Looking for an 8wt in the above rods. Haven't cast any of them except the professional in a 5wt. I know a few of y'all have the mini-mag. Anyone have any others or thoughts.

Looking for a larger weight rod for bigger fish. Multi-species is important although not many of the trout streams i fish have the need for an 8wt so it would mostly be for bass around these parts etc

PLease and thank you!!

I've got the "6-8" Mini Mag. There are two things you should keep in mind with this rod: an 8wt line will not quite load it like I think it should and it is only 8 feet long. If you fish from a boat, the 8' isn't an issue, but if you're a wader or a bank fisherman, the shorter stick might be a hindrance. I would also look at buying line for it based on grain weight rather than a numerical rating.

All that being said, I really like how the glass/graphite mix in that rod gives it a "live" feeling and allows it to load deeper into the blank than other rods I've cast.

Your mileage may vary.

So you think the 8wt line is too light or too heavy, as far as not loading quite right. I have a 5 wt finesse series and figured i'd go 8-10 on the mini mag. what are your thoughts. Thanks for the previous thoughts by the way.

I have casted it with an 8wt bass taper and it would be much better with a heavier line.

I am of the opinion that you should decide what line you want to use & work backwards...8, 9, 10 even 11 all can be used with the rod you are talking about, more than likely the clouser also, I first used Sage Smallmouth line (290 grain) line on my 8 weight St Croix and it was perfect, I like Largemouth line (330) on my 8' 3" Redington Predator which is rated for 9 weight, that line is close to 11 weight but it works great.

Interesting.

Sorry for the lack of clarity. I don't think a standard 8wt line will be heavy enough to load the Mini Mini Mag properly. I haven't strung up the 10wt Saltwater Clouser line that I've got on the smaller Mini Mag, but I think it might be just a touch heavy for it. That same line loads the heavier Mini Mag (rated for 300-400 grains) just about right for how I cast (badly).

I definitely think that going for a little overkill on the heavy side for warmwater fishing is a positive thing. Even with the 11wt Rio Outbound line I've got on the bigger Mini Mag at the moment, I still can't throw as big a fly as I would sometimes like to. Heavier is better, in my opinion. I also wish I had been able to buy my heavier Mini Mag sooner because it is so easy to feel it load and make longer casts with it.

The best way to really know is to make a run by Tailwaters in Dallas and cast both the lighter and heavier Mini Mags along with the other rods on your list to see what fits your casting style best.

I'll stress this last point one more time: that 8ft rod doesn't seem that short until you cast it on a windy day with a weighted streamer. Make sure that the length difference isn't a deal breaker for you. If it is there is a Bluewater rod that TFO makes in a 9ft model that is built the same way the Mini Mag is. I've been considering talking myself into one. That being said, I think one reason the Mini Mags are not tiring to cast all day is the shorter length and which I think translates into less fatigue in spite of being a larger rod.

Well put. Thank you!

Are you saying it is between six and eight inches? Sounds way MINI, but much too short for a fly rod.

There are two rods in TFO's Mini-Magnum series of rods. The original rod is rated for the 8 wt to 10 wt range and the newer version which is rated for 6 wt to 8 wt line range. Both rods are 8 feet long.

My opinion between the rods listed is that they fall into two different categories. The mini-mag excels with shooting heads. If you like to use a casting style of shooting line, the mini-mag is great. But I don't like trying to carry a lot of line in the air with a mini-mag. I really like these rods, because they are a whole lot of fun with a shooting head style line. But these rods are different.

The other rods that you listed are traditional style fly rods. They will carry a lot of line in the air and or they can shoot line too. The difference in the three models listed is how they "feel" to the caster. Each of them has a different action and picking the “best” one is personal choice. The best thing you can do is to cast each of them and then pick the one you like best.

Good luck,
Rex

Thanks Rex,

Having read some reviews I think the clouser is sounding more interesting. The mini-mag sounds cool but the vagueness of exactly what line wt each would handle frustrates me a little. Looking for a more multi purpose rod I'll probably go with the axiom or the clouser. Leaning more towards the clouser.

Pondbass didn't you pick up a clouser recently?

I've cast several mini-mag's with different lines and I wouldn't be concerned abut it being rated for a range of line sizes. From my experience different rod designs and tapers are able to handle different amounts of uplining or downlining. The Mini-mag and the Axiom are a couple of the most versatile rods I've had a chance to cast. For the Mini-mag, I was very impressed with the 330 grain integrated shooting head that George has on his rod. That rod/line setup was SWEET.

I have not gotten to cast a Clouser series yet, so I can't comment on it.

Rex

The Mini-Mag and the Axiom are my favorites of the the TFO flyrod series.
They just have a certain feel about them fits my less than envious casting style.

But as others much wiser have often said "flyrod evaluation is very subjective".
Some like 'em fast, some like 'em slow - cast them before you buy if you can and decide what "feels" best for you.

your making it tough....okay i'm making it tough and appreciate all the input. Read a great review on clouser by joel hayes, but then others that said they couldn't load them or cast them at all. Will keep processing.

Just a word of advice. Do not make your decision to buy a rod based solely on advice from others. Always cast a number of rods before you purchase one.

There really aren't many bad rods on the market. There are rods that perform better in certain situations than others, but the number of really poor rods is really very small. Every time someone asks which rod to purchase, they get a lot of different opinions - including conflicting advice about the same rod series - because everyone has a different casting stule and a different skill level. You need to take all of those things into account when evaluating someone's advice.

In my experience, if someone says that they cannot load a rod with it's recommended line weight, they have either chosen a poor line for the type of rod they purchased or (and this is the problem the vast majority of the time)they do not know how to load a rod properly. If someone tells you that a particualr rod doesn't load well - ask questions about their tackle and experience level - and then watch them cast. It has always been very interesting to me that most fly fishermen are not very good casters.