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Chironomid Rod Recommendations

5K views 38 replies 22 participants last post by  Irafly 
#1 ·
I’m thinking about purchasing a rod to fish chironomids under an indicator from my pontoon. I’ve been doing it with a 9’ 5wt for the past couple years and this rod works well but I’m guessing there is likely a more ideal set-up available if chironomids would be the rod’s primary use. I’d like to get another rod because my current rod is my only option with a floating line and I hate wasting time on the water changing between a long chironomid leader with a bobber and something a little more subtle when the trout are rising. I’m a sucker for rising fish and if it looks like I’ve got a shot for trout up top I always opt to re-rig. Sometimes this choice pays off and sometimes it doesn’t but either way I burn a bunch of time swapping out my leader. Watching large trout hit the surface near my boat make my hands start shaking and this just make the re-rig process take longer. So this gets me to my question...what type of rod do you prefer to use when fishing chironomids? I was thinking about a 4 or 5wt in a 10’ length. Is there and advantage between a rod with fast action or something a little slower? I want to make sure that whatever I end up with is soft enough to protect a 5x tippet. My budget leans more towards the Echo/TFO end of the spectrum rather than the Sage/Winston side. Any ideas? Thanks!
 
#5 ·
Call me weird, but I use an 8 foot, 5 weight fiberglass rod for my chiro set up. I like the softer action for throwing open loops so as not to angle my offerings below the indicator. I fish often from a pram, so I'm standing up, but the last 2 weekends I fished Lenice from my float tube with that rod and had no issues. I had a 15 foot leader on most of the time. If I'm fishing way-deep, with heavier flies, I have an 11 foot, 4 weight switch I built that does a great job lobbing the flies out there, but it's less fun to fish with. I think the 10 foot idea is overrated really, unless you are fishing 15-20 feet deep regularly.
 
#9 ·
A timely question. In the past 2 years I have switched over to 10' rods and I'm never going back. They are so much better for chironomid fishing than my 9' rods that there is no real comparison. I use them both with fast sinking lines-mostly Type V and Type VII-and they rip those lines out of the water much easier than the 9 footers and carry more line in the air easier as well. On streams they have an obvious advantage for nymphing and push a floating line further across a river than my 9 footers ever did. This spring I was catching fish on the NFCDA that I would never have reached with my other rods. So I am completely sold on the 10 footers and may add a 3wt to my 4 and 5 wts.

Both of my rods were in the price range that you mention, the Cabela's CZN 4wt is a really nice rod at right around $200 and can be found on sale at times and the 5wt is the TFO BVK at around $250. The BVK is just a rocket launcher if distance is your thing and handles big fish with ease. In the past few weeks I have been on a big fish tear and have caught over 100 fish in the 16-23'' range plus dozens of smaller ones-all on these two rods that I paid under $400 for total. Cheap thrills and lots of them!

As far as lines are concerned both rods respond well to a GPX and since these excellent lines can be had at ridiculous prices I have them in four weights from 3 to 6 one of which will match most of my rods. You can spend a lot more on rods and lines than I do but you will play hell having more fun. I'm fishing often and catching lots of fish and that meets my criteria for a good time.
 
#10 ·
I was taught a slow rod for casting big loops and thus not tangling your indicator gear was desirable for chironomiding, and have used various 9 ft 5 wts

5 wt is more rod than necessary for our trout lakes down here generally and the idea of a 4 wt in the 10 ft length has been on my list for a long time.

I read about the CZN and BVK described as fast action rods.

I can see their advantage if you are using sinking line w/o indicator.

What's your perspective on action, loops, indicators and tangling?

I never did find/choose a 4 wt 10 ft blank to build on.

Jay
 
#11 ·
What is your stroke? I’m an adjuster as a caster, I compensate depending on what I’m casting. With that though, I’ve found that the line I’m casting is 10 times more important than the rod, so you might want to rethink your question.

With that, I’d say that my best overall indicator rod is my faster action 4wt GLX with a sharkskin line. After that I’m fishing a 10’ 6” Redington 5/6 Switch with a RiO indicator line. Then I’m fishing the cheapest possible 9’ 5wt Cabelas rod with another indicator line.
 
#12 ·
, I've found that the line I'm casting is 10 times more important than the rod.
Are you and Herb Superb related? Herb is of the same opinion; his quiver is full of inexpensive Cabelas rods and cheap Cabelas reels* but he doesn't skimp on the lines and he is a fish catchin' machine.

* re: cheap reels, he's had one of those things fail at an inopportune time but miraculously landed his trout.

To the OP: I fish several 9' 5 wts with indicators, a 10 foot 5 wt with indicators and follow @Irafly lead with a rod 11' long for really deep indicator fishing. And I frequently want one rod rigged with a floater and leader for dry fly fishing. Four strung rods in my 8 foot pram........ insane.
 
#14 ·
I bought 2 Echo Ion 10' 6 weights in spring last year. Longer rod is much nicer when pitching leaders up to 28 feet. I think a 4 or a 5 is light for some fish. We see a lot of larger fish that a 4 in particular would not handle. View attachment 180834
Beautiful fish! If I had that "problem" I would also fish a heavier rod. Most of the fish in my neighborhood are 14-20".
 
