I would like to get into fly fishing for trout, I'm a novice. I have a cheapo rod and real and would like to upgrade. I want it for trout; in Lake Merrill and Canyon Creek. Or were ever I can catch trout. I was looking at a 9' 5wt Scott V2; It fits the wallet better than a Loomis or a Sage. Is the 5wt light enough for small trout and what if I hook an 18"er also on tippets is there a general size you use for trout? Like when drift fishing steelhead I use an 8# leader for summers and 10# for winters. Also what reel should I get for about 50-60 dollars? What about line (brand) floating and sinking tip? If you think there is a better rod for the price Please let me know. Any advice is greatly appreciated......Ross

FH,
Scott makes nice rods. Any 5wt is perfecct for fishing lakes and small stream. Sage has an entry level rod (Sage LE) for about 150-175 and Orvis has the Stream line for under a hunder bucks in 2 or 4 piece. I have casted the Orvis and it is not a bad rod, I think it's better then some of the other hig end lines.
I do like Sage rods and the XP is my favorite , but I am thinking about getting the Orvis Stream line as a backup for lakes and small stream.

If you can, cast them and see for your self.

Lines; I like Rio for my 8wt but would go with a DT mastery series from SA or Wonderline trout from Orvis for 5WT floating.

As far as sinking lines go, SA has there wet cel, its a good line and it will do what you need it to do.

Reels, I prefer Ross but for the price range you are looking at, I would go with a Orvis (good reel for $40 and it has a disc drag)Clearwater, LL bean and Cabela's has decent reel for that price.

Also check out sierra trading post, you might be able to find some deals on lines, rods, reels.

I can't speak for Scott rods, but a 5 wt is fine for trout and even summer steelhead (a 6 or a 7 would be better, but hey, I've taken them on a 4).

As to the reel, I would suggest Okuma Sierra or Integrity, real disk drag, and nice on the pocket. And nobody gives them any grief, they are intolerant of salt water, but short of that, they are great reels in the sub-$50 category.

Rob

I have a Reddington 3/4 wt for trout. It was around $70. I wouldnt trade that rod for anything. In fact, I have never been skunked using it. (not bragging, cause I dont use it too ofter) It will do anything that those high end rods will. I bought an Okuma reel for $12.50 for it, an extra spool for $3.50 and the lines I got off of discountfishinggearinc.com for less than, get this, $5.00 each, sinking and floating lines that cast like a dream, so for under $100, I have an outfit that I like more than all of my other rods combined.

Fly guy, are you sure that's the right address for that website? I tried to access it, but failed.

That websit was no good for me as well.

Well I went today to look at a few rods and really liked the GL3 loomis rod 9' 4wt I might have to save a little more :p . I looked at the same rod in a 5wt and thought it was to stout for the little fish I catch . I looke at some Orvis (sp) rods and they did not have the rod I wanted ,unless I had 375 dollars. I also looked at North X northwest. They did not offer a 9' 4wt Thanks for all the Helpful info....Ross

fh

if you are still looking for a fly rod a suggestion i would have would be to look at the sage ds2 outfit. the last i looked it was running just shy of three hundred and came with rod, reel, and line. they are a good quality ros, i have used them before and was fairly impressed with the medium fast action of the rod. as far as a five weight goes that is what i primarily use as an all around trout rod. works great on small to medium sized rivers, lakes as well as the salt. i have a winston ltx #5, lamson lite speed, and mastery series floater, airflo slime line, and 5-7x tippett. don't ask how much, it wasnt cheap. i also fish with a couple old bamboo rods which is a very nice change of pace once in a while. i fished canyon quite a bit last summer and fall and had a blast. the #5 is a little heavy for most of the fish you catch out of there, but when you are limited on selection you use what you got. if you have any questions dont hesitate to ask, i am not a proffesional by any means, but if i can help let me know.

steve

I too like to fish for little trout in small water. I would recommend that you consider a 4 wt in an 8 1/2' rod, or even a 3 wt in a 8' rod. Remember, the size of the rod has more to do with the size of the flies you're fishing, than the size of the fish you catch.

I would not spend a lot of money on your first rod. Once you get out on a stream, you will not appreciate the name brand as much as you do when you're working with a sales rep.

St. Croix makes a decent rod for the money. I would also consider using e-bay to pick up a used outfit.

Good luck!

FP