so bass pro has(had) a black friday deal for a white river fly shop fly rod and reel for 50 bucks. its a 4 piece 5 weight. so this got me thinking. I already own a st.croix 8wt and love it. I use it for bass, saltwater, and other larger fish. But I am thinking of maybe getting another rod and reel for rainbow trout. TPWD stocks trout in a few ponds around my area. I used the 8wt, did decent, but missed a lot too.

Long story short, should I invest into a "cheaper" 5wt rod and reel? or should I just keep using the 8 wt? OR should I just save a few hundred and buy a decent 5 wt?

Don't ask your wife...lol....just kidding. I have a two piece white river that I've been very happy with. 5wt.

The standard rod for trout is a 5 weight. Because of the airlines, the preferred version is now a 4 piece. You can spend a lot more on a 5 wt, but you will always want a back up rod along when you start traveling for trout anyway. For $50, you really can't go wrong. The standard two rods to have have to cover the most species are a 5 and 8 wt. I have a 5 and an 8 St. Croix myself, but I have other rods as well, including a 6 piece 5 wt I use as my back-up for trout.

Me? Long story short, I'd grab that right up!

Just to give you something to think about. Since you already have an 8 wt, you might consider getting a 4 wt instead of a 5 wt.

Getting all "even" or all "odd" rod sizes is one way to cover a wider range of rod sizes with fewer rods. Later you can add a 6 wt to cover the gap between the 8 and the 4.

I think the question you really need to ask yourself is how heavy a trout fisherman are you, or how much do plan on being? And not just Texas either, but BB, Colorado, Arkansas, etc?

There's a pretty good chance that you wouldn't use that rod much here in your local waters. You could, but it just doesn't have the magic for big bass flies, and def nothing to offer in the salt.

If you prefer, you could however convert it into a sunfish stick when it's not tossing trout flies.

If you plan on eventually traveling by airline somewhere, you'll want a 4pc for sure. My very first time traveling out of state to fish nearly ended early at the American Airlines baggage counter when I showed up with a 2 piece in a 5 ft case (pretty sure I was 3 words away from getting taze'd too). And that was AFTER calling ahead 27 times to confirm that what I had was ok to fly with. You just can't trust anyone's word, regardless of who says what or what the official airline's policy states.

Personally, I would go with a 4wt instead of a 5. 5 is just big enough to strip away the fun, and just small enough to be essentially useless for anything else.

That being said, my first rod was a 5wt years ago back in the learning curve days, and today I'm a very good caster because of it.

I think those Redington CT's are still on sale online with Cabelas. A 9ft 4wt would be a perfect buy for trout specific rod.

At BPS getting some trout gear today. They had a rack with a 4 pc. 5 wt. White River combo for a buck fifty. Nice looking outfit. 9 ft.

Thanks for all the help. looks like I will definitely be searching for another 4 piece for sure.

if i do go the 4 wt route(which is a strong possibility) anyone have any recommendations?

for now will use this for sunfish, and stocked trout and eventually for travel.

I do not know a whole lot about Rods and combos, but Cabelas had/has their LRS combo on sale down from 319.99 to 159.99. The guy showed me the reel that is on there and it was 124.00 and the line was 50 and the hard case was 35 so that is one heck of a deal. I bought the Wind River combo that was normally 119.99 for 69.99. Have not used it yep but seems to be a nice set up

Both of my fly setups have been the Cabelas' packages. I have a 6wt TFO TiCrX (my coast rod) and a 4wt St. Croix Imperial (my trout/river/panfish rod) each with a Cabelas' reel. I've been very pleased with how the reels (and rods for that matter) have held up over the years. It's hard to pass on the packaged deals, especially if they're on sale.

okay cool, looks like ill be watching for deals! thanks for all the help!

spend the $50; when a good deal happens, grab it and don't do any extensive thinking about it. You need a lighter rod than the 8 weight. jump all over that deal; very little is gained or lost deciding between a 4 and a 5 -p-

It is hard to disagree with Pearow's logic. After all, like the saying goes; A rod in the hand...


Will let you go fishing.

What he said