many great options these days - classic and new.

Flymph · Mar 3, 2018

I like bamboo and fiberglass, and haven't done much with glass (tho I hear they are great for distance spey). I only have a 4wt and a 6wt Sage Launch in 9ft. Well, I have an 8.5' TFO graphite in 5wt, but it doesn't see much use. I also started with a 6'6" Diamondback 3wt, which is a ton of fun on small streams.

I'll look for some fiberglass rods in 8wt for some steelhead and bass fishing. Although I might go for a chum rod and beef it up to a 10wt for if I ever go musket fishing and decide to try large streamers for dolly varden. The 6wt works well for 4" streamers, which is my preferred size anyway.

Is IM6 a type of material? I'll look into it.

mkwerx · Mar 4, 2018

IM6 was a tier for graphite matetial mostly used in the early to mid 90s, then phasing into IM7 and IM8 which were lighter, stiffer materials. Typical IM6 graphite rods were medium or medium fast actions. Not the ultra high mod stuff put out today like the Sage X.

Flymph · Mar 4, 2018

Okay, so if I want a "good" graphite for my casting style I should probably go with the IM6 style graphite rods. I only like that quick action while nymphing and casting dries on under cut banks and log jams. It seems to me that the slow actions put a lot more power into distant casts, which has been useful to me on rivers like the St.Joe or on lakes in general.

mkwerx · Mar 4, 2018

Flymph said:
Okay, so if I want a "good" graphite for my casting style I should probably go with the IM6 style graphite rods. I only like that quick action while nymphing and casting dries on under cut banks and log jams. It seems to me that the slow actions put a lot more power into distant casts, which has been useful to me on rivers like the St.Joe or on lakes in general.

Pretty much. Taper plays a huge role in action too, but typically the newer the rod, the faster the action. There are exceptions of course.

Winston and Scott come to mind for newer rods that aren't broom sticks. TFO has some decent medium fast stuff in their lineup. Wright & McGill makes a sweet medium to medium fast rod in their S Curve II series.

Flymph · Mar 5, 2018

I like my TFO and Loomis rods... I can't lie. Sage is pretty good too. Honestly tho, nothing beats bamboo for trout.

gesasky · Mar 5, 2018

Lucky bastard @mkwerx

mkwerx · Mar 5, 2018

Flymph said:
I like my TFO and Loomis rods... I can't lie. Sage is pretty good too. Honestly tho, nothing beats bamboo for trout.

TFO makes a hell of a rod for the $$ - I have owned a bunch, and the Signature Series 2 weight is still my favorite 2 weight of the ones I have owned. My wife has one of their breast cancer awareness versions of the signature series in an 8'6" 5 weight.

I just got a TFO Mini Mag at the sportsmans show last month, and its crazy how well it casts.

My Loomis StreamDance 5 weight is a fun rod for distance fishing, but I fish my "cheap" Cabela's CGR and Prime 5 weights a lot more.

Glass is my preferred rod material but I don't hate graphite, I just like medium flex rods, vs pool cues in most situations.

Timbertodd · Mar 5, 2018

I have always had great dealings with River City. The owner is a great guy and fun to BS with.

Flymph · Mar 5, 2018

I'm probably going to buy a TFO, in 8wt. I think I have the Non-BCA signature series rod as your wife, same specs at least. It's really good for the price.
Here's to hoping they make a switch! LoL

Ura-Ki · Mar 5, 2018

I really love the TFO line up, speciffically the Deer Creek series of switch rods! For an awesome value in a slower casting style Echo rods are pretty slick, and can cover just about everything you ever would need! If you really wanna spend some money, a Nice Hardy, or a Gary Burkhimer or a McKenzie should really twitch your tip, then there is Anderson Custom Rods out of the South valley, by far and away the sweetest rods I have ever cast, and the Spey Rods are second to none! If you like your Sage, you should try to find one of the TCR rods, while a very fast rod, they are SO Sensitive, and cast with power you never knew you had! For hard core Steelhead action, that TCR series are unbeatable!

