New Rod and Reel

You aren't going to go wrong with that setup. I bought the similar set up 3 years ago, and I still like to fish it. WWGrigg rods are for the money exceptionally well made rods. Buying them at the Outdoor Emporium can even make the purchase better, as they are discounted pretty heavily there.

Money is saved on them by lacquering the wrappings instead of epoxying, and by using lower quality cork and reel seat.I also counted the guides on my 7wt, and found only 8 guides with one stripping guide. On 9' rods, 10 guides is standard, and on a 7wt it is pretty common to have 2 strippers.

If you have a buddy that can epoxy the guides for you, you can save on the hassle of doing it in a year or two. Even though I have rebuilt the rod now, I have left it with its 8 guides, as it casts quite well without the extra guides.

Okuma reels are this strangely controversial thing. Unless you start to fish with very light tippets, and I fish 6x without problems, you may not need another reel. Sure, it pays to grease the spindle and roller bearings so they don't rust, and the reel spools are a little smaller in capacity than I like, but they are great reels. This assumes that you can live with a scuffed up paint job. The reels are painted, and the paint will wear off in some areas. It doesn't bother me at all.

As to the drag settings, I have caught steelies on a reel that only had a click-pawl drag, and I really doubt the great need for a "flawless" drag except with very big powerful fish, and no steelhead or salmon meets my defination of powerful. This is not to diss steelies, but I am refering to tuna, jacks, roosterfish and the like in saltwater, which are a whole different breed. The drag system on Okuma reels is plenty good unless you are chasing these fish.

Why pay more?

I thought I would add my .02 worth to the reel issue. I recently bought a new Okuma Magnitude Large Arbor for $59.95 at Sportsmans Warehouse, extra spool was $29.95. Contrary to the drag issues on the Sierra models, this magnesium reel has a huge drag adjusting wheel that has very tight and positive movement to it-set it and forget it. I also have the Orvis Rocky Mountain in a 5-6 and although the drag is good, the slightest bump against the adjuster seems to return the drag to it's lowest setting. I spoke to the dealer about this earlier this week and he admitted that some of those reels have had ineffective drag issues but said to bring it in and they would either rebuild the drag or give me a brand new reel. Now that Rocky Mountain has a large arbor reel at only $79 I would definately look into that as well. Big arbors treat your flyline a little better and are a real advantage when you have a lot of fish on the spool during the day-not quite so much high sped cranking required to keep up. Ive

This topic has been interesting to me because as a novice, I am learning about all the different brands.

My first rod and reel was purchased through Costco online. I made this purchase because it seemed like a great deal that a seasoned fly fisherman mentioned I should look into. This person had the rod and reel combo and I used it on my first day out fly fishing. It worked well for me, casting was easy and the rod felt great.

Of course, being new, I don't know much about the idiosyncrasies of rods/reels. I do know the basics. What I have is a Marado 4 piece 9' 6 weight. It has been good to me considering that I am learning.

Are any of you familiar with this combo? What are your opinions on them if you are? Go ahead, be honest, I don't mind. This was just may starter rod and reel.

I have thought about getting an 8 weight in the near future because I'd like to get into the bigger fish but for now I just don't know enough to make a sound decision.

I always enjoy reading everyone's post. This site has been very informative and I look forward to any of your help.

If only I knew what I am doing....