Fly rod options

[snagged in outlet 3]

I would definitely go 9’ instead of 8’.   

[Ham]

10 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I would definitely go 9’ instead 8’.   

It’s very difficult to high stick with my old 6’6” Wonder Rod. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

6 minutes ago, Ham said:

It’s very difficult to high stick with my old 6’6” Wonder Rod. 

Rookie😂

[Ham]

2 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Rookie😂

I prefer the term advanced beginner. 

[tjm]

"Horses for courses", you don't chose a Percheron for steeplechase, nor an Arab  for plow work, and rods are similar. Long rods have a place but so do short ones.  I can fish about three times as long with 7'6" #7 as I can with 9' #5 before the shoulder pain takes the fun out of it. I would opt for longer rods with lighter lines, maybe. But I fished 9' rods for forty years before discovering the joy of the short sticks, and wish I hadn't. The longer rods do have advantage when on big open water, or when  mending, or roll casting 50', but they suck in tight places  under canopy or bridge and they put more stress on my body. 7 1/2' is my choice on streams less than 50' wide and 8 1/2'-9' on bigger water or if nymphing, two things that I rarely do. I 'll also mention that I use 7 wt. lines more often than 5 wt. because the the extra bit of mass in the line makes casting easier at short distances and even at moderate distances. I'm lazy and eliminating any false or speed building casts is one less motion; line weight can offset rod length, or vise versa in the line-speed equation.

I've never seen a short graphite rod that I really liked though, so that means that I fish fiberglass most of time. I would say though that if I were were buying a new graphite #5, it would likely be 8 1/2' or longer, just  to get some flex into it and would quite possibly be a Maxcatch if wanting cheap, or maybe Echo  or Taylor or Stickman or Epic if spending more money; there are just so many options that I'd want to try. In #4 or less I might be shopping 9 1/2'-10'. And, I left an almost local rod maker of the list, RDP rods might be my choice in the light/ultralight area, certainly if looking for a zero weight RDP would be high on the list.  And that doesn't even touch on custom builders like McFarland, Barclay, Graywolf, TMR, James Green, and dozens more, maybe even Thomas& Thomas or Edge or Loomis.  Hundreds of options and I'd bet not one of them a terrible choice.  Rod technology hasn't made in great leaps over the last 30-40 years so the  differences between the top of the heap rods the box store brands is less and less as time go by and the low end manufactures copy the the high  end designs.

[Foghorn]

I mainly use shorter fly rods when I'm sight fish and a longer cast isn't necessary. If I'm stripping streamers or throwing a dry, then I prefer a longer rod. Had an engineer buddy on the railroad who was trying to learn fly fishing and was fishing the C&R section at Montauk years ago. He had bought a 9 foot Scott and struggled casting with little to no fly line out.  

[Gavin]

I’ve got a basement full of short fly rods 8’ 5wt & under. Everything I usually fish with is 9’ 5wt and up. I do like to dink around with a short wimpy rod and a dry fly when that opportunity exists, but not so much on the Current R. The place is a mess right now.  Sand & sweepers everywhere. 3x minimum to keep them out of all the snags.

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, Gavin said:

but not so much on the Current R. The place is a mess right now.

A customer of mine fished the Current right after Christmas and he said the river from Baptist to Parker is absolutely LOADED with 9-14 inchers.  

"Too many" according to him.  He said it was ridiculous. 

[Phil Lilley]

1 hour ago, fishinwrench said:

A customer of mine fished the Current right after Christmas and he said the river from Baptist to Parker is absolutely LOADED with 9-14 inchers.  

"Too many" according to him.  He said it was ridiculous. 

I was told MDC is still trying to recover some of those trout and get them back in the hatchery.  Not sure how... netting or shocking?

Taney was short last year in their stocking numbers and it looks like we'll be short again with this hatchery down.

[Gavin]

My friends have been down camping and sore  lipping those fish for two days now. Gonna join them in the AM. I’m not bringing my light gear. Thinking a medium spin rod, and a 6wt. Extra reel for each. It sucks when your reel freezes solid.