8 Weight Rod

[JMP]

I am in the market to purchase an 8 weight outfit. I will use this for bass and steelhead. I was interested in the new Orvis Clearwater or Access outfits. Also, what are you thoughts on the reel, regular, mid or large arbor. Does anyone use an 8 weight when you know you will only be fishing streamers for trout (eg. high water after heavy rain)?
Thank you

 

[sandfly]

I use a 6wt. for trout streamers. 8wt. is good for bass and steelhead. the orvis clearwater is a decent buy, I have 2 of them.(maybe another would have to look). mid or large arber will help retrieve faster when you have a lot of line out.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear jmp,

An 8 weight is not an ideal trout fishing rod even when fishing streamers unless perhaps you fishing very deep water with shooting heads and you need a rod with ummph to toss them. For dual duty you might want to look at 7 weights?

Eight weights are however my go to smallmouth and largemouth rod. Check Sierra Trading Post, they had some Powell Rods last week in 9' 4 piece versions that could be had for around $ 100.00. At that price I'm sure they are well worth the money.

Most Orvis rods are pretty decent, and they are a good company to deal with. Take the time to sign up on the Orvis home page for e-mail sale flyers, you might find a better deal that way if you aren't in a hurry.

You might want a mid or large arbor reel for steelheading for the faster retrieve. You can fight your typical bass, even a good sized 4 or 5 pounder with the line held in your hand, they typically don't make fast runs like steelhead are capable of making. You'll probably have to decide which application will get the most use and buy a reel accordingly.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[pete41]

as Tim says 8wts are good if you are going to be wade fishing,using 2weighted and larger streamers on big water.While it may seem overgunning it is actually much easier on YOU to use a rod that matches the fly wt./size than trying to use a lighter rod which requires more effort.After four or five hours pounding away your back can hurt so much it can bring tears to your eyes.Many times I crawled out of the water to take a break-then back at it-never know when the bite will happen.
{Night fishing on western waters].

 

[ryguyfi]

I have an 8wt TFO TICR rod that I love. I mainly use it for steelhead and bass, also some carp on a rare occasion. It was the 2nd rod I ever bought to get something a bit heavier. It can be overkill, but that rod casts like a mile. I love just chucking streamers out on lakes when I have a bunch of room. It also has the backbone to horse in the steelhead. One of my next rods will be a 7wt because it fills in the next hole.

If I were you I'd buy a 9-10ft 7wt for steelhead, and a 9' 6wt for bass in a middle market rod (Like TFO) and get a reel to pair with both a reel and a 2nd spool to have a different line on it for both rods. (check out Allen's 5/7 trout reel, link on right of every page)

For what you'd pay for Orvis, you can probably do this on a very similar budget with other makers products.

 

[Bruno]

Sierra trading post had some great deals on rods over the weekend. you could get a 7wt for 65 bucks with the Barn Burner deal. If you have not signed up for their site you should. That same rod is 120 plus today.

 

[boychick]

Ryguy nailed it. Two rods and one reel with extra spool is the way to go. You'll want the 10' 7 wt for steelhead. It's great for indicator fishing and the extra foot is nice when when you need to make a big mend fishing streamers. For bass I fish a 6/7 wt, a 6 would do fine. On small creeks, I'll even fish a 5 wt for bass. A medium arbor reel will be fine for both kindsof fish. A true large arbor is nice for steelhead, but a medium arbor reel will be fine. There is not a huge difference between the two. Drag is the most important reel feature to consider when thinking about a steelhead reel. I'm sure the allen reels have a drag capable of slowing down a psit off chromer heading back to the lake with your fly. You'll rarely have a bass on the reel. A steelhead reel used for warm water fishing is especially nice when you encounter a carp, they're not steelhead but a carp will pull line from the reel as they run. The new Clearwater rods look nice. I have yet to cast one, but a budy of mine who works in the fly fishing industry has good things to say about them. they should be getting them in anyday no in my local store. You may also want to consider some of the less expensive Redington rods (pursuit or voyant models). I've been looking at those and the clearwater as I consider replacing my 2 peice 6/7 with a 4 peice 6 wt.

