9" 8# what you like
- Thread starter flybum101
- Start date
thanks for input bobrown been checking that out i live in trout country so hard to find saltwater rods to cast hoping for more input from anybody favor the winston rods for my trout fishing also like my sage rods as well as my grey's nymphing rods
brookfieldangler
Well-known member
If I had to choose between only those 2, I'd give the nod to the BVK.
If money wasn't that big of an issue, the Xi3 with an 8wt titan taper line would be my ultimate choice. One of the sweetest set ups I have ever had the pleasure of casting.
If money wasn't that big of an issue, the Xi3 with an 8wt titan taper line would be my ultimate choice. One of the sweetest set ups I have ever had the pleasure of casting.
sweetandsalt
Well-known member
As you ahve mentioned a premium priced and an economy priced rod it is hard to advise. Price point and frequency of intended use would help us help you. The S4s is a very sweet #8 though not rated that highly in the Shootout.
trout trekker
Well-known member
Hey Flybum,
These two series of rods were designed a decade apart from one another, in that time much has transpired in the rod market. In the weight, crispness & dampening arena, the round goes to the lower priced and newer T.F.O. In build quality and smoothness, the Scott wins my vote.
I have some of the very first S3 and S3s Scotts made available and while many rods have come and gone from my collection, to this day I still reach for those S3s Scotts more than any other saltwater rods I own. Amongst the S3s line, I’ve always felt the that 908/4 and 907/4 were among the best of the series. While designed as saltwater rods ( and they‘ve seen plenty of action there. ), they’ve proven to be very effective as broad river steelhead rods and they absolutely love a relaxed stroke uplined 1 or 2 with low to high density shooting heads. Although there are much better LC-13, T- 11 & 14 rods available today. They respond better to a long smooth powerful stroke, rather than a punchy tip cast. The S3 ( freshwater / general purpose ) series, accepts a shorter quicker tempo cast, more so than it’s saltwater cousin, the S3s. Although, with a S.W. floating line or Int. F/S and in the right hands, the S3s competes very favorably with the other saltwater rods of it’s era. That’s the rub, of it’s era.
Put into some historical prospective, the S3s was introduced right around the dawn of the new millennium, during the latter reign of the Sage RPLXi and XP series, at that time the first generation Powell ( Rancho Cordova, CA ) Tiboron’s had been on the market just a short time, having the distinction of being the first American production rod to leap across the $700.00 line. Loomis had the Nautikos and GLX rods on the shelves. T.F.O. existed as company to be sure, but they didn’t have the widely diverse product line up or dealer network they enjoy today. Put into the context of the rod makers market place of that time, using what technologies were available and the climate of what rod buyers were looking for. Upon it’s introduction, the S3s had an audience waiting in the wings. Yet like every series of rods ever developed, it has it’s loyalist and it’s detractors.
Today, those same $600+ dollars can buy you a great deal more performance, than they could then - for some, today’s build quality seems to be the wild card in the performance vs. price equation.
In short. I’m not giving up my S3 or S3s rods, but I soundly appreciate some of the modestly priced rods offered today.
Good luck with your selection, TT
These two series of rods were designed a decade apart from one another, in that time much has transpired in the rod market. In the weight, crispness & dampening arena, the round goes to the lower priced and newer T.F.O. In build quality and smoothness, the Scott wins my vote.
I have some of the very first S3 and S3s Scotts made available and while many rods have come and gone from my collection, to this day I still reach for those S3s Scotts more than any other saltwater rods I own. Amongst the S3s line, I’ve always felt the that 908/4 and 907/4 were among the best of the series. While designed as saltwater rods ( and they‘ve seen plenty of action there. ), they’ve proven to be very effective as broad river steelhead rods and they absolutely love a relaxed stroke uplined 1 or 2 with low to high density shooting heads. Although there are much better LC-13, T- 11 & 14 rods available today. They respond better to a long smooth powerful stroke, rather than a punchy tip cast. The S3 ( freshwater / general purpose ) series, accepts a shorter quicker tempo cast, more so than it’s saltwater cousin, the S3s. Although, with a S.W. floating line or Int. F/S and in the right hands, the S3s competes very favorably with the other saltwater rods of it’s era. That’s the rub, of it’s era.
