I decided to go through the interviews I’ve done so far and see if there were any trends in what folks are throwing. I was surprised at the variety.
There is no clear winner and some of the folks I expected to be clear favorites really didn’t turn out that way. Here are the cliff-notes:
- The Nautilus was the favored reel by Kristen, Vince, Joe and Vaughn… that ties for top reel of the group.
- Paris and Craig both like the Abel Super 8 and Scott and Vaughn also favor Abels, for the draw at the top.
- Paris, Shane, Scott and Vaughn all like the G. Loomis GLX, making the GLX the top rod of the group.
- The Scott S4S was second with three anglers, Vince, Kristen and Joe.
- Joe and Vince and Kristen all throw a Scott s4s with a Nautilus reel, the only exact matches of my interview subjects to-date.
- Aaron and Davin both like Lamson Lightspeed reels.
- Davin and Craig both like to throw Winston B2x rods.
- Bill and Lori-Ann like the Sage Xi3.
- There were other rods and reels mentioned… Ross, Tibor, Galvan and St. Croix were mentioned as well.
In the interviews I’ve done thus far, there were a few rods I had to look up. I had never heard of a Gatti or a Pieroway before… rods used by Chris and Butch respectively.
The most expensive pairing would be the Abel Super 8 (around $775) and the Orvis Helios (at about $795) for a cool $1,570.
The cheapest pairing, as close as I could figure was the Okuma SLV ($55) and the Ross Worldwide ($229) for a whopping $284.
If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you know which direction I’d likely go.
The take away, for me, has been to throw what you like… what you can afford (or trick people out of). It comes down to personal preference. The next time someone tells you that all the pro’s throw this or that, you can call BS and say that actually, folks throw all sorts rods at all sorts of price points.
No need to make it too complicated or to put too much mystery into gear selection. Heck, remember that you can even throw glass or grass if that’s your bag.
- Unique Post
Funny how no one uses Pflueger. I’m going to do a write up on them….
Funny how no one uses Pflueger. I’m going to do a write up on them….
I’m sure some folks do, but you have to figure that a lot of these folks have an inside track on this gear and may not have paid full retail for that gear. The post from the Fiberglass Manifesto about fishing glass for bones… that was a Medalist. Heck, used to be all people had to fish with, just about.
In Lefty’ Kreh’s classic book, Fly Fishing In Saltwater, he describes how to put a drag on a Pfluger for bonefishing . He has a step-by- step instruction of how to cut away part of the side of the reel, and attache a strip of leather , to create a drag using hand pressure. This was written when there were maybe half dozen reels available for bonefish — Billy Pate, Fin-Nor, Hardy, and …he hallowd Seamaster. There were a couple of more. But they were all considered fantastically expensive. Lefty wanted to describe a reel that the average angler could own. He also fished with Al Pfluger, as pioneer bonefishers. The average angler now — quite fancy gear.
One of the best and most experienced and eccentric anglers on the water uses a Pflueger. I have seen him in action on many flats. He catches fish and is a true expert. A few years ago he spent a month living with Charlie Smith to learn even more about the ways of the bonefish he had been fishing for 20 years (As all know, Charlie is a pioneer guide from Andros, and owns Charlie’s Haven, which used to look like a bad garage — He was one of the pair who created the Nasty Charlie, which name was changed by Orvis to Crazy Charlie, so as not to offend. This was about 35 years ago) This same angler mentioned uses three trash bags as his boat bag. He catches fish.
re gear: my wife still loves her anti-reverse 25 year old Billy Pate (which had my hand shaking as I handed over more money than I believed possible for a reel). She likes her Sage RP. More vintage. My collection is Tibor Reels, which are wonderful, and the new Orvis Mirage, a pleasant surprise (yes Orvis…how is making excellent fishing equipment), and vintage Pates that never quit. Some of the Rods: Thomas & Thomas, smooth and strong, various flavors of Sage, from tippy to full bodied , and an 8wt Orvis Helios mid-flex that is amazing, and not just because it is so light. (yes…Orvis) Gear. One can collect a lot over 30+ years of bonefishing.
Please excuse the typos. I have not had breakfast, but have had three cups of coffee.
You can say that again… I keep meaning to unload/pass-on/sell the stuff I never/rarely use but never seem to get around to it. Yet, when a new sweet casting rod comes on the market–I’ve just cast a few prototypes for the new GLoomis rods designed by that Rajeff guy–I can’t wait to scrounge the money for one. At some point I hope to call it quits, finally say, “ok, this rod is good enough”, but I can’t actually see that day on the horizon.
As for throwing what you like, hell yes, and well said.