[Schlick]

Hi Guys

I've ordered a St. Croix Reign rod - 9ft, 5wt, 2 piece. I'm new to the wonderful world lf fly fishing so could use your expert advise. I've been told the most important things are your rod and your line.... I chose the Reign, as it fit my budget and comes with a Lifetime Warranty.

Now for the line. What 5 weight would you recommend for a beginner hoping to entice a few trout and bass once the rivers open.

Am I right in assuming that any reel will really do for now (as a beginner). I'm looking for inexpensive - Love the look of the trion, but not comfortable with the price. I'll probably check out the Ross FlyCast, or the Okuma SLV series.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks.

Jon.

[dorian.ducker]

I also almost bought a Ross Flycast. Absolutely nothing wrong with that reel for a beginner. I ended up with a Albright Bugati reel and got in the mail the other day. Fit my budget, looks good, has a great drag, large arbor, reputable smaller company.....I really like it.

Oh...about the fly line...I just picked up a SA Mastery series GPX trout line for 35 bucks at my local fly shop. They said SA is updating the series of lines and they wanted to get rid of these to make room for the new ones. I have heard a lot of good things about this particular fly line and decided to pick it up for 35 bucks. WF F 5wt.

Maybe if you ask around you could find a similar deal on these lines.

Good luck.

[Curtis]

Cortland 444 classic peach colored line. About the most supple line I have found and very easy casting. Get the double taper. You wont be carrying a lot of line but a DT is easier to learn on especially roll casting.

[mojo]

Originally Posted by Curtis

Cortland 444 classic peach colored line. About the most supple line I have found and very easy casting. Get the double taper. You wont be carrying a lot of line but a DT is easier to learn on especially roll casting.

Curtis and Schlick, you might just have to break down and give Rio a whirl. Gold, STII, or Grand. Can't go wrong with any of them. Plus they really float. No tip sinkers at all. I'll never go back to SA, Cortland, Wulff or Orvis either.
p.s. Airflo Ridgeline is one you might want to look at too.

[GreatBay]

Mojo,
Actually he can go wrong with some of the Rio's. especially the Grand. It's not rated at a 5 weight, it's actually a 1/2 size bigger, and depending on the action, specifically if the St. Croix is a medium action it may overload the rod at long distances.
Tricky stuff picking fly lines for a rod, especially when the rod manufacturers don't have a standard to follow, and that St. Croix may actually be a 4 weight or 6 weight depending on the grains needed to load the rod at 30 feet.

[mojo]

Originally Posted by GreatBay

Mojo,
Actually he can go wrong with some of the Rio's. especially the Grand. It's not rated at a 5 weight, it's actually a 1/2 size bigger, and depending on the action, specifically if the St. Croix is a medium action it may overload the rod at long distances.
Tricky stuff picking fly lines for a rod, especially when the rod manufacturers don't have a standard to follow, and that St. Croix may actually be a 4 weight or 6 weight depending on the grains needed to load the rod at 30 feet.

You are absolutly correct. The Grand is made for fast action rods. My apologies for the screw up.

[Schlick]

Thanks guys.

The rod is actually rated as Moderate / Fast - not sure if that means it's a fast action rod, or a medium rod that plays out a little fast.

I was thinking of an S/A trout line, or their GPX or XPS. I was also considering the Rio Trout or Windcutter lines.

I am after a floating line to use river fishing the Grand River and some of its tributaries in Ontario (fairly large rivers with smaller tributaries) for Trout and Small Mouth Bass.

I've looked at the Cortland Peach but worry as you don't get very much line - although I can use more backing I suppose.

Kit so far includes the St. Croix 9ft 2 piece rod (rated Moderate/Fast action) and a 5wt Pflueger Summit reel.

Any further line recommendations or direction would greatly be appreciated - trout season is almost upon us.

Thanks.

Schlick.

[Frank Whiton]

Hi Schlick,

I have never seen or casted a Reign rod. The Reign is made with what St Croix calls SC11 graphite. I think you will find it a moderate action rod. If it was me I would be looking at the RIO Gold fly line. It just seems a good fit for your rod and fishing large and small waters. Hard to tell with out casting the rod.

Frank

[Schlick]

Thanks Frank.

I'll be checking out both the Rio Gold, and the Rio Selective Trout II. Any further feed back on either is always appreciated. The guy at the shop recommended the Gold also.

Schlick

[GRN]

Gold or Windcutter... and on a med/fast rod I wouldn't take Grand off the table, it was designed originally for beginners to enhance the feel and timing for casting skill development, and won't start to overload the rod 'til you have quite a bit of it out there. We line it up on new Launches (med/fast) for first timers all of the time, works out great and they usually don't outgrow it 'til they've worn it out anyway... YMMV

TL's~