S
smoky
So my brother gave me his old 8'6" 6/ 7 weight fly rod and I was wondering if this would be good for the steelhead we got coming
New to the fly
H
halibuthitman
60% of the time yes-
S
smoky
Good enough for me to give it a shot and one more newbie question are fly reels supposed to have a drag setting or is it supposed to free spin back and forth
H
halibuthitman
Either is fine. Most fish with a drag style reel, a click pawl reel with no drag is much more fun.. I prefer a clicker but many places i fish you really kinda need a drag.. But its just a fish, if you lose it... Catch another one-
S
smoky
well said I just wanted to know if was broken or not. Thanks for the info though can't wait to get some line on it and get out on the water
T
TimberTodd
When purchasing your line, research and don't skimp. A good line can make the world of difference in casting, mending and control. Talk to your local fly shop.
S
sapo
Yeah smoky, a 6/7 weight rod will work for winter steelhead, but winter steelhead are bigger and with a 6/7 weight you'll have to play them for awhile...But it can be done! I have a 6/7 weight rod that has caught 15 pound salmon, 5 pound steelhead, etc. with no problem so yours should be fine for steelhead. And ya that might be the way your reel was designed, to have no drag. Same thing here, lol
G
grampa ron
Fly fishing is a lot of fun, but it can be very frustrating. Try to deal with a free spinning fly reel will be a nightmare. It's probably broken anyway. Get a reel, with a disc drag, and line to match the rod. It will make your learning curve a lot steeper. Also look up Mel Kreiger on you tube for one of the best fly casting explanations.
S
smoky
Thanks how much would decent reel cost me
H
halibuthitman
Can you post a close up picture of your reel, i might be willing to trade you for a good steelhead reel, maybe even a line. What brand is the rod?
S
smoky
The rod is an abu Garcia max plus graphite and the reel is Martin 65 some reason I can't get pictures to load
C
ChezJfrey
smoky said:
Looks to be a classic, eh? Something like this:
or this
S
smoky
Ya that first one is it
H
halibuthitman
See the brass button on the back... Slide it up or down and spin the reel
S
sapo
Those martin 65 reels are actually pretty good, I have one and have caught multiple large fish on it. And smoky, it's difficult to tell you what a decent reel costs because I'm not sure what you consider a decent reel…however for a really good, affordable reel, I would recommend a reel from one of the smaller companies. The echo Ion reel is only about 80 bucks and does the job well for the price you get out of it. I have a friend who has caught dozens of salmon and steelhead on the Echo Ion reel, and is loving it,
brandon4455
if you are fishing mostly small rivers with hatchery fish then it would work just fine.but from experience, trust me on this, you will be really wishing you had an 8wt with a drag when you hook a big pissed off native..they will tear you a new one. Those caliber fish are hard enough to handle with appropriate gear.And you gotta be able to horse them after a while so you don't fight them to death. the extra backbone pays off.
i use a 10ft 8wt single hand floating line, any reel with an adjustable drag that doesn't stick when it starts and stops.
my honest opinion is that setup is best suited to summer steelhead fishing or small rivers like big creek or three rivers.
x2 on the echo ion. good reel,the ion rod is even better though.
i use a 10ft 8wt single hand floating line, any reel with an adjustable drag that doesn't stick when it starts and stops.
my honest opinion is that setup is best suited to summer steelhead fishing or small rivers like big creek or three rivers.
x2 on the echo ion. good reel,the ion rod is even better though.
