7-11wt Single Hand Fly Rods

Continuing to formalize my notes on what we fish with, here I have inventoried my collection of 7 to 11 wt rods. Unless, I take up Tarpon fishing, there is little reason to expand this. What does remain, is closing on the best freshwater line for the Guideline RSi 11wt.

Excluding those that I associate with spey casting, such as the Scott ARCs or James Green rods, this is my line up of 7wt to 11wt rods, reflecting 30+ years of fly fishing. This reflect my fishing for Bass, Pike and Saltwater – primarily Bonefish.

Summary Tables

Rod	Wt	Pc	Reel (Tag ID)	Common Line	Line Colour
Fenwick HMG	7	2	System 2 78 (7F)	SA Ultra WF 7F	Buckskin
Scott Alpha	7	2	System 2 78 (7F)	SA Ultra WF 7F	Buckskin
Loomis GL3	7	4	System 2 78 (7W)	Airflo 40+ WF 7F	Orange to Peach
			System 2 78 (7S2)	SA Uniform Sink 2	Green >Dk Green
CTS Affinity	7	5	Waterworks (9S)	Airflo Power Taper 8F	Orange to Purple
			Danielsson L5W (a8)	Airflo Trop-ClearTip 8F	Pale Yellow
			Danielsson L5W (b8)	RIO Quickshooter 8F	Yellow >Pale Blu
Sc Meridian	8	4	Nautilus NV-G 8/9 (Org)	Cortland Bonefish 8F	Pale Blue >White
			System 2 89 (9F)	Airflo Beach WF 8F	Green to Sky Blue
Sc Meridian	8	4	Nautilus CF 10 (8s)	SA Bonefish WF 8F	Blue Green Yellow
			Einarsson 8plus (Silver)	free
TFO BVK	8	4	Danielsson (b8)	RIO Quickshooter 8F	Yellow >Pale Blu
			Nautilus CF 10 (8cs)	Airflo Clear Tip WF 8F	Yellow >Pale Blu
Winstron BL5	9	5	Islander AR LA 4.0W	Cortland Bonefish 9F	Pale Blue to White
Guideline RSi	11	4	Abel SDS 12	Cortland Tarpon WF 11F	Sky Blue
			Danielsson L5W (G10)	Monic Icicle WF 10I	Ivory
			Danielsson 3W (rl)	Guideline WF 10FHI	Orange to Blue

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Danielsson Reels are the L5W 8twelve
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Lines not spooled

Fly Line	Weight	Colour	Notes
Airflo 40+	WF 8S3	Orange to Dark Green	for TFO BVK 8 & Affinity 7+
RIO Bonefish	WF 8F	Lavender to Yellow	idle
Airflo 40+	WF 9F	Yellow to Green	idle
RIO Bonefish Quickshooter	WF 9F	Yellow to Pale Blue	idle
RIO InTouch Pike	WF 10I	Yellow to Moss	for Guideline RSi 11wt
Guideline Pike	WF 9 FHI	Orange to Blue	for Guideline RSi 11wt
Guideline Pike	WF 10FHI ….	Orange to Blue	for Guideline RSi 11wt
Monic Clear	WF 11I	Clear	for Guideline RSi 11wt
Airflo Tropical Punch	WF 11F	Yellow to Blue	idle
RIO Tarpon Short	WF 11FI	Olive to Pale Yellow	for Guideline RSi 11wt

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Quick Rod Descriptions

Fenwick HMG – Relax and responsive

My first rod and it still remains an easy to cast rod up to 60′ and an effective freshwater fishing tool. Proving the point, old rods are good, and there is few reasons to go for the latest and “greatest”. It is a true 7wt, and a pleasure to cast.

Scott Alpha – my Daughters’

Made for the daughter with an extended fighting butt, and like the Fenwick, easy to cast and a true 7wt.

GL Loomis – Old Standby

My first travel-rod, and a rod I bought to help power large bass flies. It has been effective and my goto, until the Scott Meriden came nearly 30 years later. It does appreciate a heavy and aggressive 7wt line, such as the Airflo 40+, but can manage with grace true 7wt lines.
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And I do believe the old System 2 reels are a great match for this and previous listed 7wts for freshwater fishing.

CTS Affinity – My Suitcase Rod

Blank was purchased when CTS was willing to create custom blanks for all. I experimented with the handle, but otherwise it has a standard set of guides.
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It is progressive rod with fast response, suitable for 8+wt lines. I have tested from a SA Ultra WF7 (too little light). Of the lines I have used to date, my preference is to use 8+wt lines, like the heavy Airflo Power Taper WF8.

Scott Meridian – Bonefish

Our bonefish rod and now default rod on our local river. Great rod, light with a responsive-power tip, and likely to maintain its cult following. If there is one recommendation for this rod, get a true 8wt line (as recommended by Scott). For this reason, a great match is the Cortland Bonefish or Scientific Angler Bonefish. I found RIO Bonefish good, and do agree that the RIO’s Quickshooter a little too heavy.

As I see fly line companies ebb and flow, with time, acquisitions and mergers, so I applaud Cortland’s “recent” re-emergence.

With the mixture of reels we might pair up, which reel is my favourite? My answer is the Einarsson, as it has right weight and great for washing and driving the lines after a day in the salt.

