# Anyone ever put fwx on a 9wt?



## tightloops1900 (Aug 16, 2011)

I was looking into putting a nautilus fwx on my t&t horizon ll and just seen they don't make them in a 9 wt? Anyone ever put a 7/8 on a 9wt rod?


----------



## nightfly (Jul 7, 2011)

Are you putting 9wt line on the fwx? Putting 9wt line on it won't be a problem.


----------



## tightloops1900 (Aug 16, 2011)

Will I have to put less backing on it?


----------



## jsnipes (May 1, 2011)

> Will I have to put less backing on it?


the reel is on the smaller side for an 8wt so it would def be a small reel on a 9wt. of course you could put it on there, prob would need to take off another 30 yards of backing or so to fit the 9wt line but it could work. if you are buying a new reel then i would get something bigger/different but if you are just wanting to make sure you can use your 9 weight then the 7/8 is better than not having a reel at all haha. but if you are chasing fish that require more rod than an 8 wt you could prob benefit from the added line capacity/pickup of a slightly bigger reel.


----------



## tightloops1900 (Aug 16, 2011)

What reels are out there in the same price range? I want to make sure I'm buying something quality.


----------



## johnmauser (Sep 9, 2009)

I have a an fwx on my 7 and my 8wt. I've stuck in on my 9wt a few times and I think it looks great. The only downside, is that I usually use 9wt and higher rods on fish that need a strong drag. The drag on the fwx is great for redfish and similar species, but I'd hesitate to use it on tarpon, bonita, etc. If you are just fishing for redfish or something similar, then I think a 7/8 FWX with 100yds of backing would be just fine on a 9wt.

There are some really strong Lamsons in the FWX price range, they are not as pretty, but have a strong sealed drag. Have you checked ebay for used nautilus ccf's?

On another note, I have heard rumors that a 9/10wt fwx was coming out, but I don't know if those rumors will materialize and when.


----------



## tightloops1900 (Aug 16, 2011)

Any other reel brands out there that would go great on my t&t 9wt


----------



## DEEK (Mar 8, 2012)

Should work out ok.


----------



## reallyshallow (May 19, 2010)

I have a CC GLX 9wt with a FWX and it works fine for what I do. There was no reason to take back off, The fly line will fit just slightly snug.


----------



## narwhal (Jul 4, 2012)

> Any other reel brands out there that would go great on my t&t 9wt


Lots of great reels out there for that rod. As mentioned, Lamson reels are great. The Velocity is priced similarly to the FWX and will hold more backing.


----------



## fishnride883 (Mar 20, 2012)

Lamson Guru, okuma helios, The new large arbor TFO (forget the official name), are all good reels. Fly reel sizes are difficult to read when you have the "odball" rod wt. everybody seems to use the even number rods 4-6-8-10-12 wts, and this is why the reel companies cater to those sizes, its popularity. I decided to use odball sizes and found the best way to overcome this issue is to go one size larger for your rod. I have 4-7-9-11-12 wt rods, but for my oddball rods, I use 8wt reel on my 7, 10wt reel on my 9 and 12wt reel on my 11. hope this helps.


----------



## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

There's one other way to load a larger line onto a smaller reel when backing is an issue. Try this with an older line first.... Just cut off 20 to 30 feet on the back end of the line so you don't have to remove backing. Most anglers very rarely actually use the last 20 or so feet of their fly line - it's the front end of the line that gets all the use. When you're not using that shortened line store it in a box that's properly marked so that you can tell it from normal lines. I did that for many years with an old Fin Nor #2 reel so that I could use it with a 10wt line and it worked quite well.


----------



## acrittenden (Jan 18, 2012)

> There's one other way to load a larger line onto a smaller reel when backing is an issue.  Try this with an older line first.... Just cut off 20 to 30 feet on the back end of the line so you don't have to remove backing.  Most anglers very rarely actually use the last 20 or so feet of their fly line - it's the front end of the line that gets all the use.  When you're not using that shortened line store it in a box that's properly marked so that you can tell it from normal lines.  I did that for many years with an old Fin Nor #2 reel so that I could use it with a 10wt line and it worked quite well.



I second that! I don't know many guys who shoot 100' of line at fish and hook up. Measure your own ability and figure out what your comfortable shooting range is and then determine your max "hero shot" distance. Anything more than the "hero shot" is a waste of space.


----------



## tightloops1900 (Aug 16, 2011)

Stopping power is a factor, I don't want to lose a fish because I couldn't put the breaks in her as she heads for the bushes!


----------



## johnmauser (Sep 9, 2009)

What'cha fishing for? If we know that, we could probably let you know if the FWX will pull it off or if you need something with bigger brakes.


----------



## DEEK (Mar 8, 2012)

does anyone palm their reel to add stopping power when necessary or you rely only on the drag?


----------



## jsnipes (May 1, 2011)

> does anyone palm their reel to add stopping power when necessary or you rely only on the drag?


most people should, and probably, do this to some extent. personally, the biggest thing i would be looking for, and where i would find the fwx deficient for a 9wt, would be line pickup. if you are catching fish that are making significant runs you really want to be able to retrieve that line at a good clip. 

if it were me i would look on ebay for a used bauer m5 or even an abel super 9 or 10 (there have been some steep discounts on those lately).


----------



## tightloops1900 (Aug 16, 2011)

Has anyone had any experience with galvan reels?


----------



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

It will work fine.

1. As others said, cut back on the lenght of your fly line.

2. Switch to gsp backing if you are using dacron/micron. That will give you at least 50% more capacity.


----------



## johnmauser (Sep 9, 2009)

> What'cha fishing for?  If we know that, we could probably let you know if the FWX will pull it off or if you need something with bigger brakes.


Like I said before, if you can tell us what you want to do use the reel for we could tell you what you need.


----------



## tightloops1900 (Aug 16, 2011)

I bought the 9wt mostly for situations my 7wt won't do the trick. I will be mostly using it to fish mangroves, docks, and maybe juvenile tarpon. I fish the west side of Tampa bay mostly.


----------



## Snookdaddy (Jan 5, 2008)

If you want bigger brakes, then look for a reel with a better drag than the FWX.. 

Find a used Tibor Everglades ( You will probably have to add about $100 to the price of a new FWX) and don't look back. You will not have to worry about drag ever again. I have one on my Scott 9wt. and the Tibor performs flawlessly.. Caught redfish up to 36lbs with the Tibor on my 8wt. with nary a problem..

Since I have a Galvan T-8 on my 8wt. Scott now, I seldom use my 9wt. outfit, so if your serious... I have a Tibor Everglades you may want to see..

There are a lot of great reels that have awesome drags for big fish. The FWX is a great reel, but the drag is nowhere near the same as upper end goods.

I have a FWX on my 7wt. and love it, but I'd be a little hesitant on the 9.


----------



## tightloops1900 (Aug 16, 2011)

Pm sent


----------

