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Post 13 Mar 2021, 08:33 • #26 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/31/15
Posts: 1238
Location: Northern Rockies
I would worry less about the weight. Personally, I think the Battenkill III is too small for a 6-weight line. I used it for years with a 5-weight, and it was barely enough.


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Post 13 Mar 2021, 10:07 • #27 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Where big fish are expected, there is no better click-pawl reel than the JW Young 1525 or its many branded variants and similar 3 1/2' "Young by any other name" reels. An exceptionally robust design that is just getting started singing when a big fish rips line. Combined with the resilience and fish-playing subtlety of fiberglass, tippet protection isn't compromised. There are others of the type--more expensive and maybe with more cachet--but these are a great match for 'glass 6 and 7 weights and might be all the more appealing to our new member from the UK. They are ideal on what I call "river rods" like this J Kennedy Fisher 8 1/2' 6/7 or the contemporary Orvis 'glass. The low-profile reel foot makes them feel more compact and integral to the rod than many 3 1/2" reels, both conventional and large arbor, that sit higher and thus exert more twisting force on the wrist.

Image

Lots more to discover about them using the search function.


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Post 13 Mar 2021, 14:44 • #28 
New Member
Joined: 03/11/21
Posts: 24
Thank you all for the replies, admittedly I should have searched more too!! I'll have a look around, many thanks


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Post 13 Mar 2021, 14:50 • #29 
Guide
Joined: 06/28/18
Posts: 338
Location: Bozeman, MT
Del Gue wrote:
Awright.

It's ordered. :)

Although I may still order one of Dusty's rods come my birthday on July 1st.

You only live once...


I've got one of Dusty's 8'9" 6 wts in a 4 piece configuration. It is a rocket launcher and probably close to the Orvis in flex and action...consider his 8'6" 6 wt (I think it's a 3 piece) and the ones I handled are a slower and more sensitive rod than the 8'9" I have.

Have fun and let us know when you are back in the area...July is when our rivers pop!


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Post 13 Mar 2021, 14:51 • #30 
New Member
Joined: 03/11/21
Posts: 24
Thats a fine looking reel! I think I might be falling into an old reel wormhole....


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Post 13 Mar 2021, 15:08 • #31 
Master Guide
Joined: 08/03/14
Posts: 945
Location: central AR
Read all 22 pages of click pawl reels in the classic fly reel forum lol, then you’ll be in the wormhole for sure
:rollin
Tim


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Post 19 Mar 2021, 17:01 • #32 
New Member
Joined: 03/11/21
Posts: 24
Interesting thread thanks. Orvis and one of their dealers said go for the Battenkill III but I guess if they have nothing else in the range they have to go with what they have.

Update. Thanks for the link Tim, that was my evening sorted!!

I picked up an ebay 1525 plus a edgar sealey flyman! Just need a bit of a clean and grease/oil (a whole other search :) )


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Post 03 May 2021, 09:59 • #33 
Master Guide
Joined: 12/11/20
Posts: 378
Location: Dallas, TX
GoodbyeLiz,
Did you ever get your SFG 4wt? I’d love to hear how you like it?

I fished my SFG 6 from a friend’s drift boat on the Blackfoot River in Montana last month and it was absolutely perfect. Here’s a shot with a chunky rainbow putting a nice bend in it.


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Post 03 May 2021, 11:13 • #34 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/02/16
Posts: 515
Location: Georgia
Cool photo, Dave. The trees in the background look like a graph showing the deflection of your Superfine under the load of a nice fish.


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Post 04 May 2021, 11:36 • #35 
Master Guide
Joined: 12/11/20
Posts: 378
Location: Dallas, TX
Thanks! This was that fish or the one before it!


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Post 05 May 2021, 00:32 • #36 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
Preliminary interrogatory for ya, Glacier, my brother:

What reel(s) would you recommend for Dusty's 6 wt, and by extension, the Orvis 6 wt?


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Post 05 May 2021, 10:32 • #37 
Guide
Joined: 07/21/17
Posts: 102
Location: TX
My 6wt SFG wears a Mirage LT IV. Balances at the winding check.





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Post 05 May 2021, 12:57 • #38 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
Thanks, Jrod!


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Post 05 May 2021, 13:43 • #39 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/18/18
Posts: 356
Location: US-TX
Love that rod


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Post 06 May 2021, 20:35 • #40 
Master Guide
Joined: 12/11/20
Posts: 378
Location: Dallas, TX
Del,

I run a new generation Ross Animas 5/6 on my SFG 6. I found a cool green Colorado TU special edition Animas in a Colorado fly shop; I’d never seen another like it but I’m sure they’re more out there. I lined it with 406 Vintage DT6F in Olive green. They all play quite well together and I think it looks pretty cool, too.


