Fun to cast

brutally honest

Senior Member
I’m in the market for a 5 or 6wt that is “fun to cast”. (That excludes the super fast 7-8wts that are often sold as “5-6wts”.)

I know there’s no substitute for actually casting a rod, but I’d like to hear some suggestions.
 

TomC

Senior Member
Scott G Series......any weight or just about anything that says Scott on the rod for that matter.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
If you're not an expensive rod snob, the Redington Classic Trout is a very castable quality mid-range rod that isn't super fast and stiff, but is probably better than a lot of rods that cost 3x as much.
 

brutally honest

Senior Member
If you're not an expensive rod snob, the Redington Classic Trout is a very castable quality mid-range rod that isn't super fast and stiff, but is probably better than a lot of rods that cost 3x as much.

I’m not a rod snob, and I’ve never heard a negative word about the Redington CT. In fact, I’ve read many comments like yours.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
I’m not a rod snob, and I’ve never heard a negative word about the Redington CT. In fact, I’ve read many comments like yours.
They are good rods. I have an 8' 6" 3 wt.
 

Tentwing

Senior Member
Got to agree with the gentlemen in the two post above. I have Redington CT’s in several configurations. I bought my first one as a “ throw it in the pick-up and leave it there backup“ . Got it for a song,cause it was used and nobody else was bidding on eBay. After using it for a couple of tailwater trips I bought one for bluelining, and eventually 8 &1/2 foot 5 weights for all of my grandchildren. I find their action to be very similar to my Sage Lite Line rods.
…………… hope this helps , Tentwing
 

TomC

Senior Member
You don’t need a high end rod to fly fish but you will never regret buying one if it’s in your budget. Shame some on here are consistently critical of those that fish with higher end gear. If it's within your budget go cast a Scott G or Centric, a Douglass Sky or a Loomis NRX. If not, lots of other good lower price point rods like the Reddington mentioned! TFO Finesse and St. Croix Imperial are a couple other really good lower priced rods.
 

Meriwether Mike

Senior Member
I like the Sage rods. You will need to go to Fish Hawk and let them set you up to cast a few different rods and then pick.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Got to agree with the gentlemen in the two post above. I have Redington CT’s in several configurations. I bought my first one as a “ throw it in the pick-up and leave it there backup“ . Got it for a song,cause it was used and nobody else was bidding on eBay. After using it for a couple of tailwater trips I bought one for bluelining, and eventually 8 &1/2 foot 5 weights for all of my grandchildren. I find their action to be very similar to my Sage Lite Line rods.
…………… hope this helps , Tentwing
Sage and Redington are made by the same company, and have a lot of similarities.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
You don’t need a high end rod to fly fish but you will never regret buying one if it’s in your budget. Shame some on here are consistently critical of those that fish with higher end gear. If it's within your budget go cast a Scott G or Centric, a Douglass Sky or a Loomis NRX. If not, lots of other good lower price point rods like the Reddington mentioned! TFO Finesse and St. Croix Imperial are a couple other really good lower priced rods.

Yep.

To clarify, I am in no way "consistently critical of those that fish with higher end gear," if I'm one of the ones you're referring to. If I was rich, I might likely have a roomful of high end rods.
What I am consistently critical of is folks who tell others, (particularly folks who are just getting started in the sport,) that you have to have a high-end rod or other gear to reliably catch fish and enjoy yourself, because that's hogwash. A good fly fisherman with a $35 Eagle Claw rod and old Martin automatic reel will 100-to-1 outfish someone with a Scott Centric and $500 reel who doesn't really know what he's doing. High end rods aren't a necessity, they are a bonus pleasure and step up in comfort and technical performance, just like driving a Ferrari to work instead of an F-150. They will both get you there just as reliably. One is just more fun to drive.
Just because I might own a Sage, Scott, or Winston, doesn't mean that a TFO or Cabela's Wind River is unusable junk that someone on a limited budget shouldn't buy.
 

Jimmy Harris

Senior Member
So, I am a Sage Light Line snob and proud of it. With that in mind, here are the rods I think are extremely similar to an LL:
  • Redington Classic Trout (Best Value also)
  • Sage VPS Light (hard to find)
  • Winston WT series
  • TFO Finesse
  • Of course, you can find a Sage LL online but right now they're going for $400 - $1200
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
I think TFO rods are underrated. I have one Lefty Kreh Signature 9' 7wt that I love. It's a good rod, fishes better than some more expensive ones I've fished.
 
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