As of a month or so ago, I had the following in my quiver of fly rods:
- 3wt, 7'3" custom build rod + (unknown brand) reel
- TFO TiCr 5wt, 9' + Lamson Konic reel
- Redington Predator 6wt, 7'10" + Redington Rise reel
- Loop XACT 7wt, 9' + Hardy Ultralite 7000DD reel
- Cabela's Stowaway 8wt, 9'-5pc + Cabela's RLS reel
- Cabela's CGR 7/8wt, 7'6" fiberglass + spare spool for Hardy Ultralite reel
- Redington CPX 8wt, 9' + Lamson Litespeed reel & spare spool
- Shakespeare 8wt, 9' fiberglass rod (my dad's from 30 years ago)
- Redington CPX 10wt, 9' + Redington Delta reel + spare spool
- TFO TiCrX 12wt, 9' + Hardy Zane Saltwater reel
It turns out that a few of those rods don't see much action over the course of the season, so it got me thinking about trimming down a bit.
Two years ago, I was more than content with using my 3wt on 10-12" trout 99% of the time, and I'd haul out that Cabela's Stowaway 8wt for the occasional salmon trip to the Miramichi River...but things change. Oh, how they ever change...
Last year, my 3wt didn't see water. Nor did the Stowaway (the Stowaway was what I used in Louisiana, fyi). Luckily for me, they had a good home awaiting them, in exchange for a wonderful pedal-driven steed that will see a lot of action (& hopefully not much water) this coming year.
That leaves eight rods. I know of some folks that may have double or triple that number. Possibly entirely of bamboo, too...but that's a whole other level of sickness that will not be addresses in this post.
The Redington Predator & the Cabela's CGR glass rod will be my go-to bass rods, both by choice and by regulations: when I fish the local tournaments this summer, I'm not permitted to use rods over eight feet in length.
My dad's Shakespeare glass rod is staying put, end of story.
The Loop 7wt is my practice rod for the CCI exam, and will morph into my Atlantic salmon rod when necessary. I have a little twinge of buyer's remorse over this, as I don't necessarily love the medium-fast action on this rod & sometimes wish I would have went with a TFO TiCr, TiCrX or Axiom. But it is what it is, so I'll cope (for now).
UPDATE: I've decided to pull the trigger on swapping the Loop rod for a TFO Axiom 7wt. The Loop rod has only been grass-casted a few times and, due to employee discounts, I should be able to recover the sufficient cash to cover off the cost of the Axiom. There's no sense in casting a rod y