mkwerx · Mar 5, 2018

Have not had many modern Sage rods tickle my tickleybits, in the high end carbon fiber rods I like Loomis, Winston, and Orvis. Of those bunch the ones I lust for most are Orvis Superfines. My unicorn in that bunch is the Superfine One Ounce - which funny enough is a 2 weight, while their original One Weight was a fraction heavier

Echo makes a hell of a rod, and being located in Vantucky, if you live in the metro area and break one, you can drive to their HQ and they will swap your rod out right there. I am a big Echo SR fan, and I really like their Ion and Carbon series rods for certain uses.

I like Scott G series rods too.

Flymph · Mar 5, 2018

mkwerx said:
Have not had many modern Sage rods tickle my tickleybits, in the high end carbon fiber rods I like Loomis, Winston, and Orvis. Of those bunch the ones I lust for most are Orvis Superfines. My unicorn in that bunch is the Superfine One Ounce - which funny enough is a 2 weight, while their original One Weight was a fraction heavier

Echo makes a hell of a rod, and being located in Vantucky, if you live in the metro area and break one, you can drive to their HQ and they will swap your rod out right there. I am a big Echo SR fan, and I really like their Ion and Carbon series rods for certain uses.

I like Scott G series rods too.

Hard to beat that $330 MSRP and stay in that range, my curiosity is peaked. I'm going to have to start another fun fund for a new switch rod.

gesasky · Mar 6, 2018

I just picked up and older G Loomis 8 wt a couple months ago that has become my streamer/bass rod. I tell you I have fallen in love with Loomis here in the past year. The rods are almost indestructible and cast beautifully. But one of my first rods was a TFO 7'6 3 wt I got for fishing tiny little North Georgia backcountry streams. It is a wonderful little rod that makes fishing dries a joy as long as you arent trying to cast too far. It alot of fun to fight a fish on that rod. You can feel every movement that fish makes but be careful because if you hook into a big one you have a good chance of loosing it. I lost a couple real nice ones on the Metolious this summer...

mkwerx · Mar 6, 2018

Loomis makes very nice rods, can't deny that. I like the REC guides on mine especially, but I do wish sometimes they had snakes instead of single foot guides. If I use a shooting head, the connections from running line to head always hang up. Thats a good way to break a rod

I've been a ultralight rod fan for years. I got really into heavy stuff in the last couple years simply because a 3 weight cannot chuck a 6 inch long articulated bucktail, or a 1/0 bass popper

Those lost Metolius fish may have been bull trout. They get kinda big

When fishing light/ultralight rods, i like to put the wood to the fish. If tippet breaks, it breaks. But 8-4X tippet has a lot of give as do light rods. If you err on the heaviest tippet you can get away with, and fight the fish from the butt of the rod, ultralights can land fish as fast as heavy weights. Tippet is often the limiting factor - not rod power. You fish 5X tippet, for example - a 5 weight gives you no more advantage than a 2 or 3 weight, but gives you the disadvantage of higher likelihood of breaking the fish off because a 5 weight can exert more force overall than a 2 or 3.

I get a bit of a kick out of twisting the nipples of the guys who poopoo ultralight gear, but then fish ultfalight tippets on 5 and 6 weight rods, then barely put a bend in the tip because they are afraid to loose a fish. Some guys get real worked up about it. Some just never thought about the tippet being the weakest link (typically)

In open water or typical freestone streams, UL is a hoot. Fishing heavy cover, or big flies needs bigger stuff, because of abrasion resistance or physical ability to toss the big bugs. I used to throw bass bugs on a 6 weight, but these days I like making one or two back casts, instead of a dozen trying to work a fly out. Sometimes bigger is better.

gesasky · Mar 6, 2018

Good point @mkwerx . I guess I just need to be a little more aggressive and trust my rod when fighting those bigger fish.

No they were just big fat rainbows. I was catching them on top. The bull trout is one of the reasons I purchased the 8wt