Need advice on rod choice

[johnhornby]

Hello, I am looking to add a 3 weight rod to my arsenal for fishing small creeks in Wyoming. I have a 6-1/2 foot ShuFly 3 weight which is just too short. I am pretty sure I need something 8-9 feet long. I don't want to pay over $150, and preferably much less, and am willing to consider a used rod. I have been looking at one of these: https://www.bigyflyco.com/zdffr-2-detail.htm in a 3 weight which I know I can get elsewhere for $150 new. I have a 4 and 5 weight Nano and I like them a lot.

I'm no beginner fisherman. Have been fly fishing trout since 1965, but I have never been a big equipment person... which is why I am asking for advice. I might add a 3 weight Euro rod at some point, even the Nano series one, but the general purpose fly rod for mostly dry flies and so on is first priority.

I appreciate any advice. Please, no direct offers, just advice on what brand/models would be awesome!

Cheers!

John Hornby

 

[Stonefish]

Redington Classic Trout

Classic Trout | Redington

Fresh water, moderate action rod Dark clay brown blank with matching rosewood reel seat insert Custom machined reel seat components Titanium oxide stripping guides Available in 4-piece and 6-piece configurations 6-piece offers extreme...

www.redington.com

 

[cdnred]

Redington Classic Trout

That Redington Classic looks like a sweet deal for only the $150 especially with the included rosewood reel seat insert plus Redington rods are covered under their lifetime, original owner warranty..

 

[Old Man]

I use a TFO Finesse rod that is 7'9" and is a 3wt. I fish the hell out of this rod in the summertime. But it is probably out of your price range. I bought it about 5 or 6 years ago and paid $179.00 for it new. The price has probably gone up by now. I only fish small skinny water with it.

They are now priced at $229.95

 

[IHFISH]

I have really enjoyed my Echo Carbon XL 376. A few inches under and few dollars over your preferred price range, but not by much.

 

[johnhornby]

I forgot to mention I want a soft to moderate action. Most of the casts will be very short, like no more than 15-25 feet.

 

[Dustin Bise]

I forgot to mention I want a soft to moderate action. Most of the casts will be very short, like no more than 15-25 feet.

have you heard of "tenkara"?

 

[jasmillo]

I bought a glass rod (Echo River Glass) last year that I have really enjoyed fishing. Might want to consider something like that. Otherwise, stonefish nailed it with the classic trout recommendation in that price range for that application.

 

[johnhornby]

have you heard of "tenkara"?

 

[johnhornby]

Dustin, yep, I've heard of Tenkara, but not going there (yet). I think if I do that it would be to take along on certain high altitude backpacking trips where weight and bulk are central. Thanks for the idea. It's all fishing!

 

[johnhornby]

All, thanks so much for all your advice. I am going to look at all of the suggestions and go with something soon. These creeks I am going on have mostly 12-15 inch trout, with a fair number 16-19, even 20, but what I'm seeing is I need a delicate cast to drop the flies where I need to, and enough backbone in the rod to keep them from diving under the banks. That means 4x tippet in my experience (learned the hard way of course.) I need all the help I can get as I bumble my way up the river. Cheers!

 

[MGTom]

I fish 8.5' - 9' rods, even for small creeks. Very useful. Use them more than the 7'. Decided I probably don't need a 10.5' euro rod. I like my 4 or 6wt so I can get those fish out and can get them in quickly. I don't have any brand advise but I like softer rods than the fast action. Better for all the different types of casts you may make in the course of a day in my opinion.

 

[Poff]

I’d encourage you to check out the rods from Echo. You get a lot of rod for the money. Don’t be afraid of the Echo Base just because of its price. It’s a solid rod. Here an article from last year talking about the 6wt.

 

[David Loy]

Several years back I bought a Redington Classic Trout 3wt (8’) 6 piece purely because of the positive reviews here and because they were on close out. Boy, that rod fights way above it’s weight, on a cost per smile basis. I personally like it with a DT 4, but it casts as well as other rods costing much much more. I believe they started making them again. I’d guess the 2 or 4 piece rods cast even better but I was thinking of slipping it into a day pack. Worth looking for.

 

[jaredoconnor]

Redington CT
Echo Carbon XL
TFO Finesse

I have owned at least one of each and they're all great. The longer Redington CT rods are a bit tip heavy though, so I wouldn't recommend pairing one with a super light reel. If I had to pick one, it would probably be the Echo Carbon XL; Tim Rajeff knows how to make a rod and charges a lot less than he should.