All around fly-rod

1301 Views 21 Replies 13 Participants Last post by angler88, Nov 3, 2002

flyfishnm

Discussion Starter · Oct 28, 2002

What do you think the best all around trout rod is? I have
a four weight and a five weight and would really be interested
in purchasing a 2 weight or an 8 weight. I know it depends
on what the conditions are,the type of water,etc. But if you
had one rod what would it be? For me it would be my sage 5 weight.

~Ryan

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Rob Blomquist

· #2 · Oct 28, 2002

For me, if I wanted to fish both trout and steelhead/salmon it would be a 7 wt. For trout alone, I would fish a 5 wt.
---------
Genetic pollution damages wild
stocks, bonk those Hatchery Zombies!

Peter Pancho

· #3 · Oct 28, 2002

10' GLX 777wt w/Litespeed reel
"Light enough for trout, strong enough for Steelhead"

"Follow Me and I will make you fishers of Men"
Matthew 4:19

Matt Burke

· #4 · Oct 28, 2002

My dad has the Fenwick 6wt they I started using in the early 70's. I have caught everything on that since then, even my first Steelhead. My dad only lets me use it when I'm fishing with him. So my own armory contains 6, 7, and 8 wt. I choose the 7 wt most of the time.

Matt

troutman101

· #5 · Oct 28, 2002

8' 4 weight for alpine lakes

8'4" or 8'6" 5 weight for all river trout fishing.

10' 6 weight for trout lakes or a good nymphing rod

9'6" 8 weight for summer steelheading, saltwater and humpy's

14' 9 weight for winter steelheading

Carlisle 10' oar handle for kings

These are the best all around rods. Yes, you need a quiver of rods if you want to fish different types of water.

I would narrow it down to the 8'6" 5 weight and the 9'6" 8 weight if I could only have two rods. Fortunately, it ain't the case.

Skip the 2 weight. Useless for just about everything except fishing for the costal cutthroat minnows.

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Old Man

· #6 · Oct 28, 2002

What do I know---I'm just an old man

I have a G-loomis GL3 9' 5 wt as my favorite rod and when it broke yesterday I almost cried. Oh I have other rods but my favorite is the 5 wt.

Jim

Ricardo O.

· #7 · Oct 28, 2002

For me it would be my sage 5 weight.

~Ryan

Couldn't agree more, mine is my 590 SP. With a Ross Gunnison G2 on it I feel confident in lots of situations, even with much larger fish.

Mike Colagrossi

· #8 · Oct 28, 2002

I have to side with all the 5wt votes, mine is my Sage 590XP 4pc. It has held up on the Kenai, to silvers in the salt!

Mike :THUMBSUP

Jim Wallace

· #9 · Nov 2, 2002

Sounds like I need to quiver up. All I got is my old (stored in the case from Fall 1966 until spring 2002 and in "like new" condition) 8' Fenwick ff80 that has "3 1/2 oz. DT6f-HCH" written on it. Does that mean its a 6 wt? My old reel was stolen from my brother's van, and this Spring I bought a Pfleuger Medalist and some 5 wt. floating line, which seems to work O.K. I'm still piling up the line at times, finding wind knots in my leaders, slapping it all down too hard, etc. but I'm working on my cast and getting better. Though I have big ears, as of yet they remain unpierced! I originally chose this smaller rod because I was hiking into high country lakes and fishing streams for trout. Seems a little small for steelhead, the salt, or windy lakes. I can only afford one other set up, and you would recommend a 9 1/2' 8wt? Would you also recommend a multi-tip line for versatility? I'm also thinking of replacing the line on my current reel with a multi-tip, and I need to know if 6 wt. line is the right stuff for a DT6f-HCH 3 1/2 oz. 8' fiberglass rod, rather than the 5 wt. line I'm using now. Thanks for any advice you might offer.
-Jimbo

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Luv2flyfish

· #10 · Nov 2, 2002

I'd have to say my Sage SP 590 3pc has been the one that gets used the most. Allthough, I just purchased a 7 1/2 ft 3 wt - that is a fun little stick (all big water excluded).

Old Man

· #11 · Nov 2, 2002

What do I know---I'm just an old man

I have one the same size,but alas it is not a Sage. But I have a lot of fun with it fishing the smaller water. Big fish are a blast on it. It is a Gloomis 4wt GL 2

JIm

Old Man

· #12 · Nov 2, 2002

What do I know---I'm just an old man

I'll try to help you out just a little bit. The DT stands for Double taper,means the line is the same on both ends. So when one end wears ont you can just turn it around and use the other end. F stands for floating. The HCH I think stands for the weight in grains,but I'm not sure.

It is better to go up a line size than go down a size. So you would be better off going with a weight foward 6 or a DT 7.

Just one more question. What are you going to use the bigger rod for?

Jim

Mike Etgen

· #13 · Nov 2, 2002

RiverFishing :

Good Morning...I'm new to the forum and barely a year into flyfishing and loving it! Thought I'd tag on a question to this string...

