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1,347 Posts
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?
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?
