# Reddington predator 9' ,



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

I have the 8wt and for the price it's a nice stick. I found it on eBay for $175 shipped brand new, not bad considering the $299 retail.


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> I have the 8wt and for the price it's a nice stick. I found it on eBay for $175 shipped brand new, not bad considering the $299 retail.


wow, nice find. What do you have her strung up with?


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

8wt


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> 8wt
> 
> View attachment 15686


thanks man, that helps. You throwing weighted redfish type stuff?


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Yes, small shrimp, crab and streamers. There are newer WF short tapers, the one I have is from a couple of years ago but it's a textured line so it shoots very well. Bruce Chard had a hand in on designing/testing it.


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## GG34 (May 2, 2014)

I just cast the predator and the recon at my local shop with my wulff BTT line. Hands down the recon. It's lighter and a little faster. Just my .02. I'm no expert though.


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

GG34 said:


> I just cast the predator and the recon at my local shop with my wulff BTT line. Hands down the recon. It's lighter and a little faster. Just my .02. I'm no expert though.





GG34 said:


> I just cast the predator and the recon at my local shop with my wulff BTT line. Hands down the recon. It's lighter and a little faster. Just my .02. I'm no expert though.


Thanks for feedback, appreciate it as there is no where local for me to test cast. Have read wonderful things about the Recon. Think its about double the price of the Predator though.

Joe


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## GG34 (May 2, 2014)

Retail is 450. I got mine for 325.


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

GG34 said:


> Retail is 450. I got mine for 325.


wow! now were talking. That put's it in the same ball park for me. Did you use an auction site?


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## GG34 (May 2, 2014)

No local fly shop. My local shop is an outfitter that doesn't sell much fly stuff. They give me great deals. I looked on ebay and you can get some decent prices.


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

GG34 said:


> No local fly shop. My local shop is an outfitter that doesn't sell much fly stuff. They give me great deals. I looked on ebay and you can get some decent prices.


Thanks Buddy, appreciate your help. I'm on the hunt.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Yeah no doubt the Recon is very nice. Orvis also has a rod called the Clearwater that retails for like $225. The Redington Vice is not bad either but the Clearwater is a bit lighter on the swing. If you can also try out the New TFO Axiom II (and not the old Axiom), it's pretty nice as well.

Between all 4 rods I just mentioned, if giving the choice, I'd test the Recon against and the Axiom II and see which one suites you best in a 6wt. I would fish with either one, any day of the week.

Ted


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

Backwater said:


> Yeah no doubt the Recon is very nice. Orvis also has a rod called the Clearwater that retails for like $225. The Redington Vice is not bad either but the Clearwater is a bit lighter on the swing. If you can also try out the New TFO Axiom II (and not the old Axiom), it's pretty nice as well.
> 
> Between all 4 rods I just mentioned, if giving the choice, I'd test the Recon against and the Axiom II and see which one suites you best in a 6wt. I would fish with either one, any day of the week.
> 
> Ted


Nice. Good information here. I have enjoyed reading your very thorough reviews on different rods here as I have been doing my research.
Thanks, and hope all is well down in FLA.


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

Backwater said:


> Yeah no doubt the Recon is very nice. Orvis also has a rod called the Clearwater that retails for like $225. The Redington Vice is not bad either but the Clearwater is a bit lighter on the swing. If you can also try out the New TFO Axiom II (and not the old Axiom), it's pretty nice as well.
> 
> Between all 4 rods I just mentioned, if giving the choice, I'd test the Recon against and the Axiom II and see which one suites you best in a 6wt. I would fish with either one, any day of the week.
> 
> Ted


Ted,
narrowing down the search ( I think). I am now looking at 7wts (Will be more versatile for what I do). You mentioned liking both the Recon and the Axiom ll. Very difficult to test cast anything where i'm located. Sounds like you've handled both. I'm trying to track down the Axiom ll and I've heard nothing but good things about the Recon. Yes, my price point seems to be creeping up, LOL. Recon 120 bucks more than AXIOM ll, both have great warrantee programs. Do you have any contrasts or similarities between the two? Any strengths or weaknesses? Thanks again.

