Powell SSL Fly Fishing Rod - 4 Piece, 9' 5wt

I bought this as a backup rod but may use it more than that. Very nice action

I got this rod since I was heading out west for flyfishing and didn't feel I could get away with taking my two piece 9' fishing rod. Transport was a breeze with no one on the airlines batting an eyelash when I walked onto the plane. No worries at all from TSA either. Actual fishing was great with very good action from the rod. I got the 5wt and used it in the Colorado river. Caught 6 nice brown trout in one afternoon with the rod performing well all around. With a 25% off coupon, the rod was less than $90 delivered. A GREAT deal for a very good rod. My only complaint has to be that the cork in the handle was a bit crumbly in one spot. That said, some extra cork and glue fixed it up perfectly.

The cork grip is made of average to poor quaility cork. Maybe A or AA grade cork. This is the second of these I purchased. The first was finished better. This rod did not have a good coat of finish on the tip section. So far the first rod has fished well. My wife likes it.

there are other rods that would work all the same

I'm no expert, but these are a good deal for what you get. Defiantly a step up from the beginner packages.

Used the rod 3 times with no problems. I changed the hook keeper to a folding type to protect hackles on dry flies and added alignment dots. The rod cast well with Orvis Longbelly Trout floating line. If the rod holds up, it will be worth the money spent.

I really like this rod...very sensative and it loads up nicely. I have only used it once, so far, for bass and sunfish in the Guadalupe River. I have another rod that has a single locking ring on the reel seat, and it tends to come loose. This Powell is the same way, but I have not experience a problem yet. I would recommend all fly rod manufacturers to put double rings to lock it in place.

Im very happy with my buy. Id definetly recomend it to a friend.

It was my go-to rod for a while, even it was a bit clunky. It did have enough heft to roll cast a moderately heavy nymph rig a good distance,long enough to get into the middle of some moderate Western rivers like the Arkansas, Roaring Fork and Gunnison. I lost faith one day when it snapped mid-cast near the bottom of the second thickest section. I suppose you get what you pay for...

I know nothing about this fishing stuff. My friends who claim they do, says the rod has a good hand and should work just fine. I took it out and caught fish, so all the stuff I ordered from Sierra seems to work. I'm sure as the summer goes on, I'll be using it a lot up at Sylvan Lake before I goto work as a rock climbing instructor.