Best 2nd rod after a 6wt rod purchase

[Tom.S]

So one person wrote try not to buy 20 rods. I’m looking to purchase another rod. I own my 6wt and will be fishing it soon for sure. It may be to early to buy another but I’m curious what would be the next best rod to buy. I don’t have a boat so salt water is out. I want to stay with trout and maybe one day bass.

What has my eye is the Reddington CT line. Thinking about that BBS disk reel to pair with it.

 

[Divad]

So one person wrote try not to buy 20 rods. I’m looking to purchase another rod. I own my 6wt and will be fishing it soon for sure. It may be to early to buy another but I’m curious what would be the next best rod to buy. I don’t have a boat so salt water is out. I want to stay with trout and maybe one day bass.

What has my eye is the Reddington CT line. Thinking about that BBS disk reel to pair with it.

The 6 will throw all your big rigs for trout and standard stuff. Great first choice!

I’d get a 4wt one day or if you’re doing high lakes and streams, a 3wt. The Redington Classic Trout is a no brainer, keep watching them and they’ll go on sale for under $150 sometimes.

 

[Tom.S]

The 6 will throw all your big rigs for trout and standard stuff. Great first choice!

I’d get a 4wt one day or if you’re doing high lakes and streams, a 3wt. The Redington Classic Trout is a no brainer, keep watching them and they’ll go on sale for under $150 sometimes.

Thank you. I had read on here where a guy took a 2/3 wt rod and just had a blast in a small creek. That’s something I’d like to try as well. I want something that looks old school like that bbs to pair but not sold on that reel.

 

[Rob Allen]

So one person wrote try not to buy 20 rods. I’m looking to purchase another rod. I own my 6wt and will be fishing it soon for sure. It may be to early to buy another but I’m curious what would be the next best rod to buy. I don’t have a boat so salt water is out. I want to stay with trout and maybe one day bass.

What has my eye is the Reddington CT line. Thinking about that BBS disk reel to pair with it.

8'6" 4wt

Then later on get an 8 wt for bass

 

[Northern]

If you lean towards wanting to explore small creeks & fish, then a 2 or 3 would be the most fun. Shorter if your creeks are brushy, long if they're mostly open.
For a 2 or 3wt, the only thing your reel has to be good at is holding line, and pleasing your own eye. So, get an inexpensive reel that you like the looks of; maybe something old school off the 'bay or in the classifieds here.

No boat, but any chance you have a personal watercraft of some kind? If so, a different option is targeting lakes. In that case, I'd go with a 9' 4wt, and maybe get the Lamson 3+ Liquid or Remix 3 pack off Sierra (nice drag but very inexpensive, reel body with 3 spools.) You can pick up floating, intermediate, and sink5 lines to keep on the spools, and have 3 new fishing choices

 

[Zak]

4 weight. 8'6" 4 weight and a 9' 6 weight cover almost everything for me.

 

[Tom Butler]

I fished over 20 years with a 9' 6wt. Lakes and streams. Don't be in too much hurry to add rods until you have a chance to fish a bunch of places and get a feel for what would be appropriate for you and where you fish most. More rods don't necessarily mean more fish. Reading water, presentation, and fly choice make more difference than a rod. Since I found I enjoyed small streams most, my next rod was a 8'6" 4wt. I don't go smaller because we got wind, I fish a lot of sz. 6 to 12 flies, and on any day an anadromous, or a larger resident fish, may show up. Over time I learned I prefer to fish multi-fly setups, I like to swing wet flies downstream, and I have a somewhat slower preferred casting stroke. I don't fish dries alone much. That would affect future rod choices.
Then I went down the rabbit hole with bamboo, an 8wt, Euro nymph rod, glass, ect........ They are each in their own way just plain fun but really I don't think my catch rate is increased much, just horses for courses, or specific tools for sections of the 130+ miles on 3 rivers or half dozen lakes I tend to fish most, and the way I like to fish them.

 

[rattlesnake]

For the next one I’d suggest skipping a line weight - so a 4wt. You’ll notice the difference between a 4 and a 6 more than just a 5 and a 6. Then if you’re fishing water where you feel underfunded with the 6 or over gunned with the 4, you can buy your next rod to suit what you are fishing.

Like maybe your 4 is just a little too much for the small creeks you’ve been fishing so maybe you go with a glass 3 or if it’s way too much you can go with a 2wt.

Enjoy!

 

[Dillon]

8'6" 4wt

Then later on get an 8 wt for bass

I agree and the 486 Taylor Dynamix is a very good choice at $199.

 

[Brute]

You don’t need to buy 20 rods…18 will suffice…

 

[Robert Engleheart]

8'6" 4wt

Then later on get an 8 wt for bass

This. I have the CT in that size, several 6 and 8 weights. Spacing 2 line sizes apart works for me. At the price of the CT you could get the 4 and a 2 in 7 or 7’6” or shorte. Or, go fiberglass in an old Fenwick or similar for the small creeks, you won’t be casting far and glass loads nicely in close quarters.

 

[Josh]

The 6 will throw all your big rigs for trout and standard stuff. Great first choice!

I’d get a 4wt one day or if you’re doing high lakes and streams, a 3wt. The Redington Classic Trout is a no brainer, keep watching them and they’ll go on sale for under $150 sometimes.

