Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Great Rod/Reel Combo For Under $150

I wish I could say I got all of this stuff at a discount or for free because my blog is so awesome. There was a time I had delusions of grandeur that if I could give exposure to certain products I'd start getting them for free. That never happened and I do a lot of research trying to find the best deals for quality fly gear. That's where this post comes in. 

I heard of The Angler's Roost several times from friends. Their website looked a little suspect and it seemed like most of the business was done via ebay. A buddy bought a rod from them and after raving about it I decided to give them a try. I had been looking for a nymphing specific rod for quite some time. This style rod needed to be at least 10ft long and be light enough that I'd feel subtle takes. The first rod I ordered was a 12ft 2/3wt. The rod looked great but I knew when I could almost touch my front door from my back door that it was too long. I'd never fish it. The owner of Anglers Roost was great about letting me exchange the rod for a 10ft 3/4wt peice. The rods come with an extra tip and I was a little confused about what that meant at first and wondered about quality if an extra tip is needed. When I received the rod it came in a sock and was shipped in a tube that could easily double as a rod case. 
The quality of the rod was a lot better than I expected. I realized the extra tip was actually a extra tip section. The handle looked very nice and I like the decorative designs on the lock rings.
The wraps look good and the color is great. 
Overall this is a killer rod for $99.

The first time I tried this rod was on a wild stream and I paired it with a Piscifun reel. I already own the 5/6 version but I also bought the 3/4 model. It balanced the rod great and looks sharp with the rod.

The line in the picture is the $10 fly line I've mentioned in other posts before. You can see the fish don't care that the line is white. The whole combo is under $150.


10 comments:

  1. An attractive rod, and glad that you like the action of it, too. At first, I thought that with an "extra tip," this was a company following the traditional bamboo rod extra tip idea. John Gierach said that maybe the better graphite makers should provide an extra tip, since graphite is actually more brittle than bamboo. As for Piscifun (a new one to me),it seems harder to say than Pf-ffluger.

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    1. Hello Walt,

      Check out Angler's Roost. It seems that the owner has done a lot of research on what fly fisherman are looking for. The products aren't just what is the newest and most popular. I'm not fond of the Piscifun name either. The reels are decent for their purpose. I haven't had a fish really test the drag yet. Piscifun's line of reels is expanding. Many of their newer models look pretty cool. Thanks for the comment!

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  2. Kevin
    What a find; do you know how much the fly rod weights. I went on there website and found a graphite 10 ft. that weight in at less than 4 oz. That is what they had written in the description. I find as I get older light fly rods work best for me. I’m really impressed with the appearance of this fly rod especially the reel rings. Hope you get to try it out on some bluegills soon; looking forward to a report. Thanks for sharing

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    1. I'm never to concerned with rod weight until I get up to 8-10wts. I will say this 10ft rod is lighter than my 8'6 Redington Pursuit 5wt. The 12ft 2/3wt was actually heavier than I thought. I'm guessing it had to be that way to give you some leverage when fighting larger fish.

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  3. Anglers Roost has been around awhile and while I haven't done any shopping there (yet?) they have a great reputation. Piscifun is new to me but I will check them out. Thanks Kev!

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    1. My experiences with Angler's Roost have been great so far. I'm going to by my next rod from them. The Piscifun reels I've bought have been good so far.

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  4. A killer deal, indeed! The reel locking assembly and reel seat are gorgeous. Nice find!

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  5. thanks for reviewing, waiting for the summer then get one!

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  6. I built a spey rod on that 12 2/3 blank that is perfect for fishing alpine lakes. Anglers roost is having a big sale today. BTW, take the time to call Johnny and talk to him. He will tell you about catching salmon in the Bronx as a kid, and even take you fishing if you are in town.

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