I dont know if there is anyone on here that fly fishes, but im looking at getting a 10wt fly rod for pike, carp, and other big fish. Im looking at spending around 200 dollars for the rod and 200 dollars for the reel. Suggestions and reasons why would be great.

This ain't 200, but I use an Orvis Mach reel on a temple fork.. Look at white river's bass outfits, they're pretty reasonable.

I have not fished for bass or pike with my fly rod, but have caught many pinks, silver, and chum salmon in AK. I have used a 9' 8 weight and a 9'6" 7 weight, both were 4 piece (recommended). Those rods handled everything well. A 10 wt. may be a bit heavy especially for a first outfit. I would suggest a 9' 8 wt. Also, I would rather spend $350 on my rod and $50 on my reel. Some may disagree but for freshwater, the value of the fly reel is vastly overated. DO NOT BUY CHEAP LINE. Cheap line will make your life miserable. These tips are just my $.02, I would suggest going to a fly shop to get your outfit. Please remember my suggestion about the line, and also make it weight-forward/floating, this will handle most situations. Good Luck.

Mike

Thanks! i have a 9ft 5wt and a 9ft 8wt but there not the best. I tie my own flies too. but whats the biggest fish you would use your 8 for?

I would not be concerned with the 8wt handling any bass or pike or carp for that matter. I would only worry that it cast the fly well. I think the 8wt, I had a Sage, would handle any bass or pike I was going to meet. It had no problem with 24-30 inch silvers and chums on the Kenai River in pretty heavy current. Now if we are talking really big 40 in pike, I might step it up, but only if there was heavy cover.

Mike

A ten weight is really heavy to cast all day. I read an article in "Fly Fishing Saltwaters" a few months ago arguing for the 9'9wt as the best all-around saltwater fly rod. I think that fly size, etc. should be pretty comparable. As far as a specific model, I am partial to Orvis equipment because of its performance and their awesome, awesome customer service. My favorite carp setup is a 9'6wt SW Orvis Hydros Rod (discontinued, replaced with "Access") and a 7/8wt Hydros Reel. I fish Orvis trout line, and the setup is just perfect. I think with a change to bass line it would be great for bass, but I don't fish for pike or muskie, so I can't comment on that. Keep in mind, if you are serious about carp, they take a very delicate presentation, one that I am not sure would be at all easy with a 10wt line.

Okay good to know. And whats a good line for the money? i need some for my 8wt. And how heavy of a leader for pike??

A ten weight is overkill in my personal experiences. I use a 9' 8WT. Sage Vantage to tackle tiger musky,pike,steel head,salmon and other bigger fish. If it's your first fly fishing setup I also would recommend a rod with a moderate fast action. It seems to be easier to learn on a rod that has a more forgiving action compared to a faster action rod. Redington makes good darn good rods for that price range and also the Sage Vantage is a sweet stick, other than it's a little more than $200.00. (around 230.00 I believe.). As far as reels go Lamson makes a couple reels in your price range in the Konic and the Guru. I've used both and they are great reels with great drags. Like mentioned fishing for carp takes a lot more finesse than say for pike or musky, and also different types of line. I do my carp fishing with a typical trout tapered line and my pike and musky fishing I use more of a bass taper line which helps turn over your bigger type deer hair flies. Once again DON"T SKIMP ON THE LINE!!! Every line maker has what you will need, it just comes down to personal opinion. I for one prefer RIO lines and other might like Scientific Angler or Cortland. I've tried them all and it seems RIO holds up better for me.

As far as a leader I have no advice I would probaly just use a 1X flouro. Jacob34 may have better advice for you.

Mike

For Tiger musky and pike, or for that matter anything toothy I use a titanium shock leader. I had a friend who use to live in Florida that used this stuff while saltwater fishing. It's called Malin BOA no kink shock leader and I use the 30# test. It's dia. is about the same as an 0X leader I believe. The bad thing is it's pretty expensive at $29.99 for Thirty feet. I've heard good things about the Cortland and the RIO toothy critter steel leaders, but haven't tried them. I use to use just the heavier mono or flouro leaders, but after loosing quite a few fish a couple years back I started using the BOA and haven't had any problems with it. Now with carp I use mostly a 3x leader, but it really depends on how big the fish are and how much cover you're fishing in.

thanks