Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing WTB 5wt fly rod

I’m looking around for a 5 wt fly rod. I’m a beginner and just feeling the waters. Would rather buy a quality used product than a entry level rod. Let me know if you have anything you are willing to part with. Thanks in advance. Brian

I have a used Orvis, 9' 5 weight, 4-piece that I would consider selling. PM me if interested.

Yellowstone Fly rods are pretty good and not terribly expensive, as are Temple Fork Outfitters fly rods.

You might find a local fly rod builder and you would be surprised what they can build on a budget.

First off I will admit to being a Sage snob so consider that when you read my recomendations. I've cast, owned, played, been around a lot of differnt rods in 45 years of flyfishing. Price is also interesting as there are rods from $50-$1500 out there and ,yes you can catch a lot of fish on lower priced rods. Generally what you find is that as you go up in price, you will get better fit and finish and component quality as well as lighter weight. You may not be able to cast further with a high end rod but it will be smoother and lighter in the hand thus inhancing the experience and also durability and warranty come into play.
With all that said, TFO is fine but not my favaarite and I own and have owned several. Most have gone down the road. Redington has rods from $100-$450 and the Redington Vice is an exceptional caster and light in the had at about $200. The Sage Foundation is a great performance rod at about $400 and will perform with about anything ou there. I just got a Sage Sonic and absolutly love it but they are getting up there in the $650 range and there aren't many used ones yeat as its fairley new. The Sage X is my very favorite.
The Sage Pulse is one that was just discontined and so there are some very good deals out there and its a great rod for all levels of casters. I've seen them new lately at about $350 and think its a great rod for the money. Nice thing about buying new is you get the warranty with it. Most quality rods have good warrantys now but for the most part that stays with the original buyer so keep that in mind.

Take a look at Risen Fly Co. line of rods. I have the PS23 5wt and am very impressed with the quality and fishability. It compares to much higher priced rods and has a lifetime warranty. Web address is risenfly.com.

I just ordered a Sage X on closeout for which I have high expectations, but my erstwhile favorite (really my only) has been my Scott SAS, which is a medium fast, really tactile, positive feedback, forgiving kind of rod. You can find one similar on ebay pretty easily. It's a 3 piece rod which is harder to travel with, and I should've bought the 5 piece. The new Sage is intended to make up for that.

But, the low buck category rod I was going to recommend is the Orvis Clearwater. I was provided one at a casting class they put on and it had a good feel to it also.

A piece of advice I was given- despite marketing hype, if a rod matches your casting style, you'll do well with it. If not, well then that's another story, and the reason I still prefer to visit fly shops and try before buying.

Good luck!

lifetime warranty!

Most of my rods are Sage. I do have a Redington rod that is a 4 wt that you can really throw some rope with.
But nothing I have fished compares with the Sage rods.

I have a Winston Kairos 9ft 5wt. Great condition.

I dont fish with much under an 8wt due to my location but I went to Colorado some time back and I bought a Sage 5 weight for alpine lakes. I think it is an Axis Z. Pretty nice rod. Easy to cast. Probably newer stuff out there.

Everyone, I was able to turn up a rod locally. Thanks for all the offers. Sorry I didn’t post sooner.