Joe


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Doublehaul said:


> Ted,
> narrowing down the search ( I think). I am now looking at 7wts (Will be more versatile for what I do). You mentioned liking both the Recon and the Axiom ll. Very difficult to test cast anything where i'm located. Sounds like you've handled both. I'm trying to track down the Axiom ll and I've heard nothing but good things about the Recon. Yes, my price point seems to be creeping up, LOL. Recon 120 bucks more than AXIOM ll, both have great warrantee programs. Do you have any contrasts or similarities between the two? Any strengths or weaknesses? Thanks again.
> 
> Joe


Joe, what are the rods you currently have? Are you wanting to keep the same "feel" of this new rod as the others you have?

I admit I didn't compare the 2 side by side, but remembering back, I think both will be close to the same. The Recon may be a tad faster and the Axiom II might have a tad more feel. Both rods will have a sweet casting spot between 40-60 feet realistically for fishing on your average cast with very little effort.


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

Backwater said:


> Joe, what are the rods you currently have? Are you wanting to keep the same "feel" of this new rod as the others you have?
> 
> I admit I didn't compare the 2 side by side, but remembering back, I think both will be close to the same. The Recon may be a tad faster and the Axiom II might have a tad more feel. Both rods will have a sweet casting spot between 40-60 feet realistically for fishing on your average cast with very little effort.


Ted,
Thanks for reply. No, i am actually looking for a different feel from the rod I have, that's what stared this whole thing. Unhappy with my #8 Sage Xi3. I have to work pretty hard to hit 60' with a weighted fly. Tried different lines and seem to do better with a simple flats taper SW line than I do with A Rio bonefish quickshooter. Interesting thing is I am very comfortable throwing longer casts with less effort using an old Cabela's FT 9 weight. The sage just seems to Collapse when I have a decent amount of line out. Anyway, the plan is to keep the 9, sell the 8, and buy a 7wt. I love how the Sage is constructed, excellent components, made in USA, but it's not working for with my style. That 'sweet spot' is exactly what I'm looking for, 1 or 2 false casts and go to 50 or 60 without a lot of work.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Tell me about the fly you are trying to throw on the 8wt Xi3? Do you tie? What size hook and size lead dumbell eyes?

Do you have the same issue with an unweighted fly?

The reason I mentioned it is I see all too many times that people are trying to throw flies heavier than what the fly line is cappible of throwing at a reasonable distance. Sure, can you lob a heavy fly designed for a 10wt, 20-30 ft on an 8wt? Yes. It's would be a pretty cast, but it's possible. But take the same fly on that 8wt and try to cast it 60-70ft and not you have big problems. That same fly might work good on your 9wt, but not so much on the 8. So check the size and weight of the fly you are throwing before you fish it. That may ultimately change the way you feel about your Xi3.


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

Backwater said:


> Tell me about the fly you are trying to throw on the 8wt Xi3? Do you tie? What size hook and size lead dumbell eyes?
> 
> Do you have the same issue with an unweighted fly?
> 
> The reason I mentioned it is I see all too many times that people are trying to throw flies heavier than what the fly line is cappible of throwing at a reasonable distance. Sure, can you lob a heavy fly designed for a 10wt, 20-30 ft on an 8wt? Yes. It's would be a pretty cast, but it's possible. But take the same fly on that 8wt and try to cast it 60-70ft and not you have big problems. That same fly might work good on your 9wt, but not so much on the 8. So check the size and weight of the fly you are throwing before you fish it. That may ultimately change the way you feel about your Xi3.