#17 ·
I've been using 10' rods for a long time. When leader length gets over 15-18' I'll just fish with the indicator under the rod tip - no casting required. And the extra length gets it a tad further from the boat. As Ive mentioned, they are superb for full sinking lines and distance casting also.
 
#21 ·
Thinking about this again I guess I can slow any rod down w a heavier line.

I see the CZN 4 wt comes in 10 and 11 ft lengths

If 10 feet are good, are 11 feet better?

J
If you apply pickup truck buying logic the 11 footer is the best deal. Meaning that anything that is bigger, wider, taller, longer, more powerful and more butt ugly and expensive has to be the better deal. But in the real world there are times when excess means digress. The 11' rod would definitely be better for fishing crappies over the edge of a boat but may be getting out of it's element as a single hand rod. I have the CZN 10' and it has become my favorite trout rod. The only place the extra length has been a handicap is when I change lines on it while I'm out on the water-it is quite a reach to get the line through the last guide and tip top. But I counter that mostly by having another 10' rod in the boat with me. My 9 footers are gathering dust.

As an analogy, think of the 8'5'-9' rods for chironomid fishing as having sex with yourself and the 10' rods as discovering girls!;)
 
#20 ·
What is your stroke? I'm an adjuster as a caster, I compensate depending on what I'm casting. With that though, I've found that the line I'm casting is 10 times more important than the rod, so you might want to rethink your question.

With that, I'd say that my best overall indicator rod is my faster action 4wt GLX with a sharkskin line. After that I'm fishing a 10' 6" Redington 5/6 Switch with a RiO indicator line. Then I'm fishing the cheapest possible 9' 5wt Cabelas rod with another indicator line.
Yes I do adjust my stroke anyway, good point
J
 
#23 ·
"As an analogy, think of the 8'5'-9' rods for chironomid fishing as having sex with yourself and the 10' rods as discovering girls!;)"

Haha... then I'm a master baiter! I use a 7 1/2' bamboo rod for chironomids, and probably catch more fish than I deserve. I also fish the indicator fairly close to my ride, so don't need 60' casts. Works for me....
 
#31 ·
I have sage 9 footers but a guy at pass lake told me about a 3 or 4 weight 10 foot... trident fly fishing sells a reddington hydrogen 3 weight 10 foot for 299$. I bought it as a backup rod but after casting it, its my number 1 rod..casts great with 2 bead head leaches with indicator..no problem catching big fish, it handled roche lake fish in BC up to 5lbs
 
#33 ·
I would second all the guys that recommended the 10 foot rods. That extra length, esp when fishing from a float tube, is really useful to keep the line from slapping the water behind you. Although it often isn't necessary to bomb huge casts for stillwater fishing, often fish in really clear water, and doubly so over shallow shoals, fish can get a little skittish to boats, and the long rod will allow you to cast farther and keep the boat away from the fish. Another advantage is that with he longer casts, you can cover more area from a single anchor station, and get better hook-sets with the additional leverage.
The comments about the slower action are also coming from the benefit of experience. I throw fast axn rods 90% of the time, but in the case of long, spindly leaders, wider more open loops tend to reduce tangling, which can be an inevitability with chironomid fishing otherwise. I think that the softer rods tend to absorb more of the fight of the fish as well, and tend to reduce numbers of lost fish, but maybe that is just my perception.
The only other consideration I would add is make sure you buy rods from a company that both offers an unconditional lifetime warranty, and that isn't likely to go out of business soon, so that it can honor that warranty well into the life of the rod.
A lot of the gents on this page have recommended you to use a 4 or a 5 weight, and it is certainly possible to land monster fish with those rods. I prefer at least a 5 or 6 wt for most stillwater fishing, only because the places I usually go tend to offer me a shot at bigger fish, and I want to be able to land them and release them quickly. I do have four weights that I use for lakes where the top size may only be 17-18 inches, and they are a ball. If that's what you are planning on doing mostly, a 4 weight should be ideal.
 
#36 ·
I've played with both and there are times where it really isn't better. Often times the indicator presents better than the straight up and down vertical.
I agree, the indicator (aka "bobber") is great for chronomids, but a spinning rod will deliver it where ever you want it and give better hook sets.

When I got out on a lake, I like to actually fly fish, cast to rising trout, cast and strip streamers etc. I get it that the chonomid is often what they are eating, but I have had to admit that keeping a collapsable Eagle Claw spinning rod rigged up with an indicator is a quicker and more effective way of using them, and not that different than lobbing some bobber out there with a fly rod.
 
#38 ·
No need for split shot. With a good spinning set-up casting the typical thing-ama-bobber or other "indicator" is a breeze. Of course, how much casting do you do chironomid fishing? It is more about finding the right spot and being patient.

I much prefer to use a fly rod, just being honest. Most chironomid fishing I see (mostly Crane Prairie) bears little resemblance to fly fishing.
 
#39 ·
I cast a plenty while fishing under and indicator (it is not all mid fishing by the way). I'm constantly adjusting my retrieve, my angle with the wind, my distance. I find fly line much more responsive than mono to reacting to an indication from my indicator. Mono is also much harder to mend in the wind than fly line. I just think that you and I have different experiences. I with all honesty do not believe that the spinning rod is a better tool to use on a lake for vertical presentations, unless there is some extreme circumstances, say fishing in 50+ feet of water.

As for your definition of "fly fishing" again, I think we disagree. I've fished Crane with an indicator and I was most certainly fly fishing.
 
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