I currrently fish small stillwaters with a 9'#6 rod and am thinking of having a go on reservoirs as well as trying my hand at saltwater fly fishing at home in Wales. I was considering buying a 10' #8 rod and just wanted some views on whether this would be good for one or both of my ambitions, or will my current rod be OK?

A 6 wight rod would be too light for saltwater, but a 9 foot rather than 10 in an 8 would do for both no problem. I say 9ft as a shorter rod will give you more line speed for casting big flies for the salt, usually a 10ft is softer, but not always.

A nine foot 8# will be fine for both jobs.

BK

Hi Gareth,

The 9ft 6# Rod you use on small still waters should be OK for reservoir fishing, I know many people who fish with lighted tackle (5#) on reservoirs, but they are sometimes 'Handicapped' as the rod doesn't allow them to fish certain methods as well as they could with a heavier rod/line rating.

More and more people seem to be going for 6-7# rods, be it 9ft, 9ft6 or 10ft. (most popular 9ft 6inch) so your rod isn't going to hold you back in anyway.

As for Salt-water fishing, that's a different story. A 9-9ft6ft 8# rod will be probably as low as you would want to go, as casting bigger, more water absorbent flies and heavier sinking lines into a strong headwind on the beach or rocks can become challenging.

Personally - I think a 10ft 8# rod will probably be your best bet, as you may wish to try your luck early season on some still waters, you may be casting di7's, heavy sinking lines or big, heavy flies all day. The heavier rod rating will help you do this.

Kieron

__________________


Fly Fishing Tackle suppliers, Fishtec.

Websites: Fishtec | Airflo Fishing

The 9" 6w will be fine on ressies. I use a 9" 5w for dry fly stuff from a boat. It's great fun but my normal ressie rod is 9"6' 7w.

Hmm!! I am with Kie on this, 10-ft #8 would be best if you take a 9ft rod and a 10 ft rod with same or similar actions the 10ft will give a greater tip speed during the cast, which in turn will give you greater line speed.

If you need to make a compromise I would go for a tip flex 9.6 ft #8

__________________
Frank Williams APGAI

See Classified for;

Flouro Drop Style Indicators ¦ French/Czech nymphing leaders ¦ Hi-Vis tippet for indicators ¦
Kamoufil leader material ¦
Stroft ABR & GTM

Sponsored Kilimanjaro climb

A lot of the pike fly boys use lines around 10wt to get the bushy flies out - so maybe 8wt is about as low as you can go for sea fishing.

When using an 8wt for trout, it does restrict how fine you can go. I put the question to the forum a while back and the general opinion was 2lb lower for tippet (ie 6lbs) and no lower than size 14 hooks.

You can get a Shakespeare Atlantis Saltwater 9ft in 8 or 10wt for around £60. I believe that they have a good reputation and at that price you could keep it just for saltwater.

__________________
"Take not out your 'ounds on a werry windy day" Surtees.

I use a 10' #7 for bank fishing/boat fishing reservoirs, and stick an #8 line on it for sea fishing, all works perfectly.

__________________
http://www.flyfishinglessons.co.uk
http://www.aapgai.co.uk

Thanks for all the advice, much appreciated as a beginner. I'll be trying out 9'6" & 10' rods in an 8 weight. Gareth

line rating doesn't restrict how fine you can go, thats utter buncum, 4lb line and 16-18 hooks are perfectly acceptable on an 8 wieght line, just need to fish them correctly