Yes, understood. I really like to keep things balanced-very important to me. Throwing lightly weighted Clouser's (small or med lead eyes) on #1 or 1/0 hook, deceivers, and in the salt Borski sliders and some weighted shrimp patterns. Yes, same problem even with unweighted fly. Went last night and worked on trying to shoot more line instead of carrying a bunch of line with false casts. Im just going to find a city with an Orvis shop and a TFO shop and test cast both.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

I'm just going to go ahead and tell you that you are throwing flies that are geared for 9wt lines instead of an 8wt fly line, unless you are only lobbing 20 to 30ft from you. Remember, the rod is only casting the fly line, and the fly is along for the ride. If the fly is too big or too heavy for the fly line, it's going to cause problems. So people will subconsciously compensate by trying to punch or over power the stroke, when then will cause the rod to collapse on itself and therefore, cause your loops to collapse on itself. The Xi3 doesn't fair well when trying to punch it too hard.

Instead, I would throw flies with bead chain eyes or lead dumbbell in size extra small. If you have to go to size small, don't expect your cast to be pretty past 50 or 60ft, if your casting stroke is good. I'm snook fishing this morning with an 8wt with size sm eyes and what I do to compensate for the weight on an 8wt is to open up my loops some (make them wider, not tight loops). That gives room for the fly to dip some during the cast in the air while not catching your running line. All that without over powering the stroke, just dipping your rod tip a bit at the end of your "Stop" at the end of each stroke, while your shooting stroke is finished with the same normal slow speeds as all your over strokes during your false casting.

Medium lead dumbell eyes on an 8wt? Forget it! Even a caster like myself will struggle with it. So that's when I bring along a 9wt for that, or go to a sink tip or intermediate line if I'm trying to get my fly down deeper.

Why am I telling you this? It may not be the rod. It's the fly and the way you over compensate for it with your casting stroke. If the Xi3 softer than an Orvis Recon? Yes! But if you use the right fly line and fly and change up your casting stroke, you can cast the right fly (and the same fly applies with any 8wt rod) just as far as any rod with the the same amount of effort (hopefully as little as possible).

Bottom line is, learn and know what flies work best with what fly line you are casting it with and you have less problems. Also, learn how to open up your loops when needed and tightening them when needed as well.

You can PM me for details of if you want me to look at a video of your casting stroke to see what I think you can do to tweak your own stroke to make it more efficient.

Welp, I'm outta here. I have fish calling my name! 

Ted Haas


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## Doublehaul (Oct 3, 2015)

Backwater said:


> I'm just going to go ahead and tell you that you are throwing flies that are geared for 9wt lines instead of an 8wt fly line, unless you are only lobbing 20 to 30ft from you. Remember, the rod is only casting the fly line, and the fly is along for the ride. If the fly is too big or too heavy for the fly line, it's going to cause problems. So people will subconsciously compensate by trying to punch or over power the stroke, when then will cause the rod to collapse on itself and therefore, cause your loops to collapse on itself. The Xi3 doesn't fair well when trying to punch it too hard.
> 
> Instead, I would throw flies with bead chain eyes or lead dumbbell in size extra small. If you have to go to size small, don't expect your cast to be pretty past 50 or 60ft, if your casting stroke is good. I'm snook fishing this morning with an 8wt with size sm eyes and what I do to compensate for the weight on an 8wt is to open up my loops some (make them wider, not tight loops). That gives room for the fly to dip some during the cast in the air while not catching your running line. All that without over powering the stroke, just dipping your rod tip a bit at the end of your "Stop" at the end of each stroke, while your shooting stroke is finished with the same normal slow speeds as all your over strokes during your false casting.
> 
> ...


Ted,
Thanks man, excellent points! You may be on to something with the weighted flies. I'm glad to hear you say that the Xi3 doesnt' respond well to being punched--that is exactly what i'm finding. I suspected that i was over powering but didn't understand why.
I'll tye something with bead chain eyes and see how we do. I have definitely found that the quickshooter is just that- pick up and put it back out with 1 backcast. So, may go back to traditional WF and lighter fly and see how we do. I also like the idea of just going to an intermediate tip line with lighter fly--That may be the ticket.
The take home point here should be to build your system around the flies that you throw most often! Hope you have a good morning, tight lines!

Joe


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## lsunoe (Dec 5, 2016)

Get your hands on a TCX


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