Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Fly Fishing & Other Fish Species fly rods

It seems strange to me that the light and ultralight fly rods tend to be shorter rods; 3 and 4 wt rods are nearly all 8.5' or shorter, with 7 and 8' most common. 2 wt rods are rare, and you may find those as short as 6', and those that I've seen seem to be expensive, $200 or more, probably mostly over $300. I would think that 9' rods of 2 and 3wt would be ideal for pond fishing for pan fish. At least they should be as available as other low priced fly rods.

A few years back, I bought a bamboo flyrod with some age to it but in great shape. Antique I think and I have been wanting to get it out to see how it does on the pond. It seams to be an 8 or 9 footer and pretty light rod. Anyone ever tried this or similar type?

Tracy

A lot of lighter wt fly rods are used for small overgrown creeks, when fishing for trout. (The reason for the short length, I've always heard, is all the branches hanging over the banks on small creeks)
I agree though, a light wt, longer rod would be ideal for ponds. I've got a buddy that is the Sage Rep out in Bozeman MT (yes, he has the best job in the world, his business card says, "my job, is better than your vacation.")
I'll ask him about why they don't make one.

I can't find a 3 wt of any length. If I find something I'll post it here.

Doesn't Sage have 3 weights?

0 to 4 weight, 8'-3"

Jeff, you need one in each weight!!!

Okuma and Reddington make inexpensive 3 wts, but the longest is 8'.

I enjoy my TFO 3wt and 4wt sizes. I do some bank fishing with them and it helps casting in tighter areas.

A Reddington CT 8'6" 3 wt (4pc, I think) is on sale now for under $100.

Poor sentence structure. I should have said, I can't find a 3 wt of any "significant" length.
My apologies..

I own several UL spinning rods anywhere from 5 to 7.5' - but those are all made by G Loomis or St Croix. The more one is willing to spend on a rod typically you'll find more specialized options than you'll find with BPS or Cabelas rods. I own several of those, too - just don't have the multiple options like one does with Loomis.

For fly rods, I own rods from 7' to 9.5'. I like the shorter rods for small streams requiring pinpoint casts from banks with high grass, brush, or overhanging trees or roll casts. A long cast on a tiny stream like this might be 10-15' and the largest fish are 10-12". A shorter rod in a 2 or 3 wt is perfect - so light you can hardly feel it in your hand.

Longer rods are necessary for distance and accuracy. Also, longer rods help shoot the wind when it's blowing, especially when fishing mountain rivers when the wind can really howl through the canyons where I fish in WY and MT.

For panfishing, I'd recommend a 5 or 6 wt rod 8.5-9.5'. If you could guarantee all you'll catch is 6-8" BG, you could probably get away with a 4 wt, but in most ponds there are larger fish present, so I recommend going up a wt or two for when you want to cast for LMB, SMB, etc. Catching 8" BG on a 6 wt is still a blast.

Casting accuracy in still water fishing is not nearly as important as trout stream fishing where we often have to delicately place a sz 20 midge in a 12" diameter "pocket" dealing with cross currents and wind, so one can save some money on these rods at the expense of accuracy. Since you're usually trying to imitate a terrestrial [ant, hopper, beetle, etc.] or a topwater feeding fish [popper], delicate presentation isn't necessary. If you want to go subsurface and nymph or use small streamers, these can double duty for you. Again, when nymphing or stripping streamers, casting accuracy and presentation can suffer and you'll still catch plenty of fish. Pond/lake fish simply don't spook like trout in shallow, gin clear water.

Everyone I've encountered that own TFO rods indicate they're a great value - there's a good place to start. Personally, the TFO I casted was extremely stiff and lacked touch/feel that I prefer in a rod, but it did cast far. Definitely want to go up a line weight if I casted that rod again - Rio Grand or Scientific Anglers MPX line is weighted half to 1 full class heavier and helps stiff rods load easier - something to keep in mind if you opt for a tip flex/fast action flyrod. However, for those new to fly casting, a moderate or moderate fast action rod will be more forgiving. I find most moderate action rods are typically more mid flex than tip flex - you can tell where the rod flexes when you hold it in your hand and waggle it.

