martin fly rods

[Bill Findlay]

Does anyone know if Martin is a good brand? Sportsman's wharehouse has a special on 7' 4-5 wt 2pc. for 29.97 or an 8' for the same. I want to get a rod for the smaller streams. Would this be a waste of money for a "junior" flyfisher?

[Jeff Jones]

Hey Mr. Bill,
Really, Martin is like the Yugo of flyfishing. They don't costmuch, but you don't get mush either. I have been flyfishing for 13 yrs. and the best rod I've ever had is the one I own now, It's a BPS house brand called " Hobbs creek" and it is excellent. Not too much backbone, not too flimsy. I use a #4 floating line with a (this may suprise a few on the board) 3 1/2ft. leader section. In the small streams I usually fish, a 7ft. leader wouldn't make it out of the tip-top. The rod cost $70, and it's VERY light and nimble. As long as it feels good to you and will be used mostly on small waters, you couldn't go wrong with it!

[FFing Duo]

Martin is how I got started. Target clearance $14.99 for rod and reel. I am sure Martin has differing levels of rods/reels, but mine was cheap in more ways than one. The rod was all fibergl****with foam handle and plastic reel seat. The reel did not have exposed rim and warped after a few trips. That thing was a bear to cast, but hey it got me hooked.
I might suggest one of the low end Cabela's combos as an alternative. I think they have one running around $50 with a graphite composite rod and graphite reel that's not bad. My wife has their Sweetwater combo that's one step up from there. She's happy with it. For now http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif

[Bill Findlay]

Jeff, I have fished one of those before. I have been doing this for about a year +- a month. $70.00 is cool too. I made the mistake of picking up a $350.00 rod. You can tell the difference. Needless to say, being "green" I put it back. If the weather keeps up, I may even start to pick some brains about tying... Thank you for your help.

[Loren]

Bill,

FFing Duo's recommendation is exactly how I started. I had picked up a $20 used fibergl****rod and asked a friend to teach me how to cast. He made one cast and knew that wasn't the rod for me. He pulled out a Cabela's catalog and suggested a $50 combo - a 7.5', 3 wt graphite rod and graphite reel for small streams and I actually bought it for less as it was on sale. I think it was a Three Rivers or Three Forks (whatever). I still love using it on small streams, but have upgraded to a longer, better rod for the Hootch.

Best Fishes

Loren

[The Ole Man]

Bill
My .02 cents worth. For the money, to get you started, I would go with the Cabelas, Three Forks Combo, Model 763. This is a 7'6", 3 piece, 3 wt. with graphite reel, a WF line and 100 yrds of backing. Cost is $56.95. Cabelas item no. TX-31-1504-763. What is often wrong with these rods is that they won't load close in and they won't handle a long cast (won't damp down and wobble and bouce when they unload). However, even these rods do get a little design consideration and they have a distance band in which they will cast pretty good. For small streams around here a cast is more likely a flick than a cast,so the problem would be not loading close in for a short cast. You try a short cast and the rod is dead in your hand. You can't feel any loading or tell what its doing and it doesnt bend enough to load up your cast (flick). Often, this can be corrected by using a line weight one size larger, so that the total grain weight out of the tip top is increased. But this means buying another line. An alternative is to loop on an Orvis mini lead head or mini sink tip (assuming you are nymph fishing -which most everyone on this board seems to do). These lead heads cost about $6 to $10 and are useful for fishing bluegill subsurface on a floating line too. you can also make your own with a Cortland LC 13 kit for about $6. These heads increase the grain weight on a short line and improve loading. Orvis Quick Load lines do this too. As far as the reel. You don't need a space age drag for a 3 wt on a small stream. You're not likely to encounter any really big fish and if you do get one a little larger than usual he's most likely confined in a small pool or could be followed on foot if he really took off. So all you really need is something to store your line on. The 3 piece will pack down in a real small package and thats nice too if you happen to have to hike to your honey hole. I'm buying this outfit for my 8 yr old grandsons birthday to get him started in the trout business.