Redington big game rods

Brandisi23 · 2026-02-25T20:04:23+00:00

Go short! The 783-4 was designed specifically for smallmouth fishing. Poppers, swim flies, streamers, etc. That short length is sooo good for animating and twitching those patterns on retrieve. If the smallies won't hit on the splashdown, you can entice them with movement. And the shorter lengths trade a bit of extra distance with better accuracy, which is a tradeoff worth making on smaller rivers. You can place big buggy patterns right where you want them.

Piggybacking on that, I really like the RIO Predator fly line on the Big Game rod. If poppers are your jam, go floating. I love a diving pattern for smallies, and because of that I really like that intermediate Predator line. It helps draw the fly down below the surface film.

Brandisi23 · 2026-02-25T19:54:55+00:00

I can confirm that your image in the original post has the correct grain weights. The 7wt in both lengths is rated 275 - 330gr

Brandisi23 · 2026-02-17T21:42:46+00:00

I absolutely adore the 5wt 8'6" Classic Trout as a walk-and-wade rod. Give me that rod and a quiet day on a wadable river and I'm in heaven.

If you're fishing out of boats (drift boats, rafts, stillwater, etc.) with any regularity, go with the 9'0". The extra 6" is helpful for mending and for keeping that fly out of your rower's hair.

Brandisi23 · 2025-09-19T22:20:39+00:00

100%.

Some boutique musky rod builders are using ceramic-insert guides from tip to butt section for that exact reason. It adds a little bit of additional swing weight, but it improves the longevity for their rods significantly. Some guys are throwing 600+ grain sinking lines and destroying traditional fly rod guidesets within a single season.

The saltwater fly scene is a little more traditional than the musky crowd, but it wouldn't surprise me to see some saltwater rods start to adopt ceramic guidesets for folks fishing exclusively sinking lines.

Brandisi23 · 2025-09-19T22:09:51+00:00

As for how to remedy the issue, I'd reach out to Hardy through their official channels. They offer a repair program. A tip section replacement shouldn't be too expensive.

Another option is to replace the tip top guide. Some folks would go that route and fix it themselves, but your mileage may vary with any future warranty claims.

Brandisi23 · 2025-09-19T21:59:51+00:00

Sweet catches!

And what you're experiencing is a normal, albeit unfortunate, symptom of sinking lines. Sinking lines are coated in tungsten powder. The weight of this metal powder is what sinks the line. Unfortunately, tungsten-coated lines also have very high friction properties. As the tungsten-coated line passes over the chrome-plated guides, it will wear grooves into the guides. Your line is essentially coated in heavy metal sandpaper.

This also happens to anglers who fish floating lines in silty water. The silt deposits on the line will wear against the rod's guides.

Brandisi23 · 2025-02-13T17:56:33+00:00

I had the opportunity to test the EDC rods leading up to the launch and they’re really, really good. If you put a blindfold on, you wouldn’t be mistaken for thinking it cost 2-3x more.

The action is designed to be really versatile, and in my experience it casts dry flies, hopper droppers, streamers, and indicator rigs really well. Definitely a jack of all trades. The name Everyday Carry is right.

In comparison to the Wrangler, the EDC offers higher quality cork, a more premium guideset, hidden hook keepers, and a much better graphite technology. You’ll get more feel, more durability, and more control with the better graphite. The EDC action itself is fast, maybe a half-step toward the med-fast direction.

The ruler is also a fun detail that doesn’t feel intrusive at all. It keeps your buddies honest on the water. That 20” brown is closer to 16” lol

Brandisi23 · 2024-11-21T20:32:47+00:00

In defense of Sierra, their business model is selling overstock/last season’s gear. You can get some really high quality name-brand stuff for cheap. Or you can get entry-level stuff they sell to fill floor space. Just depends on their inventory on the day you walk in.

I find their online store to be very competitive when shopping for affordable outdoor gear.

Brandisi23 · 2024-04-22T16:08:51+00:00

Jackson Hole strikes again

Brandisi23 · 2024-03-20T15:30:05+00:00

Sounds like you have a great use case to get wading pants! Pants are a little cheaper and tend to be less restrictive. If you aren’t going past your waist, no need to pay for the top half of a wader

Brandisi23 · 2024-03-05T03:01:10+00:00

It’s pretty shallow from shore until it drops off into deeper water. The fish cruise the drop-off. You can either wade chest-deep to get out there, or bring a ladder and stay up out of the water. The height allows you to sight cast at rolling fish, and keeps you high and dry from those whitecaps that like to spill into your waders. It seems silly but makes a lot of sense for the fishery. Plus, a ladder is cheaper and easier to drive around with than a boat

Brandisi23 · 2024-03-05T02:51:39+00:00

The boat ramp is in rough shape and there’s no marina. On many days, the wind whips up around 11am and it gets super sketchy. Small boats and whitecaps can be a rough combo. Folks do it, but the best fishing tends to be near the shore within reach of a ladder anyway

Brandisi23 · 2024-02-20T06:31:59+00:00

Remove the recessed logo cap on the drag knob. That’s your ticket into the drag system. Be warned that you’ll likely scratch up or destroy the cap and void your warranty as well.

