I would say that 98% of all the stream fishing I have ever done can be fished with three bamboo rods: 7 footer for a 4 weight, 7.5 footer for 5 weight, and an
8 foot rod for 6 weight line. If I were to grab just one rod, it would likely be the 7.5 footer for a 5DT.
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One Rod versus several rods
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 wb4tjh |
#21 | |||
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Posts: 453 01/17/2009 13:22 |
Bamboo is the Benchmark for flyrods. |
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Marshall8 |
one additional comment | #22 | ||
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Posts: 770 01/19/2009 11:45 |
One must do is when you get your one rod in a 5/6wt; add a silk line that in the right hands is capable of turning the rod into a most lovely 2/3wt for a
delicate presentation!
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Chartist1 |
#23 | |||
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Posts: 181 01/19/2009 12:08 |
one bamboo rod only? Well then it would have to be an 8' 6wt. I tried throwing weighted streamers with my 7'6" 5wt and that was more work than
fishing should be. But an 806 is not going to be enough for Steelhead fishing. So I'd need a graphite too.
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Canewrap |
Re: One rod versus ... | #24 | ||
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Posts: 76 01/19/2009 14:56 |
After 15 years of searching I have my prospecting rod now. Its a 2-piece 7'9", 5wt. that because of the mass of the tip, self loads just enough to
give a subtle loading clue when the line has unrolled with every line between 4 and 6 wt. and will handle all of those line weights well. The end of the tip is
thick enough not to have to worry about streamer fishing or snagging bottom once in a while and the tip is responsive enough to feel a weighted nymph ticking
bottom. Also, because of the thickness of the tip and the fact it was assembled with Epon and impregnated, I don't have to worry overly much about sets.
This rod does it all well for me. Its not a cannon, but I can fish 50' without too much trouble and it easily loads with just 10 feet of line out. At this
point I like this rod enough I'll probably just take my time and look into making another one, just like it. I've even nicknamed it the Hawk Eye as the
hawk is my favorite bird.
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 Boo.fiberglassflyro... |
Hollow vs Solid | #25 | ||
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Posts: 86 01/19/2009 15:42 |
Making a rod lighter doesn't make a rod better. Case in point...a couple of years ago I went on an all day guided float trip down a nice meandering Oregon
river with a fishing buddy. He had his 9ft Sage XP. I had my 'heavy' 8 1/2ft fiberglass rod. By half day his arm was so tired he was slapping the water
on nearly every back cast because it took more effort to cast the faster/stiffer rod and line. While I was still casting strong I believe because my rod did
the casting with less effort, it flexed and had action. Fast rods are "actionless" [maybe a GW term] and require more effort to cast, imo.
As I stated in my earlier post, I once owned two hollow built rods. One an 8 1/2ft rod for 5/6wt that weighed more than my 8 1/2ft [4 1/2oz] Orvis Limestone and Orvis 3pc 8 1/2ft 4 5/8oz Battenkill. All weighed on a postal scale. There was no weight advantage in either hollow built and both were very stiff and unpleasant to cast. So, to me the minimal, if any at all, weigh difference holds little water compared to the more important taper of a rod. |
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Boonut |
#26 | |||
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Posts: 413 01/19/2009 16:36 |
Boo wrote:Everything being equal. The HB has to be a bit lighter, never heavier. The pith has to weigh something. |
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Canewrap |
#27 | |||
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Posts: 77 01/19/2009 17:33 |
IMHO, you guys are confusing mass with weight. Its the mass and the force applied that creates torque on your arm when casting. By-the-way this thread
wasn't about hollow building, it was about having one rod that does most of what you need for a fly rod. I believe there is another topic on