Nice gear, thanks for posting. I've been looking for UL casting and spinning rods like the Tenryu offerings for a while now. The Daiwa telescopic rods would be terrific if they were more "UL." The finest UL rod I ever owned was a Daiwa from the 90's that was solid carbon and would cast 1/64 oz spinner-flies all over the pond.

It's true, I'd have a hard time shelling out $400+ for an ultralight reel (Daiwa Presso 2025C), but on the other hand, my ultralight fly reel is a $20 Cortland Rimfly that cost me $20 and serves my purposes to the extent that I don't look elsewhere.

fkrow:
Yes, you raise an issue that has fascinated me for years. I have a few spinning outfits that are more than adequate for the task, and as you point out, the reels are vastly more complicated than any of my fly reels. Not demeaning the craftsmanship that goes into fine fly reels, but the workhorse fly reels are pretty simple devices. I'm pretty certain why the fly reels are priced the way they are: its called 'what the market will bear'. Kinda like when you're outfitting a boat. Buy your stuff at the automotive supplier, and you'll do fine; go to a marine supply store, and you're gonna pay a premium for the little picture of a boat on the box.

Fly rods vs. spinning rods? I'd be interested to hear some input on that from someone who has some informed insights.
brent

Lines I like are the braided super lines.

Berkley FireLine Crystal 4lb and Power Pro High Vis 5lb, both are 1lb mono equivalent dia.

Tried 2lb mono and it tangles too much for my casting.

Regards,
FK

FK, I think your post will cost me a lot of money but I believe it will be well spent.

So this is one of Chris Stewart's ventures?

I'm really intrigued by baitcasting setups for the 1/32 to 1/4 ounce range. Wonder what that's like. A birds nest in 2# line sounds like a disaster.

JB, that's one nice looking setup. Not normally a slave to fashion but I like the way you've got the reel spooled up with orange braid to match the rod's accent colors. Did a price check on the rod...ouch! The price of perfection.

Ordered a spool of the Sunline Meister Area 3# from Finesse-Fishing.com.

Over the past week I've been doing some fishing with Leland Lures 2# Trout S.O.S. in lemon green but it was very hard to see the line. Maybe it's a fly fishing thing, but I want to see evidence of the take in the line so I don't have to wait on, or count on, feel.

Well, I'm committed now, so we'll see how it goes. Not cheap for line but still very little expense in the big picture.