Best 8wt for under $200?

[derek34]

I am a fly fisherman and would like to get into steelhead fishing in the Great Lakes area next season. For all you fly fisherman out there, what rod would you recommend that won't break the bank?

[kweetech]

St. Croix Imperial...under $200 and still made in the US.
Echo and TFO have some fine rods under $200, as well as Redington.
Go to your local fly shop and try a couple...that's your best bet.

[Thomas Steele]

Hi Derek,

There are quite a few good rods in that price range and we have them available on our sister site Fly Depot. You can help support TSS by shopping with Fly Depot...

We have a really neat tool that I developed called the rod finder. It can search across all rod manufacturers that we offer and it can have many parameters for the search.

Here is a link to the rod finder:
http://flydepot.com/flyfishing/rod_finder.php

I built a query for you that searches all rods in our offering with the following parameters:
8 Wt rod
Price range from 149-220

It narrows down the 960+ rods that we offer to 12 rods that fit the search criteria...here is the link:
http://flydepot.com/flyfishing/rod_finder_result.php?categories_id=21&line_weight=8Wt&pfrom=149&pto=220

If you are looking for a fast action rod it is hard to beat the price to performance in the TFO TiCr rods:
http://flydepot.com/flyfishing/temple-fork-outfitters-ticr-fly-rod/pid--631/
also the Redington Predator series...
http://flydepot.com/flyfishing/redington-predator-fly-rods/pid--1415/

For more medium-fast action rods you will want to consider the following:
http://flydepot.com/flyfishing/st-croix-imperial-fly-rod/pid--1015/
http://flydepot.com/flyfishing/temple-fork-outfitters-professional-fly-rod/pid--633/

I also like the St Croix Avid 9' 8Wt 4Pc, but that rod is a bit out of the price range...
http://flydepot.com/flyfishing/st-croix-avid-fly-rod/pid--1016/

Hope this helps...
-TS

[BWANA-J]

All the suggested rods above would work but I think a 10 ft 7 wgt would be a better choice. If you did a survey you'd find that a 10 ft 7 wgt is the most common rod here on Steelhead Alley I have an Orvis Clearwater Midflex 8, 10 ft 7 wgt that would fall in your range. They come with a 25 year unconditional warranty, break one and for $25 they'll repair or replace the rod. Top it off with a Pflueger Trion 7/8 wgt reel and a good wf7f line and you won't be dissapointed.

[kweetech]

my preference is a 10ft 7wt as well for a single hand rod, but a 9ft 8wt is more versatile for a beginner with a limited budget...IMO.

[derek34]

Thanks everybody, keep the suggestions coming.

[RiverWrangler]

Agree with the Redington suggestion. I use a RS3 from a few years ago and also fished with the RS4. I enjoyed fishing with both. 10' 7wt is great for steelhead fishing. For a mix of steelhead and salmon I like using the 10' 8wt.

last season I have used the following rod and really enjoyed the performance. Its a very well constructed rod with flawless cosmetics and beautiful action. Now they are on sale on several sites including the following site. might suit your needs.

http://www.wyomingflyfishing.com/Greys- ... P1969.aspx

[JOJOPRO]

Check out the Cabela's brand L-Tech. Awesome rod for the money! It's just a little over $200 but performs more like a $600 rod. It is super light weight yet still has plenty of power. I first bought the 4 piece 8 weight for steel and I was so impressed with the performance and the value that I bought a 6 weight as well for summer time fishing. Cabela's also sells this rod in combo packages with a reel, line, and backing for even greater value. I purchased my rods as a combo package with the Lamson Konic reels and I am very pleased with them as well.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/ ... 26rid%3D20

John

[RiverWrangler]

What is the warranty on that Cabela's rod? do they offer lifetime warranty? thanks.

[JOJOPRO]

What is the warranty on that Cabela's rod? do they offer lifetime warranty? thanks.

25 year limited warranty. When I asked what was meant by "limited warranty" I was told that if the rod breaks under any circumstances while being fished properly, then it's covered. If it's obvious that you stepped on it or slammed your car door on it...then they probably aren't gonna replace it.

John

[RiverWrangler]

Thanks John.

That is a tricky warranty policy. I am more likely to break my rod during transportation or while walking back and forth along the river. I am yet to break or damage a fly rod just fighting a fish. I also had rod damage from split shots. I dont know if that kind of damage would be considered or be obvious as fishing related damage.

Thanks again.

[skipper34]

I've landed many Michigan steelhead using a Redington 10 ft. 7 wt. Red.fly.

[domantas]

i would personaly get the used st croix legend ultra

[dave1918]

echo ion 7wt 10ft