If you're trout fishing in streams or rivers, you can spend thousands - but there are several excellent cheaper options available. My buddies at Yellowstone Angler in Livingston MT test out dozens of new rods annually and author reviews. It's amazing the following rods below performed much better in their tests than Wintson or Sage models up to 300% more expensive. Some of these gems include the following listed in order of performance ranking:

Douglas DFX 9 foot 5 wt $395

Beulah Guide Series II 9 foot #5 $295

Limit Creek 8 � foot #5 $169.99

Mystic Reaper 9 foot #5 $229.00

Fenwick Aetos 9 foot #5 $189.95

Echo Base $9 foot #5 $89.95

These are all well balanced rods that can cast accurately and present dries delicately up to 75'. At these prices, one can afford to buy several rods for specialized duties. Still, if I had to choose a single rod for everything from BG to SMB to trout, I'd go with a 8.5 - 9' 5 wt hands down.

Hope some of this helps. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions. Al knows a ton about fly casting, too.

I'm picking up fly fishing again after a hiatus of over 40 yr. Started again late last summer in the pond at my new home. I started with my old Shakespear Wonderod and 40 plus yr old line. The rod weighs a ton compared to the graphite rods I've bought in the last yr, and the line was terrible � it came off the reel in spirals, kinks, and twists. But I could still cast fairly well with it and I caught lots of BG. The main problem was that it was entirely too heavy for the little fish. So I bought a 8' 6� 6wt without knowing much about the wt system. That rod is much better, but I still felt it was too heavy and too stiff, so I bought a 7' 3wt that was on sale. It's really a dandy little rod and casts well with 4 wt line, but it's too short for the kind of fishing I'm doing. Within the last month, I've bought a 9' 4 wt and an 8' 3 wt. The 9' is a faster action than the 8', which is a moderate action. I'm closing in on my ideal rod. I'm also well aware that the line makes all the difference in the world. I've been experimenting with different lines by switching reels. For my style of casting, which is probably close to no style at all, heavier lines seem to be the ticket � at least one wt over the recommended wt. Too heavy has never been a problem, but too light is like casting a string on the end of a broom handle. The heavier line probably works better for me because I seldom have much line out, and therefore don't have the rod loaded up. I get more strikes at 15' than I do at 30, so about the only reasons for the longer casts is that it's more fun to play the fish from farther out and it feels nice to get the rod loaded up with the right wt line and a favorable wind or no wind.

A few days ago I was fishing at the north end of my pond and noticed that the fish didn't seem to fight as hard as they do at the south end where I usually fish. I was puzzled by this and still thinking about it the next day when I realized that I had been using a heavier rod and line. So, without anticipating anything, I had run what amounted to an impartial test of the difference the tackle makes.

I fished off and on yesterday from early afternoon until after sunset and caught a lot of BG. I used the 8' 3 wt, and many of the BG were heavy enough that I was concerned about lifting them out of the water on that light rod, so I lifted them out by just the line. Those fish put up a remarkable fight on a 3 wt rod.

The Sage that I saw were listed as 8'-3" length.

My Scientific Angler 7 wt is round 9' I believe, and the TFO Mini-Mag is 8' and it seems like it is 4' long, but it will cast just as far as the 9' 7 wt.

If you have done any fishing for heavier fish on conventional tackle, you will soon realize that a shorter rod will put the hurt to the fish and not to the angler, while a long rod will make the angler wish they had a shorter rod.

That's interesting. And I can see where you are coming from. I'm thinking for my HBG in the pond, I'd still like a lighter wt rod, that is 8.5' or longer. The HBG I was catching last week on my 8.5' 5 wt felt way too small for the rod. I was stripping in line to keep the fish on, and ended up running it right up to the canoe. Hardly felt like there was a fish on.
Maybe my HBG are still just way too small. Next year I'll be going back to a 5 wt. Ha

One last "for instance" on conventional tackle and no more hijacks.

Tuna fishing in the Pacific. We were catching 60#-80# Yellowfin. I was fishing with a rod that was almost 6' long, and it was taking me about an hour to get the fish to gaff. I broke the rod, the deckhand had one of his rods on the boat. I switched reels and was able to get the same size fish to gaff in half the time, AND with a lot less wear and tear on me.

As soon as that trip was over I went and had a rod made from the identical blank that the deckhands rod was made from.

You DON'T want to hook up a 50# tuna on a 9' jig stick with 50# test line. You WILL get your butt handed to you. Been there, done that and put the jig stick away asap.

This was all stand-up fishing, no fighting chair.