Most Popular Fly Rod Weights

Wetswinger

Wetswinger

Beneath the surface of the mud, there’s more mud.
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I’m always wondering, when deciding to build a rod, what size and weight rod people on this site would be looking for. The most all-around rod is probably a 9’-6#, good for The Sound and lakes.
What do you all think? 4#, 8#, ?#…I use a couple 6# and a 4#, plus a Switch rod from the beach..
 
Wetswinger said:
I’m always wondering, when deciding to build a rod, what size and weight rod people on this site would be looking for. The most all-around rod is probably a 9’-6#, good for The Sound and lakes.
What do you all think? 4#, 8#, ?#…I use a couple 6# and a 4#, plus a Switch rod from the beach..
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I really like the 7' 3wt S-Glass/Iconoglass rod and the 8' 5wt S-Glass/Iconoglass rod that I bought from you.

I would likely buy an 8'6" 4wt S-Glass/Iconoglass rod, if you built one.

I'd be very curious about a glass switch rod, too (but I have never cast a switch rod).
 
My 8' 5/6 glass rod is a great size, and really fun to cast and fight fish with. Both my boo rods are a similar size (8' 6wt). My fav 9' Sage GFL is a 6 also. For my current fishing style I'm just finding a 9.5' 5wt graphite rod more suitable. I always enjoy fishing my 4's, but I often enough end up finding a couple fish during a day where it's just not enough, plus I just don't fish many small flies.
 
For everything I'm up to I run a 9' 7wt glass. I like the action and I don't fear for it's life when I get into something bigger than I expect.

An aside: I try to live by Adam Savages theory on gear where you should start by buying the cheapest functional tool for the job you want to get into and when you use it so hard it breaks you can buy the nicest one on the market. I have done everything in my power to blow out this 7wt reddington. I am not nice to it on the trail and I catch everything from lingcod in the salt to stealhead in the river and it has yet to underperform. I may cry when it finally goes.
 
I've got way too many rods for different scenarios, but if I could only have 1 rod for fishing the Sound and lakes in Washington it would be a 10ft 6wt. 6wt because it can cast heavier flies on a windy day on the Sound that a 5wt can't handle. 6wt can easily handle pinks and even though it's light you can catch coho if you're careful. On the flip side it's not so heavy that you can't fish it comfortably in lakes for trout. 10ft because it helps keep the line higher when you are fishing from the beach in the sound. Also, 10ft is more advantageous for indicator fishing.

If I spent more time on the rivers I'm sure I would have a different answer.
 
Rivers and lake use only, listed by amount of use.
Favorite is Echo 9’ 4wt (rivers/lakes)
Tenkara adjustable length (creeks/rivers)
Loomis 9’ 6wt (lakes)
St Croix 8’ 5wt. I bought it 25 years ago for horse packing, I haven’t fished it in 15 years but my wife has a few times, but I think about selling it
 
I switched to mainly evens, other than my bamboo rods, but a 5wt is probably the best all around rod.

I've got a 6' 2wt, building an 8' 4wt, a 9' 6wt.. and so on til my spey rods. Plus a tenkara rod.. too many to fish.. I need to tow a little red wagon to carry my whole arsenal! 😆
 
Buzzy said:
Fly rods are like boats: one isn’t enough. I mostly fish a 590 and a 5100 (graphite).

I wouldn’t mind a glass rod.
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If you end up coming to the official PNWFF swap/shop at Mayfield, I'll have several I'll be bringing to part with. Mostly 6/7wts (there's a joke in there for the kids....😆)
 
For all around trout fishing in Washington (and most places) 5 and 6 wt rods are the most popular. Probably because they are the most useful. Lighter and heavier line weight rods are more specialized. I have a 3 wt Redington CT that is every bit as much fun as my 5 wt Redington CT, unless it's windy. 3 and 4 wts are a lot of fun, but they are not as "all around" as the 5 and 6. I also have 7 and 8 wt rods for certain applications, but they get far, far less use than the 5 and 6, hence, not so "all around."
 
Salmo_g said:
For all around trout fishing in Washington (and most places) 5 and 6 wt rods are the most popular. Probably because they are the most useful. Lighter and heavier line weight rods are more specialized. I have a 3 wt Redington CT that is every bit as much fun as my 5 wt Redington CT, unless it's windy. 3 and 4 wts are a lot of fun, but they are not as "all around" as the 5 and 6. I also have 7 and 8 wt rods for certain applications, but they get far, far less use than the 5 and 6, hence, not so "all around."
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My 8 weight rods were fantastic for coho in Alaska (and fun once or twice for the same on the Olympic Peninsula) but they are very good choices for caprs. But then capr fishing isn't an all around fly fishery, it's a "certain application" (so stop fly fishing for caprs you wanna be capr anglers!). ;-)
 
Kinda liked my 3wt as I maybe enjoy small streams more than anything. But I always struggled when the 11:00 wind piped up, so I like 4wts more. But then 5wts proved far more versatile, and with good technique, almost as delicate. But then, I always seemed to be working harder than necessary to coax a streamer out to where I thought necessary, so I’d grab the 6wt. And then the wind was in my face so the often shunned 7wt became valuable. And then I remembered my happy days with the 3 or 4wt.
There is no perfect answer. Especially once you throw trout Spey in the mix. With advanced counseling one might land on five rods and save a bundle: A shortish 4 for small water, an “all around” 5wt for most troot fiching. (I’d lobby for glass on the 4 & 5.) A fast 6 for streamers and Puget Sound (if you have the good sense to live here). Probably a medium 7wt for bass, carp and wind, and certainly a really good 4wt Spey rod, at least for me, because it’s almost as good as sex.
Oh, and for steelhead, that’s pretty much a memory. Sorry if you missed it.
 
North Fork Composites had a sale, so I bought some blanks for next year. 2 Air Carbons, a 5# and 8# and also 2 Gamma Betas both 6#. These are some quality rods and I’m stoked to get them..so many rods, so little time..
 
I think a 10’ 4 wt is a do it all rod for most trout streams.

For dries on a river I’ll take a 9’ 4wt if it’s not windy. Wind I’ll go up to 9’ 5wt

I like a 9’ 6wt for chuckin meat.
 
5 wt for most of my fishing.
6 wt for windy days or heavily weighted streamers.
 
When I first started fishing (back when Sage was born) a 6 weight was considered the all around weight. Mainly because you could also use it for steelhead. Then people started switching downward to a size 5. Then a size 4.

I have rods in almost all sizes and right now I primarily use a 4 weight for my still water endeavors.

Every now and then I pick up my ol' first edition Sage 6 weight and I can't imagine that I ever used for trout on The Met, but I did for years and years.
 
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