About the Author

Joe Rotter

Joe is the "blogger in chief" here at Red's in addition to being our guide service manager and partner here at Red's. He is a father of 3 spunky children his wife Kelly can only be found fishing when the temperature gets above 85 degrees and the fish are gobbling up dry flies.

In addition to being a fly fishing junkie, Joe is a hard core bowhunter, is a volunteer Hunter's Eductation Instructor, and loves riding horses with his kiddos. Joe still guides a small part of the time but spends most of his time working on web marketing, travel, and helping customers find the right tools and information for the job.

Redington VICE 8 Weight Rod Review

May 1, 2017

After being so shocked at the performance of the Redington VICE 5 weight, I took the 8 weight out for some practice casting the next day. I always like to practice my casting stroke anyway, so why not try out a new rod. I was amazed at the line speed and power of the 9' 8 weight and was really excited about the idea of this being a great rod for anglers that don't want to, or can't spend a ton of money but need a rod that will make the tough casts.

Thoughts on the Redington VICE 8 Weight

I don't think it would be a great beginner's, women's, or kids rod. It does require you to have a fairly heavy stroke to enjoy casting it. The upside however is that this rod LAUNCHES. Almost as well as some of the high end saltwater stuff. I suppose a new caster could start with this rod and go up to a 9 weight line to tame the action a bit and then move up to a straight 8 later on. Younger or newer casters would excel at reasonable distances and then later on when they were ready to make the jump to casts beyond 50'-60' they could downsize to an 8 weight.

For steelhead, I think the 10' 7 weight would be an awesome single hand spey rod or indicator rod. The 10' 8 weight is going to be more of a winter steelhead or even a Chinook rod. I am just basing this off the power of the 9' from my testing. The 9' rod is going to be the most universal.

Bonefish... Permit... Baby Tarpon... oh man. This rod will deliver the goods. I am not sure about the rod's durability at this point but time will tell. I much prefer high end saltwater rods anytime I am traveling a long ways from the fly shop. As a #2 rod however this is a no brainer. The #9 would be a fantastic compliment to your favorite 8 weight as a slightly heavier hitter for ancillary species.

VICE 8 Weight Rod and Redington Behemoth Reel Combo

Redington VICE Rod, Reel, and Choice of Fly Line - $409.95

This setup gets you performance at a great price. It might not be as sexy as some of the other outfits, but from a pure performance standpoint this rod and reel combo hang in there.

I want this rod for bass fishing deer hair bugs and large streamers will it cast long ways
I enjoy watching the Red's videos and once I got used to Joe Rotter's super self confident style, appreciated all the how tos and tips. He is obviously a great fisherman with a lot of knowledge to share. Thankyou! I have a lot of rods, and want a #2 for bass and wipers on sandpits here in Nebraska. The Reddington Vice looks like a good one. I can't decide wether a 9' 8wt. or 9' 7wt. Would be the best, or even if it makes a big difference. I ocaisionally fish for Steelhead on the Milwaukee River when I visit my daughter and this might be a good rod there. What do you think? Also a fly line rec would be good. Thanks, Pete