[ARF!!]

money no object what would be your personal "best for you" rod choice 

[Rob Brownfield]

Easy...one of my 9 weight new Lohrics ..fantastic blank and i can then build it anyway i want then 

If it had to be a factory rod then i would say probably a CF Burkheimer, more than likely the 9 foot 6" 5 weight in "Presentation" finish..or a 9 weight saltwater in blue.

[Hamish Young]

Ahhhhh, but there's no simple answer  

Something for the streams, maybe the river Or maybe a small loch or a stillwater Big reservoir or loch
Something for the weekend Sir Going Salmon fishing Sir Nice Orvis rod there sir, suit you Sir, suit you

I guess the point I'm making is that there's many types of fly fishing for mnay types and size of quarry....... so if you could narrow the choice down a smidgen that'd be good  

Hamish  

[Rob Brownfield]

Hamish..the clue is in the question .."WHATS BEST FOR YOU"..lol..so if its wee flies you like to cast to river trout..then i guess thats "best for you"

[Iain Goolager]

Easy...one of my 9 weight new Lohrics

Rob,
are they any good?   

[Rob Brownfield]

Iain,

Cheeky! Your one is on the rack just now...i have my daughters this weekend but i should be able to finish whipping. Might have to wait until they have gone home on Monday to epoxy as i use the eldests room to do this as its warm and out the way.

Its been a bit hectic for the last 6 months so this is my finally catching up.

[Iain Goolager]

Thanks Rob,

If you want to put your family first then that's fine 

I'll just throw 6" lures with my 4' 2wt Timothy & Timothy 

[ARF!!]

Ahhhhh, but there's no simple answer  

Something for the streams, maybe the river Or maybe a small loch or a stillwater Big reservoir or loch
Something for the weekend Sir Going Salmon fishing Sir Nice Orvis rod there sir, suit you Sir, suit you

I guess the point I'm making is that there's many types of fly fishing for mnay types and size of quarry....... so if you could narrow the choice down a smidgen that'd be good  

Hamish  

ya got me there old chap LOL!!

[Mike Barrio]

money no object what would be your personal "best for you" rod choice 

As Hamish rightly says ...... there's no simple answer ....... probably why so many of us end up with a rather nice collection of "toys"

My favourite rod is of course my 3wt, but we obviously designed this rod to suit our own fishing style ...... so that is a no brainer I'm just chuffed to bits that so many other folk seem to enjoy fishing with it too!

Best wishes
Mike

[Hamish Young]

Right, thought I'd answer this going through my personal favourites:

• River rod - Winston B11X 9ft #5wt. 
• River & light loch rod - Orvis Helios 10ft #4wt
• Big lochs/stillwaters - undecided at the moment
• For saltwater - Orvis 10ft #8wt
• For single handed salmon - Greys GPRL 10ft #7/8wt
• Moderate water salmon - Orvis Shooting Star 14ft #9/10
• Bigger water salmon - Bruce & Walker Powerlite Deluxe 15ft #10/11 wt

Each of these is 'best for me' for those particular conditions. Could I possibly pick one rod as a personal favourite
Right now, no. I'm torn between two, I love the Winston but the 10ft #4wt Helios is sublime 
Decisions decisions 

Hamish 

[dseabass]

anythin that cost less than sixty seventy quid ----av spent more on rods and broke /damaged them --
what happens with me is --i used to get enticed wi ---"" this is the super best,most modern fire a further line,cliche cliche cliche-----i use three now   -- 8ft   9ft  and 10 ft   --in  4#--7#  line -----in sayin that am plannin on a permit for the ness this year --so salmon fly rods are gonna be on the menu ---but  i will start off dead cheap--borrow --loan --from mates ----etc  -----personally i dont think its the amont of money you spend on a rod that makes it better ---

[Hamish Young]

....personally i dont think its the amont of money you spend on a rod that makes it better

True enough, sometimes the amount of money isn't truly reflective of the quality 
But there is something to be said for spending a reasonable amount of money on a rod that'll do the job well, has been designed well and finished well. It's up to you as the fisher to make the best of it 
There is also truth in the suggestion that line choice is hugely significant, that can make a huge difference to a rod and you as the fisher.

A good budget salmon rod choice for you might be the Shakespeare Oracle IV, even the 15ft model comes in at under £100 

[Ben Dixon]

I do too many different types of fishing to simply have one rod.

I use...

7ft #4 for small stream stuff
9ft #4 or #5 for river trout & grayling and for fishing proper flies on still waters, currently using a Helios 904 midflex and a 905 tipflex. 

9ft6" #6 for sea trout, singlehanded salmon, chucking lures on stillwaters, big streamers on rivers, jack pike in small canals, and light saltwater, using a Helios 966 tipflex at the moment.

9ft #9 for pike and heavier saltwater work currently, rod of choice is a TLS Power matrix, heavy but more or less unbreakable.

14ft #9 for most salmon fishing where a DH rod is required and a 15ft #10 for throwing full sinking lines or on big rivers.