TFO BVK – Fast Bonefish Rod

Our backup rod and when we feel the need for a fast rod into the wind. Use it with a more aggressive line, such as the RIO Quickshooter or Airflo Tropical Punch.

Winston BL5 – another luggage rod

Another backup rod, but like the Scott Meriden, I would select a true weight line versus an aggressive line; and thus it is married up to a Cortland Bonefish 9wt.

If this rod was more frequently used, I might transition to a different reel, but I am happy with the Islander.

Guideline RSi – my adventure to heavy rods

Many lessons and observations with this rod, associated with heavy rods and lines.

One, It is a 11wt and it this means it is for warm saltwater, as such, you are limited to Tarpon line and other large saltwater fish,

Two, It is an interesting action, I am incline to call it parabolic, so be prepared to feel it in the butt, add a little patience, and when you let it go, it will go! It appears to accept a wild range of weights, but consider this a true 11wt rod, and if you look for other lines outside of true 11wt, go down to 10 weight lines (or smaller).
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You do not gain distance by overlining this rod.
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Three, The lack of consistency in following AFFTM weight in classifying lines is rampant in this of class 11+wt crods..

Four, If there was ever a case for trialing a rod and lines at a retail store, do so for 11 and12 wts. Experiment with the store retailer’s selection. You want diversity available, and be willing to spend some time comparing rod and the best line.
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My nearest real fly-fishing store store is at least 6 hour drive, and the closest store that likely would have a good selection of Tarpon rods is closer to a 9 hour drive (Boston). So this would be a planned event, and in my case, I would take my Abel SDS Reel with a couple of lines to test out.
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I do believe more analysis is needed, but to date, as far as my line testing is going ….

• Monic Icicle 11wt – Best, and like the clear it is a high memory so it coils, but this appears not to have harm the cast nor the presentation.
  • As a testament to fit, Judy likes this combination, but blind casting a 11wt does pull on the shoulder, if you are constantly fishing for hours.
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• Cortland Liquid Crystal Series – Tarpon Taper 11wt – (defined weight weight: 330 grains) – Best
• RIO Tarpon Short FI – 11wt (465 grains listed, but I believe it is closer to 360) – Second Best
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• RIO Coastal Quickshooter – WF 10I (425 grains, ouch) – Very good, but it is a heavy.
• RIO Intouch Pike/Musky – WF 10FI (400 grains) – Very good, a little heavy
  • Re-evaluating, but for freshwater, considering the 9wt RIO Intouch Pike-Musky Line.
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• Guideline Pike 10 FHI – Very good, but still heavy and the irony is this is a Guideline line on a Guideline rod.
  • Did try a 9wt, and though more comfortable, I get more line out with the 10.
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• Airflo Tropical Punch Series – 11wt (380grains) – Good, if you are on the boat.
  • It appears these are over-weight by “1wt”, so I suspect the 10wt would be better.

To be the best, Judy and I need to be able to consistently get 70+ feet of line out, with accuracy.

The Abel SDS Reel 12 is a great match, and I am also happy with the Danielsson.
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Lines for 11wt Rods – Profiles and Weights

Remember a true 11wt has a head weight of 330 grains +- 30.

Cortland
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True weight lines and a good shape to deliver flies (versus chickens and Seagulls).

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RIO Tarpon Short
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RIO appears to have a fine profile with this line, but does not appear to list their true AFFTM weight to validate the line. It would appear to be over-weighted, in support of manufacturers such as Sage – who traditionally makes their salt rods stiff. If I have to speculate, the 11wt is about 350 grains, which is probably why it works with the Guideline RSI.
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Net time, I am fooling around, I will need to bring out my scale and tape measure, so as to measure the heads.
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RIO has discontinued this line, but it is a nice line. I strongly suspect its replacement is the re-coloured / re-branded – RIO Elite Tarpon – where they do list the AFFTM weights, which is stated as 367 grains for a 11wt (which is close to my educated guest). A little heavy, but reasonable.

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RIO Coastal Shooter
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I like this line for throwing and fishing larger flies, but again it illustrates over weighting.
. WF8I is listed as 330 grains
. WF9l is listed as 375 grains
. WF10l is listed as 425 grains – ouch!
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Airflo Tropical Punch
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Definitely a boat line to get you started, but it is heavy.
. WF 8 is listed as 240 grains
. WF 9 is listed as 280 grains
. WF 10 is listed as 330 grains (a true 11wt)
. WF 11 is listed as 380 grains
. WF 12 is listed as 430 grains

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Guideline Pike Line FHI
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This line has been a disappointment, I am very fond of the Scandi 3D+ Tapers that look similar, but this 10wt is clunky, and probably means I have too much weight (especially in the head), It appears it is over-weighted by two lies, so maybe I would be happier with a “listed 9wt”, with a specified 339 grains.
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RIO Intouch Pike-Musky
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A great shape to cast from shore, in the water or from a boat. There was serious thought, and the comprise is no huge wet flies(aka chickens). It is heavy.
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. WF 8 is listed as 300 grains
. WF 9 is listed as 350 grains (a 11 weight)
. WF 10 is listed as 400 grains
. WF 11 is listed as 450 grains
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The RSI and Abel SDS Reel

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Guideline RSi 11wt with Abel SDS 12 and Cortland Tarpon Line

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🙂

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