6 Weight 9 Footer for the Bitterroot?

fadeaway263

fadeaway263

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The English Prof and I are once again going to Montana. Lucky Prof is in for 2 weeks. I am trying to decide if I should pull the trigger on a Helios 2 big $$$$ fly rod. I have a 5 wt 9ft Sage but our guide is recommending a 6 or 7 wt for big streamers. Amazing is the size differential on fish caught with streamers in the Bitterroot. I just read the FF Rod reviews from the web site "Yellow Stone Anglers" [great web site IMHO] They say if you can afford big $$$ rods then buy big $$$ rods. But their recommendation for an affordable rod is to go with a Loomis. [PS was glad to see the recommendation of a Fenwick as most afforadable...Fenwick was my first glass and first graphite rod] Anybody got some thoughts on Loomis. Saw a used one on Ebay for $250. PS here is the link for the rod reviews

http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/gear-review/2015-5-weight-shootout-fly-rod-review-5weightflyrodcomparison-loomisnrxlp-scott-radian-orvis-helios2-hardyzenith-loop-optistream
 
Loomis is no more affordable than any other high end flyrod ie. Sage, Winston,Orvis etc. All those companies do make affordable rods at the bottom of their product line though. Loomis rods are excellent. I have two. They are both GL3's a 6'6" 3 weight and a 9' 6 weight. The 6 weight is my "big" water trout rod. I use it for streamers and nymphing. The GL3 is discontinued and have been replaced with another model. I don't recall what that model is though.
 
FWIW Reddington Crosswater. Inexpensive and I prefer it to an Orvis that I have. GG
 
Yo Kevin,

I just went through this myself looking for a streamer rod. I have a couple of questions first....

Is this going to be a streamer dedicated rod or will you be using it for big dries / nymphing as well?

Will you be using a sinking line or sink tip on it?

What current rods do you own?

If you are looking at a streamer dedicated rod, the 7wt makes the most sense. Will you use it on Valley? No. Is a 7wt fine for out west, the Lehigh, the D and smallmouth fishing? Yepper.

2 rods that would be good and in the price range you are questioning, TFO Axiom 907-4 and TFO TiCrX 907-4. Both are around $250-$280. St Croix Bank Robber is $450-ish, Beulah makes a few that might work for ya and don't discount a used "oldy but goody".

PM sent
 
I use a 6-wt St. Croix Bank Robber the most (got used for ($340). I have several 5-wt rods that are fast and capable of get big streamers out there.

The Redington "fast" family of rods work for me. I have 2 discontinued rods that cheap. Pursuit 5-wt ($70) and a Voyant 6-wt ($90).

I am purchase a more expensive Redington Vapen or even a Predator in the futrue. 6 to 7wts are enough.

Equally important, you must match the flyline to the task!

The bank robber, designed by Kelly Galloup, had a SA streamer express line (Kelly design to work with the rod) on it and worked well even in strong wind...but, because of its excessive 50-ft sink-tip has fallen out of favor. Kelly has now teamed with Airflo and made 2 Streamer specific lines. I hope to get one at Somerset.

Currently a Cortland 333 10-ft sink tip and a RIO Streamertip (intermediate clear tip) are being used. The RIO line is a perfect line, designed for big streamers. I will also purchased a faster sink version of the RIO at Somerset.

Your streamer size and desired depth determine the needs for what Rod/Line combo you need.
 
In addition to water depth and ffor size / type, don't forget water speed for determining sink rate.

I have 7wt Rio DC 15' sink tip in 6 ips and one in 4 ips. I also picked up a Cabelas sink tip line for my 6 wt rod. It's a 10' 3 ips sink rate.

I found the 6 ips to be a little too much for local applications and reserve it for really big or deep water.
 
krayfish2 wrote:
Yo Kevin,

I just went through this myself looking for a streamer rod. I have a couple of questions first....

Is this going to be a streamer dedicated rod or will you be using it for big dries / nymphing as well?

Will you be using a sinking line or sink tip on it?

What current rods do you own?
Click to expand...

Andy this is what I have: 5wt 9ft Sage...3wt 8.5ft Lefty Kref [TFO] 5wt 8.5 Fenwick 6ft Calela Tight Quarters and 7wt 10ft Powell. The problem with the Fenwick is its a 2pc rod and the Powell is 3pcs which becomes more problematic for air travel.
 
