need a pole???

[spare link]

I was wondering if this is a good pole for starting out. i have never used a fly rod befor and wanted your say on it. i dont want to spend a lot of money on one at first. I dont know what weight eather. I will fish steelhead and maybe a little salmon with it. thanks for all the help


heres the link to the fly pole click here (http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jhtml?id=0011165&navAction=push&navCount=1&ind exId=cat600231&parentId=cat600231&parentType=index &rid=&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fcatalog%2F pod-link.jhtml_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20431)


thanks
Spare Link

[clacksteel]

If you plan of fishing steelhead and salmon, I would suggest a nine weight fly rod (the rod you show only goes up to eight). I would suggest checking out Temple Fork Outfitters fly rods (I think that they have 9 weights) they are reasonably priced as well, and have a better reputation from what I have heard (more rod for your money).

[Ryan Pultz]

An 8wt is plenty for steelhead and salmon you may gave to take it easy if you get a big nook on but an 8wt will do just fine. It looks like a great rod and for a beginner rod I say go for it. rp

[Slow and Low]

An 8wt is plenty for steelhead and salmon you may gave to take it easy if you get a big nook on but an 8wt will do just fine. It looks like a great rod and for a beginner rod I say go for it. rp



An 8wt will land chinook that are 10-15 pounds. I landed one that was 29 pounds, a joke I must say. Silvers, chum, steel, all can be handled on an eight weight.

Odds of catching a big nook on the fly without help are low.

Cheaper is better until you are banking fish.

Good luck.

[mandinga]

I'm with ryan on this one...an 8 weigth is plenty big for any size nook you hook(that rhymes :laugh:).


Cabelas products are all pretty good. for $50 I think it's worth it.

[nookslayer]

I have to agree with slow and low. An 8 wt is great for steelies and you can get nooks with it as well. I commend you for the 29 lb chinook my friend. That is one big hog on that rod.
Spare link, you may consider loomis's entry rod series "pescado" which is an 8 wt. The reel isn't great and the line sucks but the rod is fairly solid. You can take home the hole rig (before you upgrade the reel and line) for $180. Not too bad to start, but spend more if you can and you'll have it for a longer length of time.

[clacksteel]

My Sage 8 weight must be a wimp then. It could barely land some 20 lb. Chum on the Kilchis.

[mandinga]

My Sage 8 weight must be a wimp then. It could barely land some 20 lb. Chum on the Kilchis.




each rod is different...some rods have a bigger fighting butt...

Alot has to do with the person fishing and the line used to land the fish. I will say that I almost always have a net with me when I nook fish...just in case...although i rarely use the net.

[lilnorthfork]

Spare Link - Ditto what the others said about an 8wt.. I think you are wise to go inexpensive as a beginner. I fished with a $30 setup for about 10 yrs. and caught lots of fish (though I did have a sore elbow at the end of a long day). Two suggestions...
1. Since you are planning to use it for bigger fish, make sure the rod and reel have good warranties... it is no bargain if they break on the first fish.
2. If I was to invest some extra money in just one part of your setup it would definitely be a decent casting flyline; and keeping the line clean and lubed will help ensure its castability.
Tight lines. lnf

[AndyK]

I’ll have to respectfully disagree about using an eight-weight, or even a nine-weight on a big Chinook. While fishing for steelhead last spring with my nine-weight, I hooked a twenty-pound Springer. It was only with a lot of luck that I was able to land him, and to do it I had to follow him downstream. My nine-weight didn’t have enough backbone to pull the fish upstream against the current.

springer (http://karamanos.net/sports/fish2004/springer1b.jpg)

My largest Chinook of the year was a 38 pounder on my twelve-weight. It was a much better match, rod vs. fish.

Chinook (http://karamanos.net/sports/fish2004/salmon4b.jpg)

[yooper]

For a beginner a 8 weight will go a long way. I think it will handle any fish under 25 pounds.

The most important thing to me is the drag system on the reel. If your going to land that 30+ pounder you must have some resistance to keep it from screaming like a freight train down the river. Get the best drag system you can on your reels and spend the extra money if you have to. If you end up snapping your pole, you'll still have the nice reel to put on your next pole. :-)

Many Blessings...

[AndyK]

I still say, use enough rod. In 2003, I hooked an approx. twelve-pound summer run on my seven-weight rod. I had a heavy enough leader and a good, disk drag reel. However, I could bend the rod until the tip was almost at the handle. I got the fish up to me twice but on a final run, it snagged me on the bottom. That might not have happened if I had been using one of my heavier rods.

You can only put so much pressure on a fish with a rod. If you are in open water or a big hole in the river, you will be okay. But if you are around obstructions or if the fish decides to leave the hole, you won’t be able to stop it if you don’t have enough rod.

[stoneflyguy]

I started with a 9# and found it to be very versitile. I have caught chinook up to 25 lbs. and many, many steelheed. I am a guide and clients who do not have rods use a 9# of mine becuase it is very difficult to break. I have some 9# Lamiglas rods and paid under $60, great starter or loaner.

[R Jackson]

I think an 8wt 9' is OK for steelhead. What I noticed was that the rod has a "moderate" action, and the reel didn't really have any drag. I think you might be happier with a "fast" action rod and a real with a disk drag for steelhead.

[lilnorthfork]

Andy - your points are valid but consider how often you toss flies and how long you have been at it. What are the odds of a beginning flyfisher getting into a chinook? Worst case scenario he does what I did... hook into a nook on an 8wt, break it off at the fly, and run home and start looking for a 10wt.:cool: Of course, that being said, he will probably hook a chinook on his very first cast. :wave:

[Ryan Pultz]

I agree the reel needs to have a better drag. I would say get the rod and go with and okuma reel the drag system on them is super smooth. rp

[AndyK]

I started with a 9# and found it to be very versitile. I have caught chinook up to 25 lbs. and many, many steelheed. I am a guide and clients who do not have rods use a 9# of mine becuase it is very difficult to break. I have some 9# Lamiglas rods and paid under $60, great starter or loaner.



I have several $300 to $600 fly rods. But I am on the river all the time and don’t want to abuse these high-priced rods. So I use a couple Lamiglas rods on a daily basis. These rods cost $100 and $150. I landed the 20 lb. Springer mentioned above with the $150 rod (it is in the photo).

Springer (http://karamanos.net/sports/fish2004/springer1b.jpg)

These rods get a lot of abuse, banging around in the back of my pickup or in my drift boat. I have had the cork handles fall apart and the rods break. I just drive to Woodland and exchange for a new rod. Like the Eveready bunny, they keep going and going!!

[mandinga]

Andy...I was just wondering why you wouldnt use your nice rods all the time, dont they have a good warranty?

[AndyK]

I was just wondering why you wouldnt use your nice rods all the time, dont they have a good warranty?



It's not that I am worried about breaking a rod. I broke a G. Loomis rod last summer and got a quick replacement (the same day). But everyday use results in scratches, etc. from "wear and tear". I used an expensive rod daily for a while and it was covered with scratches and had a bent tip guide. I don't think any warranty would cover blemishes. I just don't like having those "spendy" rods look like trash.

I do use the more expensive rods for some of my longer trips, like a week on the North Umpqua.

[Tugjunkie]

0

[PharmDoc]

The 8wt will work fine for steelhead in most situations (a 9 would be better though). To underscore what others have said, it does depend on the individual rod too. I would never advise fishing nooks with a rod that light though. Unless you're only fishing tidewater with it, you'll probably exhaust yourself and possibly kill your fish by the time you land it. I've never found the 12wts that I use for nooks to be too much rod. Again, just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should! :grin: