Recommendation for Fly Rod?

[paul daddio]

I'm a novice looking to buy a rod and am looking for recommendations on specs (length, weight). I primarily like to fish rivers (e.g., South fork of Shenandoah, Potomac), but also like small streams (e.g., Big Hunting Creek in the Catoctin Mountains). Would sincerely appreciate any help!

[TurbineBlade]

If you won't primarily be fishing the big river (Potomac) I'd stay somewhere in the 5-6 range for general purpose like your describe...but everyone has a different opinion on this.  I have a 3 weight and a 6 weight and I mostly use the 6, but on trout streams where I'm using flies smaller than about #14 and below with light tippets (5x-7x) I like the 3 weight.  Actually, it's mostly just necessity to protect light tippets needed for trout.  About 90% I'm fishing warm water andI'd grab the 6 weight and a spool of 6-8# test for tippet ;).  Simple and easy. 

 

Gene

[Carl Zmola]

I agree with Gene,
For around here, I think a 9' 6wt is the best all around rod. 

The standard all around trout rod is a 9' 5wt, but if you are also doing smallmouth fishing on the Shenandoah, or Potomac, the 6wt would be more useful.

Carl

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[TurbineBlade]

Oh, for specific combos -- my 3 weight is a cabelas "three forks" which are well known combos for beginners and seem to give you a lot for your money (about $100 -- rod is decent and reel is quite smooth.  Solid combo).  I like mine and would definitely buy another combo in the 5-6 weight size, but I was given a bass pro "white river" somethingorother combo that I use. I like it too. 

 

I'd go for a reasonably inexpensive rod/reel combo and immediately replace any cheap fly line with decent stuff....usually seems to cost about $39.  Cheap fly line is kind of a pain to use....I don't like it. 

 

Gene

[HeaveToo]

If you are primarily fishing the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and you are going for smallmouth bass I would suggest a 7 weight for that.  Probably a tip flex.  There are tons of good rods out there and the real question is "what are you willing to pay?"  If you want a descent starter rod I would suggest you look at the Clear Water series by Orvis.  They are very good rods for the price.  Cheaper rods just won't cast like those and you will quickly learn the difference.

For the smaller streams I fish a 3 or 4 weight for trout.  For the trout in the Shenandoah National Park and other areas, like the Rapidan, It is nice to have a light, short rod.  I have a 7' trout rod for those.  It works good on those kinds of rivers.

If you are wanting to slide into the striper action around here, do a little salt water fishing, and be slightly more versatile then you may want to go up to an 8 weight.  That will work fine for smallmouth.  I have switched over to this for smallies because I am throwing really big flies these days.  It also works great for salt water, such as the outer banks, and also for the stripers that I get into around here (also the snakehead I caught this past spring). 

As far as line, stick with floating.  I use a floating line on my eight weight but I also have sink tips that I will add to the system.  This makes it versatile without having to change spools or reels (helpful if you kayak fish). 

The best advise is to go into the stores and try out the different rods.  Go to stores where you will talk to people who know their stuff about the rods.  Cheaper isn't always better and remember, some of the other more expensive rods are backed by companies by 25 year warranties, no matter what.  It is nice when you break a tip off of a rod because they will take care of it and it won't cost you.

Just my two cents, I am sure that there are many other different opinions.

On Thursday, October 25, 2012 7:24:07 PM UTC-4, paul daddio wrote:

[Terry C]

I use 3 rods primarily, a 4wt. for Big Hunting Creek and othe small trout streams, 6wt. for most of my river fishing around here, and 8wt. for the Salmon River in N.Y. It's tough to find a total all round rod. A 6wt. on Big Hunting Creek would feel like a telephone pole to me, and a 4wt. Fishing the Potomac for shad,bass, and stripers would feel like a Deer hunting with a .22. . I would decide where you think you would do most of your fishing for the first year and taylor your rod to that. You don't have to spend a fortune to get a good casting rod. If your like most of us you will collect a variety of rods and equipment over the years as you develop your skills.

[Jeffrey Silvan]

Echoing what everyone else said, you're going to have a tough time with just one rod for all of that. I had always just used a mid-price range Cabela's 9' 7wt since I started fly fishing about 15 years ago. It was before I was old enough to work, so my parents were buying it for me and I couldn't get anything else. It was great for the freshwater stuff I was doing on Cape Cod, and worked well for bluefish and got by for striped bass (although the bass were obviously much bigger up there than anything we'd get into in the Potomac). I still use that same 7wt for all my fishing out here, on the Shenandoah, and on the Rappahanock. You're using lots of weighted flies around here and could get into something big on any cast, so the size helps. 

I recently bought my girlfriend an Orvis 9' 6wt Clearwater for her first rod, and it casts like a dream, but it's starting to be a little bit of a chore for the clousers, but definitely still cast-able. That being said, it's still way too big for the mountain streams. I decided to pick up a 7'6 3wt for my trout work around here, and bought the Cabela's Three Forks combo since I didn't know how often I'd actually use it and just wanted to go as cheap as possible. It was $70 for the rod, reel, backing, line, and leader. I'd avoid the 3wt I bought though. The reel is the model they designed for the 4/5/6 weight rods, so it's a little out of balance and doesn't cast great for those rare circumstances you need a longer cast on the trout streams. The larger rods may be fine.

Think of what kind of fishing you'll do the most, then get a rod that's right sized for that. You don't need to break the bank, but I wouldn't try to be as cheap as possible with your main rod. The Orvis Clearwater is pretty perfect in my eyes.

On Fri, Oct 26, 2012 at 12:26 AM, Terry C <flyc...@aol.com> wrote:

I use 3 rods primarily,  a 4wt. for Big Hunting Creek and othe small trout streams, 6wt. for most of my river fishing around here, and 8wt. for the Salmon River in N.Y.   It's tough to find a total all round rod.  A 6wt. on  Big Hunting Creek would feel like a telephone pole to me, and a 4wt. Fishing the Potomac for shad,bass, and stripers would feel like a Deer hunting with a .22. .  I would  decide where you think you would do most of your fishing for the first year and taylor your rod  to that. You don't have to spend a fortune to get a good casting rod.  If your like most of us you will collect a variety of rods and equipment over the years as you develop your skills.

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[FlyTimesDC]

I always suggest the TFO Lefty Kreh Series as a first rod - good looking, great performance, and probably the most bang for your buck.  Good luck with the decision, lots of choices out there. 

Tight Lines,

Rem

On Thursday, October 25, 2012 7:24:07 PM UTC-4, paul daddio wrote:

[Danny Barrett]

Hows the quality of the clear water? It was my first rod 10 years ago and its still a favorite rod of mine.  It was a 5wt.  A year or two ago i went to buy a 8wt clear water but the handle fell apart on me after using it for 8 days. It was disapointing. I was able to return it for some new waders luckily.

Danny Barrett
dannyt...@gmail.com
(540) 222-8064