 

[Tiltaxp]

My vote would be a 6 and 8 wt and 2 seperate reels. I'd save some cash on the 6 wt reel and spend some decent money on the 8 wt reel. I've never been a fan of spools as the price difference and being able to be rigged up at the same time, ie fishing from a boat with a streamer and popper setup.

good luck

 

[JMP]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the information. I do have a Fenwick 6 weight, first fly rod I purchased > 20 years ago. It has too much flex, so it is not applicable for this type of fishing. I am looking for a stiffer rod. I often fish the Little J and thought an 8 weight would work tossing streamers during high water. I would not be using a sinking line or sink tips. Obviously, I do not need to purchase this outfit in February, so I have some time hear from the experienced.

 

[m0nk]

I would like to revive this one with some additional questions: Would a 7 wt 10' rod also work with steelhead on the west coast? My understanding is that they get bigger than in the great lakes tribs and an 8 or 9 wt might be better there (and I'm not ready to invest in a spey setup), but would a 7 wt work too? I'm eyeing up a steelhead outfit and my wife really doesn't like when I keep buying fishing gear, so I wanted to get one and keep that for an all-purpose steelhead outfit. I was also eyeing up the Orvis Clearwater outfits as they have both the 7 and 8 wt in 10' with LA reel for a great price.

Edit: I should also add that in the Orvis recommendations, the 8wt is their general purpose steelhead outfit, so I was initially leaning toward that but the guys at the local Bass pro fly shop said most people would go with a 7wt....

 

[FishingCreekEmerger]

I to am in the market for an 8. I say it depends on the flies you are tossing. A 5,6 or 7 will land almost any fish you would be using it for. Look at all the old timers landing HUGE fish on 5 and 6 wts. Sure bigger fish can snap a rod but no matter what rod you are fishing the tippet would go or the fly will straighten out before the rod snaps i would say 9 out of 10 times. If you think yoy may be using this rod for bass,pike, steel whatever i personally vote for the versatility of the 8. Swap out the lines and you will also have a salmon or lt. salt rod.

 

[Tiltaxp]

Will it work out there? sure... a lot depends on the river, time of year, water temps etc. They steelhead out there on average are close to the same size and its a tough fighting fish wherever.

Ditch the wife, if you're going to travel anywhere to fish more then 30-45 minutes each way from home you should have an extra setup just in case.

 

[m0nk]

So let me paraphrase and see if I got it right: a 7 wt would be best for Erie steels, and 8 wt better for West Coast steels, and though using one of these for both might work in a crunch, it would be better to just (insert some way to deal with wife) and buy both...

:-D

 

[Cornholio]

I use an 8 on the clarion river for brown trout, but i throw huge, heavy streamers. Large arbor reels are the way to go on the big water were fish make long runs.

 

[CRB]

I've been using a 6 wt for steelhead since I started fishing. Trout,bass and steelhead all with the 6 wt, Stream, Trib or LE Floating sinking and intermediate line. A 6 wt is MHO the best rod to fish for all and with all flies I use. I like the lighter feel in my hand. 8 are what I would fish with in the Salt for stripers.
I am now using a 10 6 wt with a longer than average butt cork so I can do some of the switch/spay type of roll casts.This is a medium flexing custom made by me rod.

 

[brookiesofpa]

I have a 8wt and like it. However, I just bought a 5 wt 11 foot switch and a 300 gr line for it for sink tips when the water is heavy and I am on larger streams like Oil Creek and French creek for trout and smallies. One thing I really dislike is retriving flies out of the bushes behind me and the 5 wt will allow me to roll/spey cast to around 70 feet w heaver streamers from what I researched. It will also work for nymph rigs and larger drys.
PM me next week after the weekend and I will let ya know How I like it.
With my 8wt 9foot I can roll cast and single handed spey about 40 foot with a #6 streamer in tow. It is a shooting head wluff ambush triangle taper in 290 grain weight which is considered a 8 wt. Youtube switch rod casting and you will see what I am talking about not losing flies due to not having to backcast to reach those hard to fish places.
Greg
p.s. I do steel head fish w my 8wt orvis frequent flyer and it does have enough back bone for the fastest steelhead. Had a BIG musky on once and had he not broke off it would have been a long fight. I bet he was 40 inches.

 

[volcanomil]

I use/own a Sage Launch 8wt. I use mostly for PA bass on rivers and lakes, I usually throw larger than normal flies. I purchased the rod for a bonefish trip in the Bahamas but find myself using the rod more and more on around here. The larger line helps me throw large hairy bugs and poppers easier.

I beleive a 6 and 8 wt rods to be different animals.

If I were buying in todays market, I would again look closely at Sage's offerings... Don't forget, used rods are your friends...