Small stream rod advice

[Kevin Smith]

Hi - Are any of you familiar with the Thomas and Thomas LPS series - especially the 8'6 3 weight? At present, I fish still waters primarily, and am looking to get into small stream fishing. How do the T&T rods compare with, for example, the SAGE TXL or equivalent Winston series?

BTW, for all the ultra-light fans out there, SAGE has just announced a triple-ought (000) rod for 2007

[Chris Shelton]

Hi - Are any of you familiar with the Thomas and Thomas LPS series - especially the 8'6 3 weight? At present, I fish still waters primarily, and am looking to get into small stream fishing. How do the T&T rods compare with, for example, the SAGE TXL or equivalent Winston series?

BTW, for all the ultra-light fans out there, SAGE has just announced a triple-ought (000) rod for 2007

Hi Kevin

Like Sage and Orvis and Scott and Hardy, T&T is right up there, but one need not necessarily lash out 1000's of hard earned cash for a name brand rod. I recently discovered Temple Fork rods( designed by Lefty Kreigh), quarter the price, lifetime guarantee, also made in the States.....beautiful rod!! I am fast prefering my little 2# 7'6 Temple Fork more than my #3 Sage LL for the streams, as much as I love my LL.

As far as the Sage OOO goes, well, what can I say..............three of them are on the water as we speak, of which I will be one of the happy recipients )

It just never ends Boet! The accumulation of fine flyfishing tackle it is an incurable sickness, of which I have been inflicted for the better part of my life

[dizzy]

Hi Kevin

Like Sage and Orvis and Scott and Hardy, T&T is right up there, but one need not necessarily lash out 1000's of hard earned cash for a name brand rod. I recently discovered Temple Fork rods( designed by Lefty Kreigh), quarter the price, lifetime guarantee, also made in the States.....beautiful rod!! I am fast prefering my little 2# 7'6 Temple Fork more than my #3 Sage LL for the streams, as much as I love my LL.

As far as the Sage OOO goes, well, what can I say..............three of them are on the water as we speak, of which I will be one of the happy recipients )

It just never ends Boet! The accumulation of fine flyfishing tackle it is an incurable sickness, of which I have been inflicted for the better part of my life

I have to agree with you Chris, the TFO brand has really made a mark in SA lately. It offers value for money and they have a good range. I own a #6 10ft and I am really happy with it. As you said, you don't have to spend 1000's on a rod, I have a #3 7'6 Stealth that is quite a performer.

[Chris Shelton]

I have to agree with you Chris, the TFO brand has really made a mark in SA lately. It offers value for money and they have a good range. I own a #6 10ft and I am really happy with it. As you said, you don't have to spend 1000's on a rod, I have a #3 7'6 Stealth that is quite a performer.

I am happy to hear that you enjoy your TFO as much as I do mine Dizzy, they really are superb! One look at the quality of the reel seat, the eyes, the windings, that lovely green sheen of emerald graphite and I fell in love with it! And.....it handles like a dream!

[Stephen Louw]

A good question though - the top fly shops in SA tend to be SAGE or Loomis obsessed. Any one had any experience with the T&T rods?

[MaXiMuM]

Ah no, now I have to paint a 0 on my twin…

OK, before I start, I can see that you have been to my 2 favorite shops. Both of them have top flyfishers as owner/sales people and both have some really great kit, which I wouldn’t mind owning myself. However, they both have superb less expensive sticks that will do the job just as well.

I think that the right way to do it, would be to buy a relatively inexpensive 2-3w, then go out get small stream fishing. Once you have decided it’s for you, you can make a more educated guess.

I say this, as small stream enthusiasts tend to go lighter and lighter, as you said about the new 000w Sage. I would love a 2w LPS, as it would really compliment my small stream paraphernalia, or a Scott 1w Fiber touch, but I know they would seldom see the water. So I have chosen my small stream sticks well, and only own 2 of them. However I am also in the fortunate position to have a best mate who owns a small forest of the best sticks and they are always up for casual stroll along some remote mountain stream.

My experience says, get yourself an inexpensive 2-3w, and spend the money you save on a trip to Rhodes and get Mario (flyguide.co.za) to guide you for few days. You will get better knowledge and experience than just buying a top of the line stick.

I’m not saying don’t buy them, hell if you can afford them, they are seriously awesome, hell you could buy me one too, in fact we could do a little exchange, for some guiding services… just make a more educated decision than just buying one…

[KevinE]

By all accounts Thomas and Thomas rods are very good rods. It seems that Sage, T&T, Powell and Loomis have an edge over the rest at the moment. Sadly Orvis seems to be lagging behind and its latest rods are overpriced and lack feel.

I personally don't have the budget for the big-ticket rods any more thanks to SWAMBO and kids (*** bless'em).

So my next purchase will be a Sage Launch. Having done a bit of research and asking for opinions from people I respect, it seems like the best value for money rod on the market. And you still get the fantastic Sage warranty service.

The "Fly fishing Insider" website conducts independent, non sponsored reviews of tackle and they recently compiled their "top ten" of fly rods currently available in the 5 weight category. the Launch came in at #8 of all rods across all price ranges which is very impressive for a value fly rod.

http://www.flyfishinginsider.com/aAr...play.asp?ID=42

[dlampert]

Hi - Are any of you familiar with the Thomas and Thomas LPS series - especially the 8'6 3 weight? At present, I fish still waters primarily, and am looking to get into small stream fishing. How do the T&T rods compare with, for example, the SAGE TXL or equivalent Winston series?

BTW, for all the ultra-light fans out there, SAGE has just announced a triple-ought (000) rod for 2007

Hi Kevin,

I see you stay in Sandton, when you say small stream fishing where do you plan on going ?

Regards,
Darryl

[Kevin Smith]

Hi

Thanks guys for all the responses, although its a pity that no one has any experience with the T&T LPS series rods. SAGE seems to have a complete stranglehold over the SA market.

The TFO rods are great - indeed, the first rod I bought was a TFO Lefty Krey Series 5 weight. Other great budget rods, IMO, are the Horizon series rods built by Frontier and, especially, the Rythm rods built by Rico at Flyfishers Unlimited. I have owned and used all three of these, and continue to fish these with great pleasure.

My intention is to start fishing the Western Cape streams over the Dec-Jan period. If I could get leave, I would love to spend time in the Barkley-Rhodes area. I have just finished Tom Sutcliffe's book, Hunting Trout, and his description of his trips to the area make me want to start packing right away.

Thanks again for the comments

[dlampert]

My intention is to start fishing the Western Cape streams over the Dec-Jan period. If I could get leave, I would love to spend time in the Barkley-Rhodes area. I have just finished Tom Sutcliffe's book, Hunting Trout, and his description of his trips to the area make me want to start packing right away.

Hmm, not the best time to be fishing the WC streams. The water will be very hot (22C - 27C) and the fish will be very lethargic. If you do catch them in those kind of water temps they are likely to be very stressed and possibly die after release. Who is Tom Sutcliffe ?

Regards,
Darryl ;-)