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Post 09 May 2021, 18:12 • #41 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
Well, I spoke with brother Dusty around lunchtime today and ordered a Western Glass 8'6" 6 wt! Once I get it, that will leave me equipped with the Western Glass 6 wt, the Superfine glass 6 wt, and a Fenwick 6 wt. That should fully cover my 6 wt needs. And I've got the Barclay and Western Glass 5 wts, plus a few others laying around, so I should be covered on 5 wts. I'll prolly get a Western Glass 4 wt next year, to supplement my Superfine glass 4 wt and an Echo river glass 4 wt. At that point, mebbeso I'll be done getting rods...unless I decide to get a Western Glass 3 wt.

I expect I'll be moving to Montana before the end of 2024. Then I shall fish like a retired madman until a killer asteroid thumps me on the noggin or I tip over, whichever comes first!!!


Last edited by Del Gue on 09 May 2021, 23:05, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 09 May 2021, 21:44 • #42 
Master Guide
Joined: 12/11/20
Posts: 378
Location: Dallas, TX
And what a fantastic way to go!


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Post 09 May 2021, 23:07 • #43 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
pgwulf,

I'll be at Yellowstone from Sept 7th thru the 14th, where I'm meeting my bro and his wife.

We leave on the 15th and drive up to Glacier, where we'll spend 5 days at the McDonald Lodge.

Good times be comin'!!! I get more excited every day!


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Post 11 May 2021, 08:43 • #44 
Master Guide
Joined: 12/11/20
Posts: 378
Location: Dallas, TX
Del,
You’re in for an incredible trip indeed. I know there is an abundance of riches up there, but if you decide to explore any fishing outside Glacier NP I highly recommend Duck Lake near Babb and Mission Lake outside Browning. Both on Blackfeet reservation land, so need to buy a special but inexpensive pass. My friends and I caught some of the prettiest trout I’ve ever seen from shore in both of those, wading in to knee deep, on leeches and nymphs.


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Post 11 May 2021, 13:28 • #45 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
Thanks, Dave! We'll prolly eat a few times at Johnson's, so maybe we'll check out Duck Lake while we're out there.


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Post 11 May 2021, 17:29 • #46 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/31/15
Posts: 1238
Location: Northern Rockies
My profile picture is from fishing one of those lakes, releasing a a 22" or 24" rainbow. I can't remember because that was a pretty typical size for the day.

I would recommend a 7-weight, maybe even an 8. The wind is vicious on the prairie, especially along the Rocky Mountain Front, and the fish are large and powerful. The Orvis Superfine 866 would not be my first or second rod choice in those conditions.


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Post 11 May 2021, 17:40 • #47 
New Member
Joined: 03/11/21
Posts: 24
Been loving the glass and had a few nice trout on it. I've also just picked up an old big battenkill so might give that a go too! Will try and get some photos. Just wondering what folks think on lines. I currently have an airflo forge on it which is ok but I can't help thinking, even though im not the best caster, that there is a better line out there. The memory isn't great on the airflo so it doesn't lay too straight. I'm mainly fishing stillwaters in UK with smallish nymphs/buzzers, wets and dries. Plus something that rolls cast might be handy-am I asking too much of 1 rod and line.
Thanks for any help


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Post 11 May 2021, 22:01 • #48 
Master Guide
Joined: 11/04/15
Posts: 631
Location: US-FL
Glacier, you’re killing me, buddy! I got the Superfine glass 6 wt for Christmas, and within the last week ordered a Western Glass 6 wt from Dusty, and now you’re using numbers like ‘7’ and ‘8’!!! lol

I’m not totally surprised, though. I watched some videos this evening ref Duck Lake and in one the guy said he was using an 8 wt because of the wind. And I don’t suppose the wind will take the month of September off just because I’m gonna be out there.

I checked my arsenal, and I have an Orvis Recon 9’ 7 wt, and a TFO Mangrove 9’ 8 wt. Neither are fiberglass, obviously.

The budget doesn’t allow me to order another Western Glass this year, so my options are to either use the 7 or 8 that I have, or to find funds for an Orvis 8’6” 8 wt or an Echo Bad Ass Glass Quickshot in 7 or 8 wt. Casually eyeballiin’ the specs, the Echo’s seem heavier.

I shall ponder the variables and figure something out. But I am inclined to agree with you that a stouter rod might be useful on this trip, since I may be fishin’ a larger body of water than I originally anticipated.


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Post 11 May 2021, 22:26 • #49 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/31/15
Posts: 1238
Location: Northern Rockies
Those lakes are a lot of fun, and the fish are big. But they're not easy to catch. They take some work, and they see a lot of flies throughout the season.

If you'd rather just stick to the 6-weights, there is plenty of good water nearby that would be well-suited to those rods, both lakes and rivers. Send me a PM, and I'll be glad to share some details.


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