Fly rod options

[fishinwrench]

I figured there'd be somebody on YouTube hotspotting all those hatchery dinks. 

Sure enough 😅 

 

 

Any of y'all know this dude ? 

[Pastor]

On 12/31/2024 at 10:32 AM, Al Agnew said:

I'm curious as to why you want a short rod.  My first fly rods were BPS $59 rods as well, and they served the purpose...but I found that they were not even close to as comfortable to fish all day as the upgrades (Loomis and Sage) that I later bought.  I'm not sure whether it was how much the rods weighed, their action, or what, but the difference was striking.  I'm kinda wondering if you like the shorter rods because they are not as tiring to fish.  In which case, a GOOD longer rod will be just as much if not more comfortable and can do some things better.  You don't have to spend $600 on a rod to get one that's a significant upgrade over the BPS ones, though.

I use rods from Sage, Winston, St. Croix, Redington, Ross, and Loomis, and probably one or two more that I'm not remembering at the moment.  Most cost somewhere between $175-$400 at the time I bought them.  Personally I like my Sages and my St. Croixs the best, but all are good.  Gavin gave you the best advice...it's well worth a trip to T. Hargroves.  They are knowledgeable, and you can actually go out in the parking lot and cast as many rods as you want to try.  Nothing beats casting a rod before you buy it.  But be warned...you might fall in love with a rod that's more expensive than you want to pay!  Although I never fell enough in love with a $800 rod to think it's four times as good as a $200 rod. 

Most of my fishing is fairly close and doesn't require long casts.  There is often enough overhangs and fly snags to make a longer rod difficult.  I believe my 7 weight is 9 foot and I'm still going to be fishing with it as well so I have a longer rod for more robust casts.

[tjm]

Simply getting line mass into short casts requires a short rod, or a short to very short leader; stream width of ~20' minus 9' of rod and 9' of leader means only a couple of feet of line out the tip will reach across the whole stream. 5' of #5 line tip will weigh less than business card, not much mass to help in turning over a leader; so it should be no surprise that longer rods make casting  short distances difficult. Either rod or leader (or both) need be shortened if line mass is to be introduced. On rivers in excess of 40' this isn't a problem. Putting mass into those short casts is also why I prefer 6-7 wts. over lighter lines, although in the front taper there isn't much difference in mass between a #5 and a #9, even a few grains help. If the water will allow 30'-50', putting some line mass into the equation, then I can happily  use #5 line, and if using that lighter line, I will need the longer rod to get a satisfactory mend, again relating to less mass involved.

I guess it's a coincidence that narrow streams seem to also have more canopy.

 

[Terrierman]

I bought two TFO 9' 7 wt rods for grandsons.  Rio WF line.  They're fairly good with them.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Gavin]

Nope, I don’t know that guy but I can tell you where he is standing. He’s about 75 yards from an access.