Redington Wrangler Fly Rod Kit

The Redington Wrangler Fly Rod Kit is the box you buy when you would rather be fishing this month than researching for another one. Bought separately, a rod, a reel, a line, backing and a leader are five decisions, five prices and a real chance the pieces do not balance each other. Redington built the Wrangler Kit the other way around: one 9ft, 4 piece medium-fast blank, a Crosswater reel sized to that blank, a RIO Mainstream floating line in the rod's own line weight, dacron backing, a RIO tapered leader, and a nylon case cut to carry the rod and the reel together. Nothing in it is the throwaway component that boxed outfits usually hide.

Here is exactly what ships, and the model names are fishing descriptions rather than sizes. We stock all six kits Redington builds: Pond is the 490-4 (4wt), Trout is the 590-4 (5wt), Trout XL is the 690-4 (6wt), Bass is the 790-4 (7wt), Salmon is the 890-4 (8wt), and Salt is the 890-4S, which is that same 8wt rod and reel shipped with RIO's saltwater Mainstream line in place of the freshwater version. Every one is 9ft in four sections with a medium-fast action, so the choice you are making is what you intend to catch, not how the rod behaves. Pond is panfish, small bass and small trout on ponds and creeks. Trout is the classic dry fly, nymph and indicator 5wt. Trout XL is the 6wt for streamers, bushy dries and wind. Bass is warmwater work with big flies. Salmon is Great Lakes and Alaska. Salt is bonefish, redfish, snook and stripers.

Blank

Medium-Fast Action - Redington calls this a performance medium-fast action blank and describes each weight as tuned for the species and applications that line weight is designed to handle, rather than as one taper stretched across six kits. Medium-fast is the right bias for a first rod. There is enough tip movement that you can feel the rod load, which is how casting timing actually gets learned, and enough butt section to turn over an indicator rig or a weighted streamer. A fast blank gives you neither of those forgivenesses, and it punishes a stroke that comes through slightly early.

9ft, 4 Piece - Every kit is 9ft in four sections. Nine feet is the length that controls and mends the most line on a river while still casting comfortably from a boat or a steep bank, and four sections is what lets the rod ride in a suitcase or behind a truck seat instead of on a roof rack.

Cosmetics - Gloss Grey blank with charcoal trim wraps.

Guides

Alignment Dots - Redington marks the blank with alignment dots so the four sections go together with the guide train straight the first time. That reads as a cosmetic detail until you have fished a rod assembled slightly crooked: line hangs in the guides, shooting distance quietly drops, and a new caster has no reason to blame the assembly rather than the cast. Line up the dots and the problem never starts.

Redington does not publish the stripping guide or snake guide materials for the Wrangler, so this listing does not state them. We hold these kits in stock, so if the guide train is a deciding factor for you, ask and we will look at one before you order.

Reel Seat

The Wrangler uses an anodized aluminum reel seat, which is a genuine spec at this end of the market rather than the painted or composite hardware that usually turns up. Anodizing is a hard oxide layer, so the threads keep turning after a season of rinsing and the seat does not pit or seize. That matters on the Salt kit specifically, and on any rod that gets rained on and put away damp. The line weight is laser etched into the reel seat, so once you own more than one rod you can tell a 5wt from a 6wt at a glance instead of hunting for a decal that has worn off the blank. The grip is a full-wells cork handle, the fuller profile that gives your thumb something solid to push against when you are driving a heavier line or a bigger fly. Redington lists a fighting butt on the Bass and Salmon kits, and the Salt kit is built on that same 890-4 rod. The Pond, Trout and Trout XL kits do not carry one, which is correct for rods that get palmed rather than braced.

Included Reel

The kit includes a black Crosswater reel sized to the rod: the Crosswater 4/5/6 on the Pond, Trout and Trout XL kits, and the Crosswater 7/8/9 on the Bass, Salmon and Salt kits. Be straight about how it is built. The frame and spool are moulded from durable polymer rather than machined from aluminum, and that is where the price of the kit comes from. What the polymer construction buys back is weight: a light reel keeps the whole outfit from feeling tip-heavy over a long day, which is a real consideration for someone still building casting stamina. What Redington did not cut is the drag. The Crosswater runs a fully carbon disc drag, upgraded on the current generation for reliable stopping power and a smoother startup, and startup is the part that matters: a drag that grabs before it slips is what breaks tippet when a fish turns and runs. It is a large arbor design, so it picks line up faster per turn when a fish swims at you, and the drag knob is deeply notched so you can find it and turn it without looking. The spool changes easily and the reel converts between left and right hand retrieve. On Redington's current Crosswater IV listing the 4/5/6 weighs 5.0oz and is rated to a WF6 plus 100yds of 20lb backing, and the 7/8/9 weighs 5.5oz and is rated to a WF9 plus 150yds of 30lb backing, so both sizes have capacity in hand over the line the kit ships with.

