NE salt water rod

[kyle]

Hey guys, going with my other post on fly selection I was wondering what a good striper/bluefish rod/reel for New England would be. I don't want to spend too much but I want something that casts good and won't blow up on a big bass.

-kyle

[craigw]

for the money you cant beat a tfo pro 9 wt. reel dosnt matter much for blues and bass.the hardest part is choosing a single line

[kyle]

My friend up in riverton sells the greys X-flite reels, that come with 3 extra spools so if they balance with the rod I choose they'll be a good choice because I can have a floating, line and different sinking lines.

but say you had your choice for one floating line and three other what would you pick?

[craigw]

sounds like a good idea

[Adam]

Kyle-
I do a lot of fishing for stripers and blues in Rhode Island.

To help narrow down a recommendation let me ask you a few things....and by no means is my opinion anything more than that...but the questions may help you focus your search.

-primarily casting from shore or jetties? or fish from a boat/kayak?
-areas that you typically fish...heavy current? Deep dropoffs? Prefer tidal estuaries..shallow salt ponds?
-types of flies you prefer to use?

Regarding rods...I use 3 primarily....yes I use a 6 weight tfo pro 9 footer for most applications...I upline it with an 8 weight wf line...typically toss small deceivers....sand eels...ray's flies....

In situations where I need to get deeper I tend to throw clousers...and if needed I will switch to a 7 weight intermediate sink....I do not use heavy full sink lines..if needed I can add a piece of shot to the leader.

On days when it is blowing I will use an 8 weight tfo to cast a heavier line and heavier fly....

98 to99 percent of the time i am using the 6 weight.

think of the rod in terms of what grain window it can cast...not the number on the side of it.....plenty of old school folks do it that way. Remember lots of fish have been caught with pfluegger medalist reels and old glass rods....simplicity.

regarding reel..I have a mid arbor orvis mach v with spare spools. it has held up to the salt very well.

Adam

[kyle]

Adam,

I'll do most of my fishing from a boat, no ponds probably mostly dropoffs, and some estuaries but I'm not sure I've never done this before.

I was thinking about an Albright A5 9ft 7 or 8wt as an all around rod, I'm not sure if this is a good all around line weight or not but the rod is marked down from $350 to $100 so I can get 2 or 3 of them if I like it, if not then I didn't burn a hole in my pocket.

[Adam]

K-
A couple of guys I know fish albrights..not sure of model...but they have been pleased. to me the number is right....but how does it cast. If you are just breaking in...and fishing via boat.....solid intermediate line should cover you until you decide if you like fishing stripers and how you are going to go about it. I know I don't need a full sink line..intermediate has been fine as has swinging the floater in certain applications...but from the boat...majority is intermediate line...unless I am fishing a particular dock from the boat that has a light under it....fish magnet...floater and a sparsely tied white fly and usually I am into fish quickly....but it is kind of like fishing for trout in a hatchery..

[kyle]

adam, I've cast the Albright A5 9ft 5wt and found it to be a good rod (mostly for streamers or indicator nymphing), it's fast action and I think that it should be able to handle big fish and cast heavy flies in the wind.

[craigw]

kyle, i would advise you stay away from a 7wt. it will be more frustrating that anything. i have a sage tcr 8wt that i love but a lot of times I wish it was a 9. when it comes to salt its more about the flies your casting then the fish your fighting if your going for one rod 9 is best imho

[USCG716]

Kyle,

I would say go with the 9wt. It will help you casts larger flies with ease especially in windy surf conditions.

As far as line choice goes, I would say start out with an intermediate. You can still fish poppers with it, by placing your rod under your arm and stripping it in.

You'll appreciate the 9wt if you get a chance to fish the fall run for big stripers and blues. During the fall its very common to hook into 12-15lb blues and BIG stripers.

The albright rods look pretty nice. I was checking out their site and they had the 90892 at 200.00 marked down to 79.00. Its a 9' 9wt. Might be worth checking into...