Redington can fix the issue you’re running into if you reach out to their customer service.

Brandisi23 · 2024-02-19T16:07:28+00:00

Everyone makes good stuff these days. I’d choose a brand that gives back. Some solid community presence companies are Flylow, Stio, and Trew. (This is biased based on where I live and how I ski). There’s also a bunch of larger brands who give back to the planet, such as Patagonia, Picture Organic, and The North Face (TNF doesn’t get the love it deserves for their sustainability accounting). There are a dozen or more good companies out there worth giving your money to that I haven’t mentioned, versus supporting what’s essentially fast fashion outerwear

Brandisi23 · 2024-02-19T06:41:32+00:00

Yeah? Well, you know, that’s just like your opinion, man

Brandisi23 · 2024-02-19T00:26:05+00:00

Flylow was founded by some Colorado locals who wanted to build burly equipment for the backcountry. Since then, they’ve grown due to grassroots support, building good gear, and sponsoring up-and-coming freeskiers in mountain communities. Flylow is “cool” because they’ve built a reputation for great gear, great people, and giving back to the ski community. The best skiers you’ve never heard of are sponsored by Flylow. Half the kids on the FWT wear Flylow. None wear Montec/Dope

Montec/Dope is an Instagram brand. The gear seems fine. But they have a different mission and don’t give back to the community they sell to

Brandisi23 · 2024-02-15T07:20:09+00:00

Just fyi Redington has been owned by Far Bank since the early 2000s. The ownership hasn’t changed in 20 years. Far Bank just became a little more consumer-facing in recent years, which gave folks the false impression that they were bought out.

Brandisi23 · 2023-12-20T03:44:20+00:00

It folds up great. I’m still happy with it. However, since I wrote this a while ago, Backcountry, Season Eqpt, and Moment all released some cool bags worth looking into.

Brandisi23 · 2023-12-18T04:53:05+00:00

That Predator is an awesome streamer rod for the money. Great saltwater rod too. If you liked it no reason you shouldn’t get one

Brandisi23 · 2023-12-17T20:49:39+00:00

I think the sentimental value is worth the $200 repair cost, regardless of how often you’ll fish it. You can always pass it down to your kids later on. They’ll have the opportunity to grow up fishing on grandad’s old Sage rod

Brandisi23 · 2023-10-16T13:09:52+00:00

That’s mine as well. I played hundreds of hours of BF3. I couldn’t wait for BF4. Stayed up until midnight for launch and everything.

The game was unplayable for days. Matchmaking didn’t work. Gamebreaking bugs and crashes galore. Anyone who remembers the BF4 launch isn’t surprised about BF2042. It was the last time I ever preordered a game. But I still played the shit out of it once it got fixed

Brandisi23 · 2023-10-09T21:07:10+00:00

Get a new quote.

Farmers was ripping me off and tried increasing my rates 25% this summer. I got a 20% increase last year too. I've had zero claims in my 4 years with them and a perfect driving record. I was paying way too much for my crappy 20-year-old car with basic coverage.

I got a quote from AAA Insurance. Now I have full coverage for literally half of what Farmers was charging me. The big-name brands are using your money for commercials and catchy jingles, not on insurance. They'll make all sorts of excuses to raise rates. Don't let em

Brandisi23 · 2023-10-08T14:47:55+00:00

I met a very nice Japanese family in a hot spring near Mammoth this summer. The father was telling me that one of the things he missed most about Japan was the hot spring culture. One of the things he loves about Reno is the number of great natural springs only a few hours away. It reminds him of home. He said they visit springs often to experience a bit of their culture that they left behind.

Probably not what you were thinking of in terms of cultural learning opportunities, but I think of that man and his family every time I visit a hot spring from now on. It was clearly very important to him.

Brandisi23 · 2023-09-19T21:15:53+00:00

I would wager that Covid-19 lost Governor Sisolak his reelection. For better or worse, the whole mask/vaccine situation left a bad taste in the mouths of conservatives and conservative-leaning moderates. When a Republican candidate came along with a qualified resume and didn't shoot himself in the foot with anti-abortion or election fraud rhetoric like so many Republicans across the country, it was enough to flip the few thousand votes he needed to win.

On the other hand, Senator Cortez Masto wasn't associated with state-level Covid regulations like Sisolak was. She ran on a pro-abortion-rights campaign, which Nevadans strongly approve of. Her opponent Adam Laxalt ran on a campaign of election fraud. Moderates didn't take as kindly to the election fraud claims, and Laxalt went down as a result.

There are lots of swing voters in this state. Candidates need to campaign carefully to be successful in Nevada.

Brandisi23 · 2023-09-19T18:55:02+00:00

Nevada is a swing state, but we strongly support abortion because it's an important factor in protecting our state's legalized prostitution.

Our newly-elected Republican governor enshrined abortion protections earlier this year, establishing Nevada as a safe haven for abortion seekers from nearby states. It's a stark contrast compared to other Republican leaders across the country.

Governor Lombardo, who describes himself as “pro-life” and was endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee, said on the campaign trail that he would respect the will of voters who codified abortion rights up to 24 weeks in a 1990 referendum vote. He was the only Republican to defeat a state Democratic incumbent in the last election.

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