Travel Rod - recommendations

[whelzer]

Hello,

I'm in the market for a reasonably priced travel rod and was wondering what people generally go for.

I'll be using it in France/Pyrénées April this year and possibly Aus/Thaliand/South America next christmas.

I'm thinking that a 9ft 6wt would be the most useful rod for "any" given situation.

Opinions greatly appreciated.

[enfieldspares]

Quite simply there is still nothing to beat Hardy's original Smuggler concept that produced a rod that fitted into a SIXTEEN INCH TUBE!

Size is everything! I use a 7' Hardy Classic Smuggler, AFTM #5, but I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND IT TO YOU! I merely got this as I wanted a brook rod and it was the right length, at the right price with the bonus of portability. It packs down into a sixteen inch tube!

Stick to your premise that a 9' in AFTM #6 is what you want and THEN look at a rod that takes down into more than four pieces. I have a four piece 9' AFTM #6 Hardy Ultralite Travel and, quite frankly, it can be an impediment! Four pieces is a rod that you can keep and hide in the boot of your car. It is not a true "travel rod" IMHO.

BUT...if you want to go that way Farlow's have a seven weight four piece ten foot Ultralite Travel at around £200 in their sale.

So although I would caution against going as short as seven feet I would strongly nevertheless advocate the "Smuggler" option (or similar) for portability.

Sportsmail have Gem Smuggler rods at £249 for 9'3" AFTM #7, and 9' AFTM #8 for only £239.

So, you might look at the Hardy Gem Smuggler (but look at the price) or perhaps a Shakespeare Oberon Travel Rod at lengths from 7' to 10' in sections from 19" in 7' to 22" in 10'. Cost from £69 to £ 86. It is shown on page 21 of Trout and Salmon for January 2004. Some people may make mock of Shakespeare but it is honestly priced and does the job.

Or a Grey's Missionary. Do TRY E-BAY! Secondhand Hardy Smuggler rods crop up quite often and I think that Sportsmail 0870 800 3050 may still have some older Classic De-Luxe Smuggler rods at around £200.

Also consider what sort of waters you may be fishing! If you are needing to roll-cast a lot then a 10' AFTM#7 is going to be the way to go (I have roll cast with my 7' Smuggler but it was not something that I would want to do if I had any reasonable alternative). Also when you do roll-cast with a multi-section rod make sure that your tip section is well on! Roll-cast action is essentially trying to throw the tip of your rod into the water! I had it happen with my Smuggler the first time I used it!

You should also think about what you are doing after you have finished fishing! Do you really want to be encumbered by a three foot rod tube? Will such a tube fit in your luggage anyway? That is where the "Smuggler" type rods score. You can put them in a backpack and then just go shopping, sightseeing, eating, drinking etc. with nothing to keep falling over.

In short if you take anything that doesn't fit into at least under a twenty-four inch tube you will regret it!

The last option is a telescopic fly rod. They do exist and whilst I have used a telescopic spinning rod I have never used such a design in a fly rod. That may also be an answer?

My advice? A ten foot seven weight that takes down into sections that fit in the smallest possible tube and, in any case, one that is UNDER TWO FEET. Line? You can always use a "trick" line like a Rio Windcutter profile to keep the seven weight advantage but give you a less "brutal" tip.

[The Otter Startler]

I like carbotec rods. I've not tried this but it might be worth ringing them for a chat.

CARBOTEC MULTI-SECTION RAMBLER fly rod the ultimate travelling rod system
All together as a set (both rods) = £309
5 piece 7.5ft #4 on its own = £215.00
6 piece 9ft #5/6 on its own = £249.00
A travel rod with sections under 20 inches, which can be both 7.5ft and 9ft (by cleverly interchanging the butt sections). Bob Wellard, Carbotec consultant, enthused about it as soon as he saw it; then went on to land a 9lb salmon on the 9ft. In his opinion the rambler is the complete river rod system.

www.carbotec.co.uk/html/fly_fishing_rods_carbotec.html#rambler

Looks interesting to me, but I'm not buying it am I!

[ScottRods]

I have a redington wayfarer, five piece, 7 weight.
I carry it in the car during the season. It is quite useful for most occasions if a little heavy for the river.

Comes with red cordura covered plastic tube.

A very good travel rod from ol USA is the Temple Fork outfitters. They are sooo sweet.

[richardj]

Have a look at the Vision 3 Zone 9ft #6, six piece. Packs down to 18".
A great rod for a comparatively silly price (£120?)

Richard

[sid]

check sportfish out, i got a daiwa lochmor x 4pce #6wt 9ft.
it was in the sale and cost £53 inc p+p.
dont know if they have any left as it was about 6 weeks ago.
used it about 3 times and its a lovely little rod.

[whelzer]

Thanks very much for the replies folks, lots to think about. I'll be purchasing a rod before the end of this week.

[swifty]

Whelzer,

Youll never guess who got a travel rod for christmas from the missus.

It's a White River CV2 8.6'' 5 piece 5# (has anyone any experience of these as i hadn't heard of them previously?). I might let you borrow it so don't rush out.

Wait until someone you know is going to the states as they are way cheaper and the rate is good at the moment (Wayfarer 195USD = c.150euro and 395euro here).


Cheers,

Swifty.

[Hambo]

I think the Shakespeare Aeriel is probably the best value for money and has a great action for such a cheap rod. It comes in six pieces and in a range of weights for around £50.00.

The only drawback is in the thin walls of the blank which means you can't bully a big fish into the net. I still managed to land a 6lb hard fighting rainbow with one.

[TJT]

I have a redington Wayfarer 5piece 9ft 6wt and a Winston LT 4wt 8ft3 5 piece. They are both great rods -
I used the redinton extensively whilst traveling round NZ
The winston fits in the top box of my motorbike when I need a quick exit from London for an evenings chalkstream fishing in the summer.

cheers Tim

[sid]

it is sportsmail and not sportfish that had the lochmor x on special offer.
just checked the website and they have some left £48+p+p

[Mustang66]

Glad to hear you like the Lochmor X Sid, It'd been my 1st choice for close on 3 years now...need to take care of it, as I'd hate to break it.