Put into some historical prospective, the S3s was introduced right around the dawn of the new millennium, during the latter reign of the Sage RPLXi and XP series, at that time the first generation Powell ( Rancho Cordova, CA ) Tiboron’s had been on the market just a short time, having the distinction of being the first American production rod to leap across the $700.00 line. Loomis had the Nautikos and GLX rods on the shelves. T.F.O. existed as company to be sure, but they didn’t have the widely diverse product line up or dealer network they enjoy today. Put into the context of the rod makers market place of that time, using what technologies were available and the climate of what rod buyers were looking for. Upon it’s introduction, the S3s had an audience waiting in the wings. Yet like every series of rods ever developed, it has it’s loyalist and it’s detractors.
Today, those same $600+ dollars can buy you a great deal more performance, than they could then - for some, today’s build quality seems to be the wild card in the performance vs. price equation.
In short. I’m not giving up my S3 or S3s rods, but I soundly appreciate some of the modestly priced rods offered today.
Good luck with your selection, TT
MoscaPescador
Well-known member
I still fish a 10 weight S3s in the 8'8" configuration. The rod is a gun and has lots of lifting power. I use it as my main Baja California rod and as a quiver rod for teenage tarpon.
If I was going to make a choice between the BVK and the S3s for reds, I'd take the S3s in a heartbeat. The S3s has more butt strength than the BVK. It could put some serious hurt on a big bull red.
I have fished an 8 weight BVK on Striped Bass. It is a fine casting rod, but I was not impressed with its lifting power.
Dennis
It might be a bit helpful, but the guy that does it has a personal bias against some makers. You should consider that when reading his OPINION.
awesome guys really appreciate all the input difinetly not stuck on these to brands just some rods was considering got winston sage loomis greys scott and echo all in my trout and bass quiver , never done any saltwater fishing on the fly but wanting to give it a shoot , then comes the next delima which reels to go with 8-10wt range been checking into blues ,false albys, so now comes 9 and 10 wt. rods to oboy what am i getting myself into lol keep the input coming i love to get input from experience nothing can be more educational realizing not all casting styles and sintuations will ever be the same
Thanks again to all for input looking forward to much more
Thanks again to all for input looking forward to much more
tpo
Well-known member
If you're looking at TFO's for saltwater, take a look at the TiCR-X model. Its faster and more powerful than the BVK; its also heavier. I'd chose the BVK for trout/ smaller line weights, but the TiCR-X for larger fish/ saltwater. They're about the same price.
Tom
Tom
yeah a got a glance at that the other was in a hurry remember the ross f-1 didn't rate to high kinda surprising thinking most because drag wasn't stiff enough to suite test cryteria gonna have to go back and check it out again remember abel being down the list little ways as well as some of the other big names thinking they maybe dropped abel a little because drag not sealed and seems like the sage cast housing sage got pretty high marks think pricing played big part in that being it was i think the 1800 series of reels looking pretty hard at abel figuring they all deserve a bath at the end of the day have a g-4 ross gunnison and older r-8 galvan for bass on the fly wandering about the tfo reel have one of the 0 for my one weight trout rod
Last edited:
I had 7 & 8wt TFO BVK's and sold them. For me these are not very versatile rods. They cast med to far (44-80') well but was not easy to manage on the closer 20-30' casts that sight casting is done so much of. Honestly IMHO TFO has taken the whole "fast" way too fast on most of their rods. Many such at the Axiom actually cast better over lined.
We often wade fish from a drive in point, not standing 2-3' above the water surface on a boat. Here a fisherman has one rod and often casting while standing 3' deep. Versatility in a single rod is imperative.
