I got my $80 Albright GP rod wet today for the first time. I’ve come to the conclusion that it casts about like an $80 rod. Probably would be better had I not been throwing a 2/0 popper. Certainly did a better job than my 7 wt. would have done.
The rod is a bit on the slow side of actions, which takes a bit of getting used to. Of course, that’s not Albright’s fault, and for $80, what can you really expect?
Glad I have it along and I hope I can find a fish worthy of the 8/9 wt. rating of the rod. Certainly, the Jack Crevalle I had a couple days ago would have done the trick, but that was on my St. Croix Legand Ultra 7 wt., which seemed too light a stick for that particular fish (that rod was stolen a day or so after writing this, as it turns out).
Albright’s next rod up isn’t THAT much more expensive. This rod was a gift (and an awesome gift), but if I were buying on my own, I might add another $50 to the purchase and move up a rod to see what that one is like. I’m not a fly shop or magazine, so I don’t get to test a bunch of rods and decide which one I like. I have to buy them (or have family members buy them for gift giving events) and then see how they fish.
UPDATE: Well, my St. Croix ended up getting stolen, so I used the Albright the last two days. I needed a sinking line so put my 7 wt. sink tip on the 8/9 rod. Ya know what? It actually worked out pretty well. In the last two days of fishing, using this improvised set-up I probably landed 50-60 fish in about 5 hours of fishing… which should make just about anyone happy unless they are a total SOB. The rod felt great with fish on… of course, having a fish on probably would feel good if I would have been fishing with a broom stick and dental floss. Still, my estimation of the rod has increased. I’m still looking forward to finding the right line(s) for this rod to really see what it can do.
That's the Albright GP
- If you liked the story above, check out these stories below
- Okuma Helios Review (0.692)
- Tom Bie, Saltwater Fly-Fishing Reels - The New York Times (0.692)
- NRX - A review from Angling Trade (0.692)
Tags: Albright Rods, gear review
Glad to hear you’re trying the popper!
When you get home you might try a different line on the Albright to see if that makes a difference in how the rod feels.
Also, rolling your own certainly would offer you a savings and an opportunity to build exactly what you want. Lots of good blanks available that won’t break the bank (i.e. Dan Craft). Also, there are some excellent blanks available on various on line vendors that are on close out.
Just an idea!
Yeah, the line and the fly are both probably not ideal for a rod test. It rained yesterday and the river mouth was putting in a lot of dirty water today… that combined with my daughter’s nap overlapping with low tide and I actually got skunked today. May have to try the rock jetty tomorrow instead of the river mouth… we’ll see how that goes.
The line on the Albright is a 9, but cast much, much nicer when I put on a smaller streamer instead of the Ginormous popper. It has potential. The St. Croix I’ve been casting is 9.5 feet, and one gets used to the extra half foot of length.
I’m guessing the popper works best when you have a school of Toro crashing bait as opposed to just prospecting? That’s what I’m doing. I saw one, very brief, episode of fish crashing bait right on the shore… but I didn’t have the 8/9 with me… alas.
Fishing is a pretty good way to pass the day, even when the fish aren’t biting.
[…] are some thoughts on that GP I have from casting down in Vallarta last […]