I have a freshwater flyrod/reel combo that I have had for several years. It is a 7’ 4 weight. I mostly have used in river and lakes for bream,etc. However,I am going to Colorado in August for some trout. I also fish for reds and trout all of the time using spinning and have toiled with the idea of buying a saltwater combo 5-6weight to do that. I want to buy a combo that I can use for reds inshore and also not overkill the mountain trout in colorado. I am close to bass pro in MB and I have been looking for a combo that will work. I was thinking of a 5-6 weight at 8.5-9ft long. I really want a bass pro branded/worldwide sportsman combo. I get a good discount on these. I have been looking the catalogs and I see lots of metal reels, but I really don’t know if they are saltwater friendly or not?
Does anybody have any recommendations? will a 6 weight be overkill for mounntain trout?
I used a 4/5wt when I was out in Colorado and was just a little overpowered. However, you will be a good bit underpowered with that same setup fishing for reds. I have caught smaller reds on that setup before and had fun, but I would not recommend making it habit. I like to throw an 8wt for reds/trout now.
Agree with HH…6wt at a minimum for salt, 8wt is probably your best bet as you will be able to fish for most inshore species with no problems. As far as the reel, if you’ll be spending a good deal of time in saltwater look for an anodized aluminum reel with sealed components. Ask for Rob up there at Bass Pro, he can set you up.
Try an 8 or 9 weight for the salt and scale back to a 5 or 6 for your trout and lighter fresh water applications. The 8 and up rods are going to be way too much rod for most trout fishing applications where as the 6 and under stuff isn’t really enough rod for most inshore saltwater applications. If conditions are perfect, which they seldom are, then the lighter weight rods might work, just keep in mind that typically need something to punch through the wind and deliver a pretty bulky and heavy fly for the salt water thing! You should be able to find you a good reel that can go both ways, just make sure that it’s high enough quality to handle the salt!
I ended up with a 8/9 weight reel and I bought two rods…
8’6" 5# for the trout and I bought a 8’ 8# heavy action for salt, but I couldn’t cast it worth a ****, so I returned and bought a 9’ 8# medium action for the saltwater inshore. I like it much better.
The reel works great on either rod.
Agree with HH…6wt at a minimum for salt, 8wt is probably your best bet as you will be able to fish for most inshore species with no problems. As far as the reel, if you’ll be spending a good deal of time in saltwater look for an anodized aluminum reel with sealed components. Ask for Rob up there at Bass Pro, he can set you up.
Hope that helps…
Don’t know if you Rob at Bass Pro Shops that well UNDERPAR, but I have been looking for him this week and calling him and just found out that he passed away a week or so ago. Bass Pro sure is going to miss him and all of the other fly anglers that knew him. FYI