Redington Field kits

These are really good value kits. We dont stock them in our shop but I have had opportunity to check them out. Reviews online are pretty positive too. I think it's a better package than the Orvis Clearwater Combo, which costs a bit more and doesn't come in a 7wt option.

The Run reel is a cast aluminum version of the Rise reel, which is machined bar stock aluminum but otherwise the same. It is suitable for saltwater if you are diligent with cleaning. We have had a couple come back to the shop with saltwater corrosion issues but they were not cleaned well after usage and may have been dunked. I have a couple of reels with the same basic bearing and drag design that I have been using the the bay since 2009 without issue. My cleaning regimen is summed up in a post pinned at the top of this forum. Retail for reel alone is $120.

The rod is a nice medium fast (more to the faster side) action that is a pretty good all around rod. It is not sold separately but would probably retail for around $225 if it was. I wish they sold it separately outside of the kit.

I don't think the Warmwater Quickshooter is in Rio's catalog any longer, but it is still a great line for bulky flies and they still have them for the kits. I wish we could get that line separately. It's fine for bay stuff too. It was a $100 line.

The Rod/Reel case would retail for $45-$50. The fly line backing about $7. Leader about $5.

I was suddenly deprived of all my gear, I would probably start over again with this kit.

So you save about $120 over purchasing equivalent components separately.

For the bay stuff, unless you are fishing really shallow water, like walking Mission Bay Shore, you will want some type of sinking line and an extra spool or reel.

Redington now sells replacement tip sections directly from their website. $45 I think. I would consider buying one. Most breaks happen in the tip section. Buying one in advance to have an extra is less costly than shipping a whole rod to Redington and paying the repair/warranty service fees. I have broken 4 rods in the last 25 years and none since 2008, but it does happen.

 

check ebay for better deals I recently got a Redington cross water combo for $65 free shipping 1/2 price

 

That’s a really good price. Almost a steal since the line alone retails for $40 if it is one of the versions from the last 10 years. Maybe an older version of the combo ( there have been various crosswater combos for 20 years, but nothing wrong with that. Current list price for Crosswater Combos is $190, which is about a $50 increase over the last 5 years.

They discontinued the 2 piece rods and kits a couple of years ago.

For warranty coverage you need proof of purchase from an authorized dealer but at $65 who cares.

The Field Kits have a much better reel and line and rod and the rod has better components and lifetime warranty instead of 1 year.

But both the Crosswater and Path combos are pretty satisfactory for a lot of fishing.

One of the 5wt rods I use in the bay is an 18 year old Crosswater rod with a polycarbonate reel seat instead of the prettier reel seats with wood insets.

 

I've been pretty happy with the 2 redington rods I have. Most stuff I read around the web, people agree, besides the 1000$ outfit crowd.

I've been using a 7wt setup for the salt, seems about right to me. Enough rod to not feel like a total noodle vs a good grade fish here.

And with Craig's breakdown, that kit sounds like a solid buy.

 

Agreed, I have two Redington Classic Trout (CT) rods and like them a lot. Redington makes solid gear at a good value.

 

I started a thread about flies for spotties a few weeks back. The advice given was primarily clousers and a fly called a CrazyDad. I’ve also had success with a Gotcha.

 

Clouser Minnows, also known as "Clouser Deep Minnow" (the original name) or just "Deep Minnows" or "Clousers". Size 6 is a good size for all bay species and casts well with a 7wt. Size 4 also works well too. Commercially produced colors that work well are chartreuse/white, pink/white, red/white, olive/white, and red/yellow. Brown/orange, olive/orange, and orange/white also work well but you need to find a custom tyer for these. Stroud Tackle sometimes has a few from a custom source. You need to ask since they usually are not in the bins. If I was limited to one Clouser Minnow variant it would be chartreuse/white.

Creek likes the Crazy Dad. So do the fish and a lot of anglers.

A real hot seller at Stroud Tackle is the Skimpy, which is a good ghost shrimp imitation. The fly in your image looks like a Skimpy.
SKIMPY (SW1553) - Solitude Fly Company

Another is the Ghost Rider
GHOST RIDER (SW0745) - Solitude Fly Company

There are a lot of flies similar looking to both of these with different names.

Another great pattern is the Razzler.

Most bonefish patterns work well at times. Many crab patterns work pretty good, especially if they have a some wiggly legs and or fur or other materials that move well in the water.

Since you want to be on the bottom and just over the tops of the grass most of the time, its better to go with flies that ride hook up. Fewer snags though you will still catch grass.

I really haven't found too many flies that I can't catch spotties with as long as they are not too big. Anything you can cast with a 7wt rod and matching line won't be too big.

Besides Stroud Tackle (which I'm affiliated with), The Fly Stop up near Miramar also has a good selection of suitable flies.

 

That thread is here

Favorite Spottie Flies? (1st Post)

 

I agree, spotties aren't very picky about fly pattern. The trick is finding them (I'm still learning that part). If the sun is bright, they seem to like structure with shade or they go deep and sit in the eel grass.

 

Looks like the fly fishing world's equivalent of the Alabama Rig!

It probably is effective, looks like a school of baitfish, definitely attention-getting.

 

It will work, but not my first choice. It'll be a pain to cast mostly due to wind resistance, and a little bit due to weight. Casting a gamechanger (the hooked fly, with articulated spine) can be difficult enough. That said, you can probably get the FlyStop to custom make these for you.

 

I throw heavy Intruders up to 37 grains , with a 14 foot 9/10 Spey rod for Spring Chinook and Winter Steelhead , Skagit head of 675 grains plus a 120 grain tip and I think turning over the Alabama type rig would seem impossible to me . I would like to see it operate though . The bend back type of Lefty Kreh's Deceiver has worked on Spotties for me . Tight lines WR

 

Funny, I know of Dagur Gudmundsson, a guide out of Central CA, who ties and uses A-rigs, and it turns out that the picture is actually his own tie. He's got some vids of him casting and catching LMB on an 8wt. I've also seen Dan from the FlyStop tie and cast them in the bay, so it's doable, but these are seasoned fly anglers. I also haven't seen them use them that often, so take that for what it's worth.

 

I was looking at the Fly A-rig and thinking, that can't cast well..

 

There is an article by Dagur in the June 2022 edition of California Fly Fisher with instructions for tying his A-rig.

Stroud Tackle still has some copies. The Fly Stop probably does too.

The version in the magazine uses smaller flies that in the image posted above, which uses larger gamechanger style flies.

The magazine example only utilizes one hook and that is on central trailing fly. The other five flies that make up the rig are hookless. If I were tying these up to sell I would probably charge somewhere between $40 and $60 due to the time involved.

The version shown in the magazine article, according to the author, can be cast with a regular weight forward bass taper lines as light as 6wt.

The version in the photo above would require something much heavier.

Commercially produced game changers run from around $10 to $20 each fly. Custom tyers often get $15 to $35 each. They are time intensive. I could see a custom A-rig with these going for over $100.