Sea Trout on my 8'6 5wt Gordon2?

I am really interested in trying to bag myself one of these larger fish though i'm unsure wether i should be using such light tackle! I do also have a 10ft #7Platinum xd that I use off the boat when reservoir fishing though feel its too heavy for the majority of fish i'll ever catch on the river!

Use the 10' 7# for Seatrout.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Depends where you are fishing?

We use 9ft 6wt rods as our first line of attack (small west country rivers) and a 10ft 7wt is overgunning it. An 8ft 6in 5wt (usually with a 6wt line on it) can be used, but not recc. where you have a large number of fish over 3lb. A chap I guided last week had a 3lber on the exact rod you have there... he landed it fine (after the usual carnage of a 3lber in a small river )

I agree with Otis. I fish a small to medium Westcountry river and my prferred set up is a 9' 6 weight. I landed a 51/2 lber a week back on it no problem. I think you would only need to use the bigger rod if you are fishing large heavy flies (waddingtons) or need the power for long casting.

Had a nice 3lber on a 9ft 5# xp the other night no problem.
Small river though. I suppose it is all relative.


Brian

Often use 9'#5 weight for sea trout when river is low.
When at more than summer height will up it to #7 weight if only fishing for sea trout.
If maybe chance of salmon will use #8 weight.
Reason being, size of fly will vary according to river levels. If only using single 10's or upwards to 16's #5 is good enough.
Single 8's or doubles are better served by heavier line rating.
However the one thing that aint been mentioned is the abillity of the reel to hold a goodly length of backing, and have good enough drag system to hold onto a good sized fish, as and when it happens, irrespective of rod/line weight.
regards
bert

Thanks for the advice guys you have given me few things to think about!

Maybe going a bit offtrack here otis but why a five weight with a six weight line,i use my five weight xp for seatrout and its never even crossed my mind to overline it, ,i cast size 10 and 8 trebles and large tubes with it no problem also 5 foot fast sinking tips,i personally think when people need to overline rods they maybe need to take a wee casting lesson first

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Hi Rookstorm,

I will often advise anglers to go up a line rating (especially if using modern, faster action rods). This is because we are fishing small rivers where the longest cast you are making is in the region of 50ft. Most casts will be from 5ft to 40ft.
Going up a line rating means that the rod will load efficiently using this shorter line and therefore provide more 'feel' for the angler when casting at night.
No matter how good a caster you are, your timing will not be as good on a clouded, new moon night at 1am as when in full daylight.
The added little bonus here is that the heavier rating will help to turn the larger flies we often use while sea trout fishing.
Your 5wt line will undoubtedly handle 8s and 10s without much problem. If, as you say, you can cast large tubes happily on a five-weight line on your 5wt XP in the dark, then fair enough - it's whatever you are comfortable using that is important. For most anglers we teach and guide on small rivers at night, going up one helps - I can tell you that from experience. I personally fish a 9ft 6wt with a 'light' 7wt on it. I don't consider that I need (too) much casting tuition .

Hope this clears up your confusion

Otis.

Hi,

You should have No problem with the 5 weight. It's great for those times when the seatrout behave like brownies and are on the dries or wee nymphs.

If you are using heavy flies and roll casting because of heavy vegetation then use as heavy a line as you can get away with - you may find one or two line size difference from how you would normally rate the rod when fishing the sort of distances that a small river requires.

Heavy flies + roll casting + light line is a nightmare! Ideally you would use the heavier rod in that situation.