Rod wt?

[tx0630]

Curious to know what everyone is fishing (both on the LMF and elsewhere), and why?

I started with an 8’6” 4wt Cabela’s combo … because, at the time, they didn’t have any 9’ 5 wts. Fished it for a while, caught some fish with it.

Decided to buy a 9’ 5wt Moonshine after that, because it was a bit of an upgrade and the price was right. Been fishing it a while, catching fish with it.

Then added a TFO 7wt to the quiver for bass fishing and throwing streamers.

I’m happy with the 5wt, 7wt combo for how/where I fish. Probably gonna add a 10’ 3wt Euro set up for nymphing pocket water. Feel like that combination should cover anything I want to do.

I do plan to upgrade the quality of my rigs soon, as I am to the point where I’m starting to get a better feel for what I want to do - as far as casting, playing/landing fish, etc.

Looking forward to reading your replies, Thanks.

[darrelln09]

I have a 10ft 3wt Syndicate P2 for Euro Nymphing. I love it and wouldn’t part with it for the moon.

[gui]

I also started with something similar back in 2013, a 8’6” 5wt clearwater combo from Orvis.
Then I broke it after tumbling over a rock and landing on the rod and decided to upgrade to a 9'5wt recon when Orvis still had their rod upgrade program. I felt like that extra 6" of rod length helped me a lot in improving my casting and line control in general, as I was learning the ropes.
To this date, the 9'5wt recon is still my rod of choice when I fish streamers for trout and also for bass/bluegill when it's not too windy.
I started fly-fishing by stripping wooly buggers essentially, but then I got more into nymphing and added a Cabela CZN 10'4wt to my arsenal. My wife now uses this rod when we fish together, and I still enjoy fishing with it once in a while. I found it to be quite versatile and an enjoyable rod for trout fishing in general. I actually started euro-nymphing with that rod for a little while, then I bought into the Moonshine hype and got a 10'2wt Epiphany. I used the Epiphany for a year or so, and then upgraded for the 10'3wt Syndicate P2. As Darrel, I love the Syndicate P2 and it's the rod that I've used the most in the past 3 years since I got it. Now, I'm kind of eying at the 10'9" 3wt Thomas & Thomas contact to "step-up" my euro game, but I'm not sure I'm ready yet to justify the investment...
I also have an Orvis 9'8wt recon for Saltwater and Stripers.

[turfdawg]

Now about 99% of the time I’m using one of my euro rods. A 10’2” 2wt or 10’ 3wt

[greyghost]

8'6 5/6 wt Steffen glass rod. It'll do just about anything on the water you could ask. 

[jonbo]

Lately I often use a 10' 3 wt Orvis Recon. I bought it to tight-line with, but, as I've documented elsewhere, I've kind of given up the "euronymph experiment", for now. The Recon, however, is a really nice all around trout rod, so I use it a lot. I have several fairly high end rods, now, all of which I bought online at closeout prices when newer models came out. I like them mainly because they tend to cast really easily.

[darrelln09]

For dry fly casting I use my 9ft 5wt Fenwick Eagle. This is the original rod I ordered as a complete outfit from Bass Pro when I first started fly fishing. When I got it, it casted terrible! But now it must be broken in because it casts a lot better. Lol. I like the medium-fast action. It loads up somewhat slowly so I feel like I can cast at a fairly slow and rhythmic pace and not rush the strokes.

jonbo, I would love to try one of those high-end rods of yours and compare the feel to mine.

And if I ever run into hankinsfly again I’m going to make him let me try out his bamboo stick!

[jonbo]

Yeah, Darrell, they're pretty nice to fish with. I started the binge with a Sage 7'6" TXL-F(for finesse), 4 wt. I was following the bidding for it on E-Bay. At the last minute I made a bid and won it! I was like, "Oh, my! What have I done now?" But man, that thing casts SO sweetly! It covers up a lot of my casting flaws. Because of that kind of casting forgiveness I'll probably never learn to cast as well as you have with your Fenwick.

[tx0630]

Guess I’ll have to look into the Syndicate Rods when I get ready to pull the trigger on the Euro rig. Looks like Sage is closing out their Pulse rods, and that got my attention, but haven’t made a move on it. Glad to know I’m not the only one who takes a tumble from time to time out there. Luckily, I haven’t broken a rod yet, but have lost my favorite hat and a pair of sunglasses lol … And, yeah, I guess most rods cast better the more you fish with them. Thanks for the input guys, appreciate it.