I've got a 9 foot, 6wt Loomis that was my first rod. This configuration seemed to be the concensus "most versatile, all-around" set-up. As I've fished more, I find myself leaning towards smaller waters - the Touchet and Tucannon here is eastern WA or the Umatilla in Oregon, and I'm thinking it's time for something with a little more finesse. Tried out a 7 foot 3wt the other day and felt I was waving a piece of straw - probably my own lack of finesse. Felt a bit more comfortable with an 8'6" 4wt loaded with WF5F line. (This one is also a 4-piece rod.)
I'm open to opinions and advice before I make a commitment. Can't yet afford a whole arsenal of rods/reels so versatility is still a consideration.
Will look forward to any wisdom available.

Old Man

· #14 · Nov 2, 2002

What do I know---I'm just an old man

I don't know if this is wisdom or not but I was fishing those small streams I would stick with the smaller rod. I fished over there a few years and my 9'er was too big.I wished that I'd had a shorter rod but I wasn't retired then and I didn't have one.

When I was working for a living I couldn't afford any thing and now that I'm retired I seem to be able to.

I like to use the little rod in places like Tantum Creek,Manastash(sp)Creek,Touchet and Tucannon rivers. And alot of places on the West side. My short rod is a Gloomis GL2 4wt.

Jim

Rob Blomquist

· #15 · Nov 2, 2002

HCH is the taper designation. The rod you have was made on the cusp of lines going from tapered silk to modern synthetic lines. If I were you, I would try taking this rod to a shop and try casting it with a 5, 6 and 7 weight lines, seeing which one works best. I would be you prefer the 5.

You can fish a 5 for summer steelhead without any problems. I took a summer steelie on a 4 in September. Ideally, I believe that a good rod is somthing between a 4 and a 9 here, with the ideal crossover at a 7. So buying an 8 is not out of the question, but you might have more fun just fishing your 5 for trout, there are more trout than steelhead and you will gain more confidence.

Congratulations on your casting. Keep up the good work.

Rob
---------
Genetic pollution damages wild
stocks, bonk those Hatchery Zombies!

Jim Wallace

· #16 · Nov 2, 2002

Jim,
Thanks for interpreting the glyphs. I will probably get the 6 wt. multi-tip line. As for a bigger stick, it would be an all-round for going after SRC, chums and coho in the salt, salmon and steelies in the rivers, and maybe big water on a windy day. Also, at times there is some good surf fishing for surf perch on the beach here, with public access only a mile up the road from my house. The small handfull of regulars there are chuckin' sand shrimp on 14' noodle rods and havin' a blast. I'm sure that flies would work when the surf is small in the Summer. But Summer and Fall steelies, coho and chums (both in rivers and the Hood Canal) would be the prime target. Thanks. These recommendations really help. Probably wait on getting the bigger outfit til after Christmas, or even next Summer, as I still have alot to work on with the current rig. Getting too far ahead of myself or too much-too soon might only foul my act up even more. "Relatively crude" would be a kind description now.

Jimbo :HMMM

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MacRowdy

· #17 · Nov 2, 2002

I fish with a Scott 905/3 3.2 oz 9' 5wt. I have easily landed everything from 20 pound chum to 5 inch smolt on this thing. If I hook something that I feel I will kill if I play too long and or too light I just break it off.

MacRowdy

Jim Wallace

· #18 · Nov 2, 2002

Thanx,Rob. I was writing my reply to the Old Man as you were posting this. Excellent advice all around...some of the fish scales are dropping away from my eyes. Being on a low budget, with my income falling off over the Winter, I'll probably go with finding the optimum line for my current rod and working on my technique and presentation. Also will begin to whip up my own bugs. -Jimbo :THUMBSUP

Luv2flyfish

· #19 · Nov 2, 2002

nrv4Mike:

I hear ya! Compared to casting a 9 foot 5 / 6 weight, a 7 foot 3 feels like casting a peice of spaghetti (cooked no less). Its just what your used to. The first time I put down my 8.5 foot 7 wt that I learned on and picked up my Sage - it was the same feeling. With time and practice, I can cast that sage as far and as accurately as I could my old beast. Now, with some dedication and a whole lot of patience for that lighter 3 wt - I can throw some serious line if I need to.

I cant speak on behalf of the salmon/steelhead gig, but I do know about trout. Where I fish back home in Idaho - There was never really a need for the 5wt even. You are not catching fish measured in pounds, but rather inches, ya know. Yeah, its good to have just in case, but in non ocean run rivers - what are the chances of hanging up with that 15 pound chum? I'll tell ya a good 18 inch Henry's fork Cutthroat will really bend a 5wt or 6 wt, but get that same fish on a 3 wt and the fun begins. Of couse it has enough back bone to land the fish quickly as to not over tire and over the play fish. The difference is that 12 - 14 inch range run of the mill, every day trout feels like a hog on a shorter / lighter rod. If the waters you fish are small and you intend to stick to waters like that - fish a little stick once and see how you like it.

I have heard enough ppl in this forum talking about summer steelhead and all - I'm gonna try for one on the 5wt! Just my 2 pennies!

Tight Lines

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Old Man

· #20 · Nov 2, 2002

What do I know---I'm just an old man

I caught a summer fish that was 21" long out of a small stream on the west side of the mountains.On my 4wt 7 1/2' rod. I was using a four pound tippet,and this is the only fish that I ever kept. It was fin clipped. The reason I kept it is that my granddaughter said "you go fishing and you never bring any home" I had to show her that I did. But back to the fish,it was all over the small pool that I was fishing in. It was a blast on that small rod.

Jim

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

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