I would suggest you consider the currently on sale Sage Flight and Vantage rods (on sale in the $175-250 range). My 8wt Flight cast every bit as far as the BVK but handles the close casts well.
My oldest son has the Vantage which is a bit slower (but not wimp rod, closer to a Med Fast). It is very very smooth and allows a full range of casting distances. My wife loves her 7wt Vantage.
The TFO ProII is a moderate fast & priced rod without the extreme-ness of the BVK & TrCiX. Bit heavier but the casting performance exceeds it price point.
I bet a nickel 5-8 years from now we'll see most rods in the vain of the Sage Circa, moving back to more moderate tapers. Fly fishing is much easier with flyfishing tapered rods rather than fast taper spinning rods with fly guides.
My 2 cents.
Pete A.
We often wade fish from a drive in point, not standing 2-3' above the water surface on a boat. Here a fisherman has one rod and often casting while standing 3' deep. Versatility in a single rod is imperative.
I would suggest you consider the currently on sale Sage Flight and Vantage rods (on sale in the $175-250 range). My 8wt Flight cast every bit as far as the BVK but handles the close casts well.
My oldest son has the Vantage which is a bit slower (but not wimp rod, closer to a Med Fast). It is very very smooth and allows a full range of casting distances. My wife loves her 7wt Vantage.
The TFO ProII is a moderate fast & priced rod without the extreme-ness of the BVK & TrCiX. Bit heavier but the casting performance exceeds it price point.
I bet a nickel 5-8 years from now we'll see most rods in the vain of the Sage Circa, moving back to more moderate tapers. Fly fishing is much easier with flyfishing tapered rods rather than fast taper spinning rods with fly guides.
My 2 cents.
Pete A.
chuck s
Well-known member
Good comments folks for the most part. I find The Yellowstone shootouts to be very valuable and a great source of information. All of the talk about bias, marketing and more sounds a bit biased to me.
The first one of the eight weight shoots came from Flamingo, Fl if I understand correctly and rightly so as G. Anderson and Co are well aquainted with the salt here in the US and world wide for that matter. Whether you are planning a rod purchase, just looking for info, or like me looking for info on an older rod, his shootouts are a great source.
I particularly liked the comment above mine as for years now, since the Sage SP hit the market, I favored castable rods. Especially those that can get a quick cast off to 20 or 60 ft with little to no false casting. My best eight weight rod was an 8'9" Sage RPLX but I confess that to tame that beast took a nine weight line! Of late I'm looking for a BL-5 Winston, an SP Sage or similar rod in an eight weight.
The first one of the eight weight shoots came from Flamingo, Fl if I understand correctly and rightly so as G. Anderson and Co are well aquainted with the salt here in the US and world wide for that matter. Whether you are planning a rod purchase, just looking for info, or like me looking for info on an older rod, his shootouts are a great source.I particularly liked the comment above mine as for years now, since the Sage SP hit the market, I favored castable rods. Especially those that can get a quick cast off to 20 or 60 ft with little to no false casting. My best eight weight rod was an 8'9" Sage RPLX but I confess that to tame that beast took a nine weight line!
Of late I'm looking for a BL-5 Winston, an SP Sage or similar rod in an eight weight.
Gerard
Well-known member
www.tridentflyfishing.com/blog/2013-8-weight-wt-challenge-fly-reel-review
This is the link to the reel shootout. Interesting stuff. Some of the traditional reels don't do too well considering. Of course they will probably still be in service in 50years time and repairable.
This is the link to the reel shootout. Interesting stuff. Some of the traditional reels don't do too well considering. Of course they will probably still be in service in 50years time and repairable.
Last edited:
My favorite 8# reels are still my old Ross Gunnison 4's...not quite the spool Diameter...but still fairly light weight at 5.4 oz. The drag has never failed me.
Just don't have the same faith in the new sealed conical drags...am I wrong there.
Just don't have the same faith in the new sealed conical drags...am I wrong there.