picking up some gear....advice please

[laker]

So heres the quick deal, got a few extra dollars and planning a quick trip into Edmonton(any idea where the deals are?) in hopes of picking up a couple complete fly rigs.
Got it narrowed down to two rigs:
1......4 wt combo for trout/grayling in streams and lakes and
2......8 wt rig for lakers and pike in the big lake

Its been a long time since I was really into flyfishing, and its time I'm back.
I am debating between 4 piece rods and 2 piece rods. Mainly for packability for walk in and fly-in spots. So is there a big difference(noticeable) in the feel or performance over the two?

Also reels.........any suggestions there? I would imagine the 8 wt rod should have a reel with a good drag?

Line......I see floating line with sink tip is common for pike, and would tend to agree there. Any advice on which type or brand to get there?
Backing how much and what kind? Tippets/leaders for pike and lakers, what works there?

Thanks to all the kind folks for giving me some sound advice!

[Scott N]

I think Wholesale Sports has their spring sale starting today, they have an on-line flyer and seem to have quite a bit of fishing stuff on sale. The Fish'n Hole sometimes has some good deals as well.

For an 8wt, I would definately want a reel with a decent drag. I have used Scientific Angler, Rio, and Cortland lines all with no complaints. I tend to use Cortland line quite a bit because I find it to be a good line at a decent price. I think Cortland is now distributed by Normark now though.

I wouldn't worry too much about what brand of backing you pick up, but just make sure you use enough backing to fill your reel properly with your fly line.

I'm going to give pike fishing a try for the first time this spring, so I can't really help you with proper leader selection just yet.

[thedonald]

I have a 2 pce 6 wt and a 4 pce 8 wt. I do a lot of high mountain lake hikes and only use the 8 wt because of packability and also it has more umph into the common winds that spring up. The best thing I bought is a double rod case and I carry both rods in there, the 6 set up for dry or top water nymphing and the 8 for a full sink line for deep nymphing or streamers. I just break both down to 2 pces and they are ready to go with little rigging required.

[Flieguy]

Rods:I don't notice much of a difference between 2 and 4 piece rods, if any at all. I even have a 7 piece hiking rod.

as for reels, your 4wt doesn't matter much... you can get by with anything that holds line. If you wanna spend some cash, I recommend a Nautilus FWX or Lamson Guru. If you don't, greys are nice. so are redingtons and Allens.
For the 8wt, I'd go with a good drag for the pike. I personally am a big Waterworks Lamson fan. Their Konic probably has the most bulletproof drag under $200, or you could go Sage 2200.

Lines: you DON'T need a whole new sink tip line, just buy a sink tip that you can add on to your regular floating line. It's an economical alternative. I really, really like Airflo line, but there are lots of good lines available. For the 8wt, you'll probably want a more aggressive taper. This will help chuck heavy flies. look for "nymph lines" or "big fly lines", or just ask the guy behind the counter and he'll help.


Pike leaders (shock tippet) are usually steel (which is cheaper) or titanium (which doesn't kink). However you can also just use 50lb monofilament instead.

leaders for lakers should probably be 1X fluoro, but I have little experience with lakers.