The heaviest Sea Level Extreme fly rods feature a unique swiveling gimbal butt
This is the final chapter of “Getting Started – Gearing Up”. Adding a third outfit into the mix means you’ve probably figured out that there are times and places where you really need to apply heavy-duty pressure to a fish in order to bring things to a successful conclusion. The targets? Sharks and larger-model yellowtail and tuna.
This rod is basically the “stump puller” in your quiver. It will have a very heavy butt section (for a fly rod), and be a bit shorter in length. You will need to combine it with a significantly larger reel than the ones you used for the other two outfits, with a beefier drag system, since you will mostly be using 20lb test or heavier tippets.
Heavy fly rods often have longer fighting butts, and in some cases, they may sport a notched gimbal butt for use in a fighting belt. Don’t assume that a gimbal butt is an automatic advantage for an offshore fly rod. We’ll have more to say on that in our review of the Sea Level Fly Fishing Extreme rods a bit later.
Previous related posts include: “Gearing Up – Two Outfits…“, “Gearing Up – One Outfit…” and “Gearing Up-FAQs“. Check them out if you need more background information.
Three Outfits:
Outfit #1
Rod: 9′, 7, 8 or 9wt, graphite
Reel: Single action, direct drive or anti-reverse; roughly 3.5 inch diameter spool, large arbor; cork or synthetic disk drag
Fly Line: Integrated shooting head, Type 6 sinking
Backing: As much braided Dacron or Spectra backing as will fit (minimum 150 yards)
Outfit #2
Rod: 9′, 10 or 11wt, graphite
Reel: Single action, direct drive or anti-reverse; roughly 4 inch diameter spool, large arbor; cork or synthetic disk drag
Fly Line: Integrated shooting head, Type 6 sinking
Backing: As much braided Dacron or Spectra backing as will fit (minimum 250 yards)
Outfit #3
Rod: 8′ or 8′ 6″, 13 – 15wt, graphite
Reel: Single action, direct drive or anti-reverse; roughly 4.5+ inch diameter spool, large arbor; cork or synthetic disk drag
Fly Line: Integrated shooting head, Type 6 sinking
Backing: As much braided Dacron or Spectra backing as will fit (minimum 350 yards)
Comments:
The addition of a heavyweight rod rounds out the basic quiver. You’ll still be a bit under-gunned for the biggest stuff, but this last outfit will be about the best you can do in terms of controlling a large fish near cover, or a large offshore fish which sounds.
Don’t expect to be able to consistently cast Outfit #3 without a lot of practice and some strength exercises!
Outfit #3 will be used for big, tough fish, so you might want to invest in a higher-end reel. On the low-end of the price range, you will be looking at adding around $150-200 to the overall cost. For example, the Sea Level Fly Fishing Extreme V reel runs around $350 vs. $175 for the Ross CLA™. However, you can spend considerably more, depending on features, finish, etc.