Included Line, Backing & Leader

This is the section that separates a kit from a rod in a tube. The line is a RIO Mainstream floating weight forward line in the rod's own line weight: WF4F on the Pond, WF5F on the Trout, WF6F on the Trout XL, WF7F on the Bass, WF8F on the Salmon, and RIO's saltwater Mainstream WF8F on the Salt kit. Redington's stated reason for choosing Mainstream is that RIO developed it for the average and novice fly fisher, with a slightly heavier and shorter head that loads the rod sooner and cuts through wind more willingly than a standard-weight taper. That is exactly the right bias on a first outfit, because the two things that most often make a beginner's cast collapse are a rod that never loads and a breeze. Dacron backing and a RIO Powerflex Plus tapered leader are both included. Redington specifies the leader as 4x on the Pond, Trout and Trout XL kits and 0x on the Bass and Salmon kits, and does not publish a leader size for the Salt kit. Redington does not state whether the reel arrives already loaded with the backing and line, so if you want that confirmed before it ships, ask us. Add tippet and a few flies and the kit is fishing.

Rod and Reel Case

The kit packs into a durable nylon carrying case built to hold the four rod sections and the reel together, with a handle strap for carrying and a plastic reinforced cap on the end, which is the end that takes the abuse every time the case gets stood up on gravel. It is worth noting the difference from the Wrangler rod sold on its own, which ships in a nylon carrying tube with divided liners and no room for a reel. Carrying the reel with the rod is the quiet practical argument for buying a kit: the reel is never the piece still sitting on the workbench when you get to the river.

Warranty

A kit contains two products with two different warranties, and the difference is worth knowing before you buy rather than after. The rod carries Redington's original owner warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, with no time limit. It is limited to replacement of the rod, and it does not cover misuse, neglect, normal wear, fire, theft, missing or lost rod sections, intentional damage, or modification of a finished rod. The Crosswater reel is one of the few Redington products written out of that warranty: Redington's policy names the Crosswater Series specifically as covered by a one year warranty instead, and a claim on it needs a dated proof of purchase, so keep the receipt. As of August 2026, Far Bank's published repair pricing is $50 to repair a current model Redington rod and $95 for a discontinued model when the break is not a warranty defect, and $50 for any reel repair not covered by warranty. You pay the shipping to Far Bank and Far Bank pays the return shipping. Redington rods typically ship back within one to two weeks of payment or of a no-fee warranty determination, and reels run roughly two to four weeks. One more thing that matters more on a beginner's rod than on any other: Redington sells a replacement tip section for the Wrangler and Wrangler Kit, so the most common breakage of all can often be fixed by buying the part instead of shipping the rod, and you can buy the spare before you need it.

More Info

• In the Box: Wrangler fly rod, Crosswater reel in the matching size, RIO Mainstream floating fly line in the rod's line weight, dacron backing, RIO Powerflex Plus tapered leader, nylon rod and reel case
• Models We Stock: Pond 490-4 (4wt), Trout 590-4 (5wt), Trout XL 690-4 (6wt), Bass 790-4 (7wt), Salmon 890-4 (8wt), Salt 890-4S (8wt saltwater)
• Rod Action: Medium-fast, every model
• Length and Sections: 9ft, 4 piece, every model
• Reel Pairing: Crosswater 4/5/6 on the Pond, Trout and Trout XL; Crosswater 7/8/9 on the Bass, Salmon and Salt
• Reel Specs: Polymer frame and spool, fully carbon disc drag, large arbor, notched drag knob, converts between left and right hand retrieve. 4/5/6 is 5.0oz and rated to WF6 plus 100yds of 20lb backing; 7/8/9 is 5.5oz and rated to WF9 plus 150yds of 30lb backing
• Best For: Panfish and small trout on ponds and creeks with the Pond; dry flies, nymphs and indicators with the Trout; streamers, bushy dries and wind with the Trout XL; smallmouth, largemouth and carp with the Bass; Great Lakes and Alaska salmon with the Salmon; bonefish, redfish, permit, snook and stripers with the Salt
• Grip Style: Full-wells cork. Fighting butt on the Bass, Salmon and Salt kits, none on the Pond, Trout or Trout XL
• Reel Seat: Anodized aluminum with the line weight laser etched into it
• Blank Color: Gloss Grey with charcoal trim wraps
• Ability Level: Beginner through Intermediate, and a sound second outfit or travel backup for an experienced angler
• Warranty: Original owner on the rod, one year on the Crosswater reel

Recommended Lines

The kit arrives with a line on it, so the question is what you add rather than what you need to start. When the included line finally wears out, the Rio Mainstream Trout WF Fly Line is the direct replacement for the freshwater kits and is stocked from WF3F through WF10F, with the same slightly heavier head that makes a rod easy to load, a slick memory-free coldwater coating and a welded front loop so you can change leaders in seconds. The first real upgrade for the Pond through Salmon kits is the Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Infinity Fly Line, built a half size heavy on a versatile taper that loads a medium-fast rod deep at short range and still carries line for a longer presentation, and it handles dries, nymphs and streamers on one spool rather than making you own three. If the Bass kit is going to spend its life throwing poppers and bulky streamers in warm water, the Rio MainStream Bass Pike & Panfish Fly Line pairs a heavier belly and a short powerful front taper with a warm water coating that will not go limp in summer heat. For the Salt kit, the Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Infinity Salt Fly Line is the tropical equivalent: a half size heavy head that pushes a big fly into wind, an extended head length that keeps you accurate on a long shot at a cruising fish, and a tropical core that stays stiff in the heat where a freshwater line turns to spaghetti.