For casting against the tape I still like my 590 TCR.

If I had to keep only one, it would be the Helios 966 tipflex.  With a good choice of lines I would be happy to use it for more or less anything.


Cheers

Ben

[j.r fartley]

im keen to get my grubby wee hands on an orvis superfine troutbum 8ft 5#!

[Rob Brownfield]

im keen to get my grubby wee hands on an orvis superfine troutbum 8ft 5#!

Wait until you pick up the Helios Ion version..WOW!..just over an ounce in weight...stunning They have one in Banchory..and I also think there is a Trout Bum sitting there too if i remember...

[j.r fartley]

Wait until you pick up the Helios Ion version..WOW!..just over an ounce in weight...stunning They have one in Banchory..and I also think there is a Trout Bum sitting there too if i remember...

iv never had an orvis rod,they look gorgeous but il have to save my pennies then sweeten up my better half to justify another rod getting delivered!

[Rob Brownfield]

I have 3 now...to be totally honest, not too sure about the finish (Western 3..hmmmm ???), but the actions and warrenty are spot on.

[j.r fartley]

iv never heard a bad word about  orvis customer care,when you spend a few hundred on a rod i think its important  you get that! 

[Ben Dixon]

I have 3 now...to be totally honest, not too sure about the finish (Western 3..hmmmm ???), but the actions and warrenty are spot on.

Have you had a good look at the finish of the Western3 rods Rob? 

They are designed with UK stillwater anglers in mind, these rods are a UK only product and have been designed around feedback and requests from UK anglers the majority of which seem to want a matt finish, the rings are a black nickel colour rather than gold or bright silver for the same reason, the build quailty of the rods is high and the cork is pretty good too. 
I said above that they are designed for stillwater anglers, this may have been the brief and the rods will excel on stillwaters but there are rods in the range that will work well in other applications I have cast the range and have to say I am most impressed.

On the Ions, have a look out for the 6ft #2, it weighs in at 7/8 of an ounce!

Cheers

Ben

[Iain Goolager]

On the Ions, have a look out for the 6ft #2, it weighs in at 7/8 of an ounce!

Hi Ben,

What reel would you marry that up with?

[Ben Dixon]

Not really sure Ian, my first choice would be the large arbour one, the Ion series has a cork reel seat so adding a little more mass at the butt end is not really a problem.  The smallest lightest reel Orvis do is the Battenkill Barstock one but for me, it is a bit too small even though it would sit nice with the rod, I prefer a large arbour so would put up with the weight of the LA.

Cheers

Ben

[Rob Brownfield]

Ben,
its not so much the matt finish, I have always loved Loomis for example, but its the colour of the thread and the way it appears to have suffered from lack of epoxy penetration..ie..the whipping look patchy and not consistant in colour. Most noticable on the ring foot area. The Trout Bums and Ion also has this.

I have a real thing about medium and lighter coloured threads and dark blanks. The use of colour preserver keeps the colour consistent, but certain colours lose there "sparkle" and end up looking flat..my Greys Esox is a prime example of that. I use a "watered" down epoxy that soaks the thread really well and forms an even, if not darker colour, and then 24 hours later i add a normal epoxy coat. It stops some of that "transperant" look so ring foot and tags of silver or gold tipping dont show through so much.

Don't get me wrong..the epoxy finish is lovely, the fittings are fine (I am building a rod with the Titanium finish guides just now), the colour of the thread is fine, the blank being matt is fine, the reel seat is better than the old Western (but looks identical to the one on my £99 Fulling Mill rod), but from an esthetic point of view, it just does not work for me. I love the finish on the Western 2's though

Just a personnel thing and I am sure many folk will love the colours and finish and I am certainly not detracting from what looks to be a lovely fishing tool.

[Derek McLaren]

Have you had a good look at the finish of the Western3 rods Rob? 

They are designed with UK stillwater anglers in mind, these rods are a UK only product and have been designed around feedback and requests from UK anglers the majority of which seem to want a matt finish, the rings are a black nickel colour rather than gold or bright silver for the same reason, the build quailty of the rods is high and the cork is pretty good too. 
I said above that they are designed for stillwater anglers, this may have been the brief and the rods will excel on stillwaters but there are rods in the range that will work well in other applications I have cast the range and have to say I am most impressed.

On the Ions, have a look out for the 6ft #2, it weighs in at 7/8 of an ounce!

Cheers

Ben

Hi Ben_D, do you any idea what the weight of the Western3 107-3 Tip Fly Rod is ,It seems to be different in the mags and i don't see it quoted on the UK website  .

cheers
 

[Ben Dixon]

I will take my scales in to work tomorrow and weigh it, will do the others whilst I am at it.


Cheers

Ben

[Derek McLaren]

I will take my scales in to work tomorrow and weigh it, will do the others whilst I am at it.


Cheers

Ben

That would be great and interesting to see how the weight compares to the western two's