Valentines Day Gift...

[kwb]

So the big day is upon us and I am thinking of taking a gamble...

My special lady while in Bass Pro Shops the other day seen this pink fly rod/reel and all but begged me to buy it, of course I said heck no as I really try not to support the big box stores, I had a gift card for there and we were there to use it in their restaurant and was a good way to kill some time. She seems genuinely interested in fly fishing, I have shown her how to tie some of my favorite sculpin patterns that I swing for steelhead and she loves it, which is great because I cannot stand tying flies for long periods of time!

Anyway, sticking with the pink theme, I found an Elkhorn rod/reel 8' 4 wt and a 2/3/4 Elkhorn fly reel that would run me about $400.00 plus would have to get a fly line. Anyone have any experience of knowledge of these rods/reels?

I also looked into some other rods/reels, the Orvis Clearwater 8'6" 4wt Rod/Reel/Line package is interesting, my Friend Dave Hise whom owns Caster's Fly Shop told me it's an outstanding package for the money and I trust his opinion, but it's not pink and I know she thought that was cool.

So I guess my main question is, does anyone have any experience with the Elkhorn pink rods/reels? Any input would be greatly appreciated...

 

[brookfieldangler]

Can't say that I have tried the pink ones, but I have cast a couple of their other rods - for the price point, they really are quite nice.

 

[qec]

I've never used it but Allen Fly Fishing has a pink reel for $100 ATS series.

Their other reels are nice.

Quinn

 

[mi_trouter]

No experience with Elkhorn, but,...
My wife just took delivery of her Allen ATS reel in pink. She loves it. Had to buy a peach line for it, of course. She thinks that the Allen will be "really cool" on her flamed PHY Perfectionist (Critchfield).
Rods:
TFO had the "Casting for Recovery" rods (5 & 8 wt) - retail $150
Ross has the "youth" Journey series in pink. Think they're a 476-4.
Teeny Line: wf 5 & 8 floating lines in pink/purple.
Good Luck

 

[comeonavs]

Anyway, sticking with the pink theme, I found an Elkhorn rod/reel 8' 4 wt and a 2/3/4 Elkhorn fly reel that would run me about $400.00 plus would have to get a fly line. Anyone have any experience of knowledge of these rods/reels?

So I guess my main question is, does anyone have any experience with the Elkhorn pink rods/reels? Any input would be greatly appreciated...

So I can't speak to the pink ones but I have several Elkhorn rods and they are very good rods. I have a traveler 1wt & 3wt and like both of them very much. My friend has one of their reels and he has never complained about it. I know the owner is very proud of his brand and will stand behind his product. Their shop is about 20 miles from my house.

 

[kwb]

Thanks guys, the info is much appreciated.

 

[sweetandsalt]

And Airflo has a pink Ridge line but I don't recall which model. I gave one to my wife, she said thanks but I note she has not gotten around to asking me to mount it for her. She likes her (RIO) Gold.

 

[kwb]

I would draw the line at the rod and reel being pink IF I go that route.

Probably go with a textured line as I think the auditory response you get from those lines would aid in a beginner learning to cast. Never tried it as of yet, but one would think it would help hearing the zing when you do something right.

 

[sweetandsalt]

and the no zing when slack is introduced to the cast. I consider this audible cast monitor to be the sole positive attribute of the much ballyhooed Shark and Textured hiss. Lets not overlook that there are some special and innovative tapers in both these SA series of lines. I am employing several Textured series lines now for their performance despite the hiss. More new lines coming with new techno features rumor has it.

 

[kwb]

I also believe the textured lines are less likely to burn your skin than the smooth ones will, obviously not sharkskin, but the textured lines. I certainly have noticed it on strip sets, not getting burned as much. A typical float for Smallies, you can do a lot of strip setting throughout the day so for me, it was something I noticed a lot...

I would agree that if there is any significant difference in performance from these lines it is more to do with the quality of tapers in that series than it is the technology of the surface of the line...

Kind of a love hate thing as if you are doing a LOT of casting in a day, the sound can become quite annoying though. Always quite pleasant to switch to a smooth line after fishing a textured line for a few hours...

Take care!

 

[stl_geoff]

You can get a Ross combo that comes with a pink rod/reel/tube for about half what you found at BPS. Its a pretty decent 4 or 5 wt.

 

[kwb]

All I found from Ross was a 7'6" rod, am I missing something?

Wanted something in the 8' - 8'6" range...

Preferably a 4 weight...

Thank you!