I'm also in the market for a 6wt and for the same reason. Trying to throw streamers on the Madison last summer with a 5 wt was tough. I figure a 6wt will help toss the big guys better, but also work well for nymphing and dry fly fishing. Depending on work, I'm hoping to get out to Montana (Ennis) a couple times again this year. At least once early summer and and again in early fall.

I'm not a dedicated streamer guy so a more versatile rod is key. I've been looking at the St Croix Legend Elite. It gets great reviews and is a couple hundred less than the top end rods. I've cast and fished one of their lower end rods, the Imperial and thought the quality was good for the money.
 
Check out the rods at the FF shows you can get a good deal on rods during the shows, from just about anyone from Sage to Loomis, and Orvis.
In my humble opinion a 5 wt. is plenty rod if it's the right rod, you'll only 'need'a 6 or 7 for windy days. That time of the year it's always windy during the afternoon anyway, but a lot of guys don't fish the afternoons anyway.
 
fadeaway263 wrote:
The English Prof and I are once again going to Montana. Lucky Prof is in for 2 weeks. I am trying to decide if I should pull the trigger on a Helios 2 big $$$$ fly rod. I have a 5 wt 9ft Sage but our guide is recommending a 6 or 7 wt for big streamers. Amazing is the size differential on fish caught with streamers in the Bitterroot. I just read the FF Rod reviews from the web site "Yellow Stone Anglers" [great web site IMHO] They say if you can afford big $$$ rods then buy big $$$ rods. But their recommendation for an affordable rod is to go with a Loomis. [PS was glad to see the recommendation of a Fenwick as most afforadable...Fenwick was my first glass and first graphite rod] Anybody got some thoughts on Loomis. Saw a used one on Ebay for $250. PS here is the link for the rod reviews

http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/gear-review/2015-5-weight-shootout-fly-rod-review-5weightflyrodcomparison-loomisnrxlp-scott-radian-orvis-helios2-hardyzenith-loop-optistream
Click to expand...

I could build you one for $139.99.
But is that really what you want?
I'd go with a 6 weight 9-10 ft, if you insist on a new rod.
 
The fish won't care what rod you use.
 
SM,

2 of the better casting, 'best bang for the buck' rods I've thrown were the Legend Elite and the Axiom. St Croix is more of a tip flex while the Axiom bends a little deeper into the blank. Neither are flawless in finish but if performance is what concerns ya, both are quite good.
 
I have a 10' 7 wt Orvis H2. It is by far my favorite rod to fish in bigger rivers. It is my go-to rod trout for streamers in the big rivers out-west or the D River. But it doesn't stop there. It's just right for smallies in the Susky and D River and it is a great steelhead rod.

The rod works great close-in and roll casts and mends like a champ. As well, it can launch a good sized fly with a floating or sink-tip line well across the river.

It's a perfect rod to win the battle with any good sized trout, steelie or smallie.

If you can find a great casting 10' 7wt, I would recommend it for the versatility since it does a lot of things very well.

Heck, it even plays havoc on carp! :oops:
 
We live in an age where cheap #censor# fly rods get things done and done well. Anyone who says you need to spend a lot to get a good rod is probably selling rods or is a victim of those who do. If you want the absolute highest end gear, fine. But you definitely don't need it. The H2's are fantastic rods though.

With that said, get a 7wt if you are at all serious about throwing big streamers. A 6wt as a streamer rod is analogous to a 4wt as a general purpose trout rod. Good in most situations but lacking at times.

Kev
 
+1 for the seven.
 
I used my Orvis 9' 6WT on the Yellowstone throwing woolly buggers. I'm glad I had the 6WT as we got Cuts over 20" in heavy current.

PS. Two guys using black buggers and 2 using olive green. My black team won 5 to 4 with the smallest fish being 18".
 
In my opinion there are some great budget fly fishing rods out there right now that you can really save some money on the scott a4 and tidal and some of the tfo stuff, stuf like this orvis recon review leads me to think that all the companies might be starting to move price points down on good gear.
 
. depends on what you mean by "big streamers ".
2s and 4s weighted bulky types with sink tips----8wt. makes it much more enjoyable but on medium rivers like the Bitterroot in summer doubt if you will be using the big boys so a 6 wt.is a pleasure to use.
 
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