offshore fly rods?

[jemche]

i am thinking about purchasing an offshore fly rod mailnly for tuna, king mack, shark, and maybe billfish. i am assuming a 14 wt would be best. any opinions on company, length, what weight, and reels.

[flies only]

i have a 12 wt reddington with a 14 wt reel what else is everyones armament???

[sandyharley]

I use a 12wt rod with a 12wt lamson tarpon reel The Lamson reels are large arbor and, they can hold a bunch of backing.I'm one of those folks that will throw a fly at any thing that swims and, it has not let me down, so far LOL

[Fishwagon]

Dont mess with anything less than a 14wt for YFT or more.

12wts are fine for blackfin, skippies, tarpon, dolphin, macs.

Best deal on the planet is the TFO lefty kreh bluewater models. They are all 250 clams, with a no-fault warrantee-you break it-they replace it-no problemo. They are underrated for each class, meaning their 12 weight could be considered a 13 weight, Etc. if it says 13-15 weight, it is likely 14.75 (?)
http://www.templeforkflyrods.com/rods/bluewater.html#T

Almost more important as the rod, is the reel. If you want anything in the blue water bigger than dolphin,you gotta have a time-tested name with a flawless drag. The drag almost has to be smoother than that of an offshore conventional reel. I think Tibor has the very best, time proven flawlesly smooth drag there is. Abel and Ross are in the top three also. Most of these reels will start at 620-670. If you want something without a second mortgage, Id say go for a BAUER. They are not hugely popular, but they are a steal for the value and quality of the drag. The drag is half cork, half synthetic to get the smoothness of cork, yet still disipate heat. The MZ-7 goes for 500 bucks, and will hold 12 wt floating with 325 yds. of 30# backing. you can get an extra 130 yards of backing on it by just using a shooting head. Get a reel that will hold at least 300 yards of 30, with a 12-13wt floating.-or 420 yards with a short shooting head. It'll easily take that much to stop the average 25 pound yft. It can also double as a spey rod for stripers in the surf. If you live up north and want baby BFT, you need something top shelf, like the Tibor Pacific.
Just my .02-hope it helps.
Bauer website:http://www.bauerflyreel.com/mz.html
Tibor websitehttp://www.tiborreel.com/tibsiz.html

[Dave Sikorski]

Jake-

I have a redington 12wt. 9' 4 pc. double grips. I just ordered a Ross Canyon Big Game(discontinued reel) #7. I'll be loading it with tuff line xp 50lb. for backing and will be able to fit a ton of the tuffline for backing. It will get a 12wt Rio Leviathan 500 grain line.

I also have a Pate Marlin I bought used. It has 500yds of Gel spun backing on it that will be getting replaced with tuff line. I'm going to get a Cam sigler bluewater rod, or am thinking about the G Loomis 15 wt.

Both of these new rods I'm looking at will be 8'6" or less. Remember you have a better mechanical advantage with a shorter rod. When you step up to a 14wt. range you're gonna be doing more throwing than casting. You'll probably be chumming/chunking too and just dropping the fly in the water anyway.

I agree with the Tibor/Pate recommendation. Also Abel and Ross. I paid $350 for my ross #7 and they retail for around 5 normally. let me know if you want the contace.

Rods that come to mind are...

-G Loomis
-Cam sigler
-Sage....heard great reviews of the 1390.....can't remember what exact model.


-D

[Fishwagon]

I dont think the redington 12 would handle the average 25-28 pound yft. It'll do 80-90 pound tarpon-all day long, 18-20 pound albies in 20 feet of water-fair fight. blue water fish, above mahi need lifting strength. the fight goes right to the first the first three feet of the rod

250 bucks,unbeatable value for the money, and they replace every one you break for a lifetime.
http://www.templeforkflyrods.com/rods/bluewater.html#T

[cape_fisherman]

You're really not going to find a single 'ideal' rod that will work equally as well on king mackeral as it will on big tunas and as it will on marlin. Sort of different animals. A good 10 or 12 wt will generally get you into some serious king fishing while you'll be stepping up to 14-19 wt rods for the bigger fishes.

If it is high tech stuff you're after, look into Abyss lever drag reels. You also may consider talking to a custom rod builder about setting you up with a CTS blank. He will know what that is and he'll know they are some of the best blanks on the market. Heck, you may even be able to cast that monster further than you thought possible!

Jay

[Dave Sikorski]

Jake-

Here's a great book on blue water fly fishing.

http://www.amazon.com/Bluewater-Fly-...4270158&sr=8-2

-D