Lets see your high lakes rod and reel set-up

[byrdman]

This is kind of a continuation of the 5 best lures thread that was extremely helpful.

Here is my cheap but effective (for me) rig:
Eagle claw trailmaster III four piece 6′ rod
Pflueger microspin reel

Broken down and packed up the rod is 20″ long and about 1½” around. Not sure of the exact weight.

The sweet faux velvet bag will be replaced when I can find a suitable hard tube.

[mcmahon2005]

The reel is good, but i would get a new rod. I can’t really reccomend a rod since i just use fly rods for everything.

[byrdman]

@mcmahon2005 wrote:

The reel is good, but i would get a new rod. I can’t really reccomend a rod since i just use fly rods for everything.

[funny] Gee, thanks for the helpful tip [/funny] 😀

By the way, lets see your set-up, this is not exclusive to hardware users.

[Brian Curtis]

Here’s my hardware setup. I use a Cortland fly rod that is marked with inches so I can use it as a ruler for surveys. I’m currently using a Shimano reel. I wear out reels fairly quickly and normally buy them by going through the Cabelas catalog and finding out which reel is the lightest. My all time favorite reels were the old Shakespeares that had bails that fold down flat. I used to order parts for that one when they wore out. But it finally gave up the ghost.

I carry two fly rods (the other is a Sage) but they are only 4 piece and longer then I like when broken down. I make sure they fit in my pack and use that as a protective case. I’ve sewn up nylon sleeves so they don’t soak up water like the factory sleeves. If I’m using a smaller day pack I end up taking the metal Sage case even though it is heavy.

[mcmahon2005]

I got a TFO Professional Series 3 weight 4pc, and an Echo Clasic 5 weight 4 pc. For my reels i got a really nice spinnign reel, quantum energy pti e10, for my fly reel i got an okuma sierra 4/5 wt.

Ive had a bad experience with the exact rod you have btw, you will DEFINATELY need a hard case for that rod. The cheapest option is to just go to your local Lowes and pick up some PVC tube and buy two caps for each end. Cost about $5 total.

[Jonathan Leathers]

This is my complete setup although I don’t carry the cigar anymore. I used to smoke them when camping in places I couldn’t build a fire but got tired of trying to get the smell out of my hiking gear.

This pretty much covers all fishing situations I come across in the mountain lakes, extra line if I break whats on the spool and a sink tip (pre-looped) to add to the fly line for going sub surface, etc, etc. The whole thing weighs about 2.5 lbs and I can par that down when I get real with myself and shave off a box of flies or two, how many can you really use?

Jonathan

[Brian Curtis]

Jonathan, are you still using the Berkley Vanish line? I tried that stuff last year and really didn’t like it. The breaking strength seemed poor and it seemed to like tangling more then casting. Have you had better luck (or more probably, better skill)?

[mcmahon2005]

Nice, good selections of flies, cabelas stowaway rod, plenty of leaders, water thermometer(very important), instead of the berkely vanish which really does have horrible breaking strength, gets crystal fireline and put it on you whole reel. The 4lb test has a 1lb mono diameter, and it really seemed a lot stronger than 4lb mono. Plus the lower diameter lets you cast farther. I gotta take a pic of all my gear sometime. Maybe after i get done tying all my flies, 180 down, 375 to go.

[Jonathan Leathers]

Yes I’ve had some trouble with that line as well, but I still have this small box 100yds and carry it as a back up if I break off most of what is on the spool. I generally replace all my line every two years and it’s time again so I will be looking for something new, I’ll have a look at the fireline.

I have WAY more flies than this. I started tying my own a few years back and for two winters about 8 years ago went crazy filling dozens of my boxes and all those of my father too. I have not managed to loose enough or have needed to replace many of them. I find a handful patterns that seem to work most of the time, mountain fish don’t seem impressed with my fly tying they seem to eat just about anything. The hard part is limiting yourself to a realistic number of flies that will be used on a trip. If I tried I could not cut off and re-tie all the flies I carry in an afternoon.

I have many other fishing rods and love the casting action of the Spinmatic-X from Daiwa but usually pack the telescopic rod because it is smaller and easier string up. When I am passing many small lakes I usually keep the telescopic rod strung up with reel and lure together, just hooking the lure under the reel seat and compressing the whole thing. When I walk by a small lake all I need to do is free the lure and stretch it out and cast away as I walk.

I like the foam box from Orvis (don’t seem to have them anymore) that everything fits in, so when I get to a lake I can drop my pack and grab this foam box and circle the lake with all my fishing gear, plus it floats. 😀

Jonathan

[Cliff Church]

@mcmahon2005 wrote:

gets crystal fireline and put it on you whole reel. The 4lb test has a 1lb mono diameter, and it really seemed a lot stronger than 4lb mono. Plus the lower diameter lets you cast farther.

Mcmahon – do you use a leader for your 4 lb Crystal line? Also, do you use the conventional improved clinch knot with this line, or the palomar? The original Firelines that came out years ago suggested the palomar knot due to the finish on the line. Have you noticed any wear & tear on your guides?

[mcmahon2005]

i think fireline ties great knots. so yes i tie the fireline directly to the lure, i use a regular improved clinch knot, the knot cinches very well. I haven’t had any problem with wear and tear on my guides. The only bad thing about fireline is that it does fray easier than mono.

[Cliff Church]

Thanks for your advice.

[aaronbodell]

Took a look at the travel rod options out there, and ran across something on Ebay I’ve never seen before. Anyone heard on Quetico Rod Co.? Picked one up for $50.00 on a hunch they might be pretty nice. 6’3″ light rated 3 pc. Great to post on this board, fantastic info and good people it seems. Thanks in advance for your patience as I figure out how to best post. 😀

[Kid fishin]

eagle claw trail master III rod
Abu Garcia reel
fishing line (type? dunno, don’t care)

the eagle claw rod is the best one i’ve ever used

[Jim Welch]

Albright 5 piece 4 weight and a 5 weight fly rod, Scientific Anglers flyreel with 5 weight line and a Shimano (really small) spinning reel. I usually take a bunch of roostertails and Mepps and a lot of different flies.

[allison]

5 piece 5 wt 9′ Rainshadow rod that Trail Blazer Pete Smith made for me, it’s got pretty light delicate action which makes it sublime for high lakes. It shares an Orvis Battenkill reel with a 5/6 w/f full floater line with my other rod, which is a 6 wt Sage Launch with much faster action.

My most commonly used flies on high lakes–mosquitoes, ants, and if I’m out in the raft, olive or black Hale Bopp.

I picked up a fly rod three summers ago and never game my spinning setup a second look after that.

[Jim Welch]

Cabelas is having a sale on their Stowaway 7 rod blanks.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0036516318832a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=stowaway&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

[caveman]

Eagle Claw also, I have had my rod for 20 yrs and have caught thousands of fish on it and have also have caught salmon on it too.

Adam

[Brian Curtis]

I don’t seem to be able to keep a rod that long without breaking it. I once broke two rods on the same trip. It was a 13 day trip so I had to spend most of the trip with a rod cobbled together from the two I’d broken. And then there was the time I broke my rod while my fishing partner was catching a 9-pounder. He got the better end of that fishing day. And then there was the…

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