@Tom.S , I was going to type something out, but I see that @Divad has said exactly what I was going to say.

So just consider this a big +1 to those thoughts. Only thing I’d add might be to stick towards 9ft if you are fishing lakes more often and shorter if you are fishing small right creeks more often.

 

[jaredoconnor]

If you really want to cover all your bases, you cannot beat a 10ft 3wt. I was actually thinking about this exact topic, last night; if I could only have two rods, what would they be? I concluded that a 10ft 3wt and a 9ft 6wt can cover literally all trout fishing. No other rod combination will give you that.

The Greys FIN outfit is very good value, at ~$200. All you need to do is replace the euro line with a regular 3wt line, then buy a regular leader and a mono rig, and you're done.

 

[troutstalker]

If you really want to cover all your bases, you cannot beat a 10ft 3wt. I was actually thinking about this exact topic, last night; if I could only have two rods, what would they be? I concluded that a 10ft 3wt and a 9ft 6wt can cover literally all trout fishing. No other rod combination will give you that.

The Greys FIN outfit is very good value, at ~$200. All you need to do is replace the euro line with a regular 3wt line, then buy a regular leader and a mono rig, and you're done.

Do you use a 10ft 3wt for small, tight brushy creek/river fishing?

 

[jaredoconnor]

Do you use a 10ft 3wt for small, tight brushy creek/river fishing?

Yes. I learned how to fish on Australian creeks that barely have any water in them and are covered in trees. I wouldn't hesitate to use a 10ft rod on any of them. I believe it is almost always the best tool for that. The only exception I have encountered is when you have a very low canopy and the rod is too long to land fish. That is far more rare than people think, so it is barely worth mentioning.

When creeks get tight, a few feet of rod length makes little difference; the real issue is the 10ft+ of line that you are flailing around. Sooner or later, overhead casting becomes impossible. At that point, roll casting usually doesn't work either; it causes too much disturbance on the water. That leaves you with bow and arrow casting. Using a long rod allows you to make longer casts, keep more line off the water and stay further away from the fish. If you bow and arrow cast nothing but leader (ie. a mono rig), it also provides a degree of stealth that no other technique can match. On small creeks, these things matter.

 

[troutstalker]

Yes. I learned how to fish on Australian creeks that barely have any water in them and are covered in trees. I wouldn't hesitate to use a 10ft rod on any of them. I believe it is almost always the best tool for that. The only exception I have encountered is when you have a very low canopy and the rod is too long to land fish. That is far more rare than people think, so it is barely worth mentioning.

When creeks get tight, a few feet of rod length makes little difference; the real issue is the 10ft+ of line that you are flailing around. Sooner or later, overhead casting becomes impossible. At that point, roll casting usually doesn't work either; it causes too much disturbance on the water. That leaves you with bow and arrow casting. Using a long rod allows you to make longer casts, keep more line off the water and stay further away from the fish. If you bow and arrow cast nothing but leader (ie. a mono rig), it also provides a degree of stealth that no other technique can match. On small creeks, these things matter.

Thanks for the explanation Jared. I appreciate it!

 

[Dogsnfish]

It really does depend upon your need. I have wanted to get a 3wt for some time but it is more of a *want* rather than a need. Can't beat an all around 5wt for trout, although the 4 may be a better complement to your 6. One suggestion, if the 6 covers most of your bases why not try a two-hander if you are fishing streams?

 

[EmergingFisher]

The key to not buying 20 rods is to simply not count how many you have.

I agree with others on the 4wt. I have a Redington Classic Trout 4wt 9' rod (4-piece) and it is fantastic; heck of a rod for the price. When I bought it the fly shop guy/guide (at a well known cool-kid shop) didn't even try to up-sell me from it, which said a lot to me. However, if your 6wt is 9', consider a shorter or longer rod to mix things up a little more.

 

[Tom Butler]

The Redington CT is a nice rod. Mines a 6wt. If I recall your 6wt is the clearwater ( I have one in 5)? The CT is noticeably more moderate in action (slower), loads deeper into the rod. Don't be surprised if it takes a bit to adjust your casting stroke to the timing difference each time you grab the other rod.

 

[Tom.S]

Thank you. I had read on here where a guy took a 2/3 wt rod and just had a blast in a small creek. That’s something I’d like to try as well. I want something that looks old school like that bbs to pair but not sold on that reel.

If you lean towards wanting to explore small creeks & fish, then a 2 or 3 would be the most fun. Shorter if your creeks are brushy, long if they're mostly open.
For a 2 or 3wt, the only thing your reel has to be good at is holding line, and pleasing your own eye. So, get an inexpensive reel that you like the looks of; maybe something old school off the 'bay or in the classifieds here.

No boat, but any chance you have a personal watercraft of some kind? If so, a different option is targeting lakes. In that case, I'd go with a 9' 4wt, and maybe get the Lamson 3+ Liquid or Remix 3 pack off Sierra (nice drag but very inexpensive, reel body with 3 spools.) You can pick up floating, intermediate, and sink5 lines to keep on the spools, and have 3 new fishing choices

I want a small row boat or Jon boat as our lakes are smaller. Still looking for one on the cheap side. Thank you for your advice.