I do love the budget gear and the guys over at Gink and Gasoline recently posted some thoughts on affordable bonefish rods.
Of the three, the only one I’ve case is the Redington Predator, which I own in a 10 wt. and I’ve cast in a 9 wt.. I do have a TFO Clouser 8 wt. I use for bonefish and I’ve been pretty happy with it in a variety of situations. The funny thing is the diagram they have implies it has less power and is more of a presentation stick, which I disagree with. I’ve never found that rod lacking in power… not once.
The Predator
I have yet to fish an ECHO. One has never found its way into my hands on the water. Off the water I’ve used their practice rod, but the new Redington Form Game Rod has relegated that to the garage.
The Form Game Rod in practice.
There are a great number of affordable rods out there for your bonefishing pleasure. The rods mentioned in the G&G post are all $250, as is the TFO Clouser I mentioned above. If that’s too steep, there are even cheaper rods that will do the job.
The Redington Voyant is only $190. The TFO Professional Series II is only $160.
Options. Options abound. If you are shelling out big bucks for a premium rod, one of these might make sense as a backup. I’d never head out for a week of fishing with just one rod. That’s one careless move away from doing a lot more spectating than I’d really care for.
- If you liked the story above, check out these stories below
- The Quiver for Cuba (0.633)
- The Predator 12 Weight (0.633)
- Three Bonefish Rods Under $200 (0.401)
Tags: Fly rods, Gink and Gasoline, Redington
I second the thoughts on carrying a backup rod… unless you’re the most interesting guide in the world and then you’d just use “the look” to make someone else give up their rod… and also follow you around as a personal videographer… and drink caddie. Ok. No. That would be wrong. Even the most interesting guide carries a backup.
I remember my first Bahamas trip. First cast w/ the guide and a tiny bonefish rushes out of the mangroves, grabs my fly and heads back for cover. I leaned back on the rod and “pop”: 18-inches snapped off the tip. I fished the rest of the time with my shitty St. Croix, which goes to illustrate your point: even your backup rod should be a good rod. I mean, I caught fish, and after a while I forgot about the crappiness of the rod, but there were definitely a few fish I couldn’t reach because my casting hadn’t progressed to the point were I could cast a piece of ***t as far as I needed to.
As for budget bonefish sticks, let’s not forget the TFO Left Kreh Signature Series. My guide partner fishes those exclusively and I have to admit they perform nearly as good as The Jolly Roger (my Winston BIIx). Not as smooth or sexy, but the TFOs still get it done.
Yeah, those TFO sticks are pretty decent and they come in below the heart-attack sticker shock point. I’ve been moving more toward the Redington budget gear, just because I like them a bit more personally, but I still have and fish plenty of TFO rods.
Yeah. Hear ya. I used to fish Redingtons a lot more. (My freshwater rod is still a 8′ #5 Redington RS2, which has beat up on its fair share of carp and smallies.) One of my favorites is still an old Redington Classic (pre changeover days) that is a rather travel restricted 2 piece. It has this weird fast, full-flex action that make it tough to find the timing, but once you do you can cast it all day. I learned a lot with that rod in hand. Good company.