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

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.