Fly rod/reel combo

I need to buy a combo for pike for a Canada trip. Buddy made me some big 10″ flies to try. Anyone recommend a combo? I don’t want to break the bank. Also what size should I get? 8 wt?

a 8-10 wt should work well for bringing in some nice northerens

An 8 weight might be a little on the small side with flies that big. I’d go with the 10 weight. A fly line that has an aggressive forward taper, like the Scientific Anglers “Titan Taper” will help turn over a big wind resistant fly.

Here’s a description of the leader setup I use:

An 8 weight might be a little on the small side with flies that big. I’d go with the 10 weight. A fly line that has an aggressive forward taper, like the Scientific Anglers “Titan Taper” will help turn over a big wind resistant fly.

For a leader, I use three feet of 30# Mono tied to a section of “Knot-2-Kinky” titanium wire leader material. I connect the the mono to the wire with an Albright knot. On the other end of the wire I tie a perfection loop, and hand a cross-lock snap on it. This isn’t too heavy, it’s strong, and the snap make it easy to change flies.

SR

Most of the guys I musky fish with use 10or11wt for 12+” flies. I have not tried using my 9 wt for any of my smaller musky flies but I don’t think I would have any trouble with them. A fast sinking line helps with getting big bugs down.

How are your fly casting skills?

Flies that big are a handful to cast even on a floating line. Bigger/heavier rods, sinking lines, etc are going to make it even more “interesting”.

My suggestion would be to match the rod to your casting abilities, fishing methods likely to be used, and the target fish size and buy flies to match.

FWIW, I’ve had great service from Temple Fork Outfitters rods when I needed a “trip rod” for limited use. Good performance, excellent value.

You may need to look more toward rods designed for saltwater use to get the right weight/action.

Grouse

This is an awesome read. I have two cheap 10wts and they work well but the right line is critical. I want to get an aggressive line in a full sink 3 and a sink 5. What do you guys think? What grain?

The “manufacturer’s standard” is:

10-Weight 270-290 gr.

11-Weight 318-342 gr.

Now the kicker is, it also is going to depend on how fast action the rod is. Newer rods flex at the tip and that’s it, making them tougher to cast with. A heavier line line will load the rod deeper and be easier to cast. A heavier line also has the advantage of loading the rod with fewer false casts. This is a very big deal. This ain’t Trout fishing. Every false cast with a 10 weight and a big wind resistant water logged fly is a lot of work, and over the course of the day it adds up. My typical Bass fishing setup is an 8 weight rod with a 9 weight line on it. I can pick it up off the water, make **ONE** back cast, and shoot it back out there and keep on fishing. By the end of the day I’ve made a lot more casts, my fly is in the water more, and it results in more fish. For Pike I have a 10/11 weight Albright. I use a 330 gr intermediate tip or a 300 gr floating WF line with it, and it works pretty well.

Are you near a fly shop? If you’re going to invest in a new line…and they aren’t cheap….the guys at the fly shop should let you “test drive” it out on the grass to see how it works with your rod.

SR

I have a 450gr on my 11wt. It took some getting use to but I can shoot some big flies out.