[jackson93]

Hey guys I am fairly new to the site, finally got my hands upon a Sage Brown 8150 since my friend has moved on to burkheimer.. Just wondering what reel and line combinations people like for this rod. Obviously a long belly rod but having some trouble finding grain windows for the rod and what weight reel would balance it out. I got some good info searching on the site but was wondering if anyone has updated any of their thoughts!

I have been interested in the Rio Grande Spey but once again a little lost with the grains.

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[fish0n4evr]

Nice rod - nicer than it's Burkheimer 8152 counter-part in that it will take lighter lines. I've cast several 7/8//9 long-lines including a 7/8 GS at 700 grains. I like lines ~600 grains best - Airflo DL, GPS, I. G. 65' or PowerSPey, all 7/8. Others are WA706/7, 507/8 and Midspey 7/8.

I mount either a Salmon Bougle or Perfect 3 3/4. Both are ~15 oz full and I have a down-locking seat on the rod...

 

[wrx_canoe]

I've only test cast the rod once so I'm not really a good person to comment on the grain window.

For reels I know a 12oz reel balances it nicely. I like the lightest reel I can get away with while still balancing the rod on the swing when my upper hand is a an inch or two from the top of the cork.

While it's a 15' rod it's soft so in addition to longer lines it would be a good choice for a skagit rod as well.

The only line I tried on it was a 65' Carron Jetstream 8/9 Nextgen. It was a tad too heavy for my liking. I use CND GPS lines mostly and I think the 7/8 would match best with it.

My 2 cents.

 

[Matthew LeBret]

I fish this rod and love it. With this rod I fish an ballistic vector XL 7/8 and love every minute of it. Also for the reel I use speyco's river spey and it balances nicely on the fore grip. Great job on getting your hands on one of the best classics out there!!

 

[montanafos]

8150

Nextcast FF70 7/8 or can go with a FF55 in 7/8 if you want to start shorter...but that rod will cast all of the 70 and then some effortlessly. For a reel...Speyco 4 1/4" River Spey at about 16oz is what I have on both of mine...oops my remaining one since you now have the other! In fact, since I still have the partner to the rod you now have...gorgeous ain't she...I weighed the reel I use on that rod and loaded with backing and a FF70 7/8 it comes in at 21 oz. So backing out a couple oz for line and a couple oz for 200 yards of 30# backing would give you a reel weighing about 17 oz. I'd shoot for 16 oz and you'll be perfect and a 4 1/4" reel looks great on the rod. I like my balance point about an inch back from the front edge of the fore grip on my index finger and just a tad tip high with the head out of the tip top. You're gonna love that rod...have fun!

Oh...and to fish0n4evr's point...that's part of the reason I held on to one of the 8150's. The 8152 Burkie casts an 8/9. With regard to the reel he is able to get a nice balance with, note that his rod has a down locking reel seat as he reconfigured his, so you'll need a bit heavier reel since Sage built them all with uplocking seats from the factory. Uplocking will require a bit more weight to balance...maybe a couple ounces. Based on my experience with the rod you have and the one I still have...16 oz empty works very well for me.

 

[JohnnyBC]

My 8150 with an uplocking seat balances great with my pre-war 4" perfect - a pretty heavy reel close to 16 oz. The other reel I use on it is a 4" Bougle Mk IV with about 60' of lead core trolling line wound on to it. Anything lighter, and I'd probably get the reel seat turned around to downlocking.

It casts a wide range of head weights in longer lines so lots of room for personal preference, but so far I like the FF70 7/8 the best overall. I prefer the WA55 8/9 over the 7/8, especially because I do lots of sustained-anchor casts when using tips, but both work. Regards Johnny.

 

[jackson93]

Thanks for the quick replies!

Looks like I am gonna have to get a nice heavy reel

As for the lines looks like there are a lot of options which is nice, thanks everyone for the input!

Really appreciate it and looks like I get to go out and buy some more toys :devil:

Thanks again!

Jackson

 

[SteelheadJunky]

The 8150 Cult guys I know are still holding on to their Sage Brownies.
I owned five at one time, sold one six years ago and another to Mathew LB.
For years, I used an Orvis CFO IV on it with the old Cortland 444SL WF9/10mint green line. I still have two new lines buried somewhere in the Fish Room.
When I fish it now I put my old Traditional classic Loop 811 on it, still very sweet and I will never sell another of these rods.

The Gaelforce 9/10 63' is not bad but the XL Vector 7/8 is great on it too.
dclann

 

[speydoc]

Bauer M7 with a longbelly of around 800g at 80-85 foot - unlikely to ever sell this combo - just too sweet!!!!

 

[Nooksack Mac]

An Orvis CFO IV?!! At 3.5 ounces, that's my favorite reel for 4- and 5-weight single hand trout lines! But I've sort of thought that spey reel weights are non-critical parameters.

 

[Matthew LeBret]

The 8150 Cult guys I know are still holding on to their Sage Brownies.
I owned five at one time, sold one six years ago and another to Mathew LB.
For years, I used an Orvis CFO IV on it with the old Cortland 444SL WF9/10mint green line. I still have two new lines buried somewhere in the Fish Room.
When I fish it now I put my old Traditional classic Loop 811 on it, still very sweet and I will never sell another of these rods.

The Gaelforce 9/10 63' is not bad but the XL Vector 7/8 is great on it too.
dclann

Ahhhh Craig
I sure am glad you parted with one of your 8150's . I could not agree more than the Ballistic Vector XL in the 7/8 on this rod. On my 8150 I have a speyco river spey and it balances perfectly. The Cortland 444sl is another great line but it is getting hard to find them. For my colder water fishing I toss a delta 7/8 multi tip for bigger bugs n sink tips.

 

[ReidFamilyFive]

I loved that rod with a Nextcast WA70 7/8 and a Hardy Marquis 2. What a great rod, enjoy .....

 

[dclann]

Orvis CFO VI

The 8150 Cult guys I know are still holding on to their Sage Brownies.
I owned five at one time, sold one six years ago and another to Mathew LB.
For years, I used an Orvis CFO IV on it with the old Cortland 444SL WF9/10mint green line. I still have two new lines buried somewhere in the Fish Room.
When I fish it now I put my old Traditional classic Loop 811 on it, still very sweet and I will never sell another of these rods.

The Gaelforce 9/10 63' is not bad but the XL Vector 7/8 is great on it too.
dclann

Sorry, not the CFO IV, I used the CFO VI. Got my "i" crossed.