Small Glass?

mcswny

Legend
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Anybody into small glass? Looking at expanding into a 3 or 4 wt for dinks.
Leaning towards a short 3wt since I already have a lovely Winston 8' 4wt graphite rod.

In terms of length should I be looking at ~7'?

I know, I know, I can go post over at Fiberglass Flyrodders, but I'm here.

Thinking tromping around here.
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Looking for these.
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Sam Roffe

If a man ain't fishing...
Forum Supporter
I have a 6' 3wt St Croix rod that would be good for the monster dinks in small water.

But, 2wt would be nice. You might check out the offering of NFC fiberglass blanks.
 

mcswny

Legend
Forum Supporter
I have a 6' 3wt St Croix rod that would be good for the monster dinks in small water.

But, 2wt would be nice. You might check out the offering of NFC fiberglass blanks.

The thing is, I don’t love TOO specialized of rods which scares me away from a 2 wt. but then again I also understand there’s not much difference between a 3 and 4.
 

Skimr

Smolt
Forum Supporter
I’ve got an Epic 370 (7’ 3wt) that is an absolute blast to fish. Sweet casting and has handled browns up to 16” very well. I built it from a kit which was fun. If looking to buy a prebuilt rod check out Graywolf rods https://www.graywolfrods.com/for-sale excellent reputation.
 
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mcswny

Legend
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I’ve got an Epic 370 (7’ 3wt) that is an absolute blast to fish. Sweet casting and has handled browns up to 16” very well. I built it from a kit which was fun. If looking to buy a prebuilt rod check out Graywolf rods https://www.graywolfrods.com/for-sale excellent reputation.
Yeah, graywolf/steffen, barclay and McFarland all seem to be at the top of the list, just not really sure what length. I’ve never fished small glass and not sure what’s ideal in terms of optimal length. And it’s not like you run into these niche rods in fly shops to test cast.
 

John Svahn

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
I have a Steffen 7’6” 3-4. It is quite versatile and all fish feel big, but it has backbone to handle bigger fish. I do fish it on tiny creeks but might size down if i wanted it to specialize in just that. Fwiw it is the perfect fish-blue-lines-up-to-headwater-lakes-and-fish-the-lake rod, imo
 

Yard Sale

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
I’ve got the 6’9” 3wt Echo glass rod and love it. Super fun on small streams but has enough backbone to fish alpine lakes. I’m sure there are nicer options but for a niche rod the price is right.
 

Matt B

RAMONES
Forum Supporter
I don’t know much about glass but I have a 7’6” 2 wt redington CT that I throw a 2 weight line on with dry flies for dinks on the small streams and it is a blast. I think 6’6” to 7’6” would be the sweet spot for that fishing. I’ve also had it ready for dries on stocker lakes and deployed it to success some, and that is a kick as well, so it does have other uses.
 

mcswny

Legend
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I don’t know much about glass but I have a 7’6” 2 wt redington CT that I throw a 2 weight line on with dry flies for dinks on the small streams and it is a blast. I think 6’6” to 7’6” would be the sweet spot for that fishing. I’ve also had it ready for dries on stocker lakes and deployed it to success some, and that is a kick as well, so it does have other uses.
Thanks matt
 

clarkman

average member
Forum Supporter
I know I know, not "small" glass, but my goto trout glass is my Steffen 8' 5/6. handles everything up to Deschutes summer steelhead and makes even smaller trout feel larger than they are. If you're really after a 3 or 4wt, you can't go wrong with a Steffen.

I actually have something that might work well for you too. An old 6'3" 3pc Berkley Parametric. It's listed as a 6wt and handles a 6wt line very well. I've also fished it with a 4wt line and it did very well with that. super bendy with little fish but has decent backbone. Let me know if you want to take it for a spin.
 

mcswny

Legend
Forum Supporter
I know I know, not "small" glass, but my goto trout glass is my Steffen 8' 5/6. handles everything up to Deschutes summer steelhead and makes even smaller trout feel larger than they are. If you're really after a 3 or 4wt, you can't go wrong with a Steffen.

I actually have something that might work well for you too. An old 6'3" 3pc Berkley Parametric. It's listed as a 6wt and handles a 6wt line very well. I've also fished it with a 4wt line and it did very well with that. super bendy with little fish but has decent backbone. Let me know if you want to take it for a spin.

I'm definitely looking for SMALL water. The kind of water where your kid is looking for bugs ankle deep and I need something else to do. I have a good 8.5' Livingston that's very quickly made it my go to trout rod (other than my 4 wts for the Met).

I'd take you up on that!

Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if I want to dip my toes into rod building and pick up a blank somewhere. Need to see how much the rest of the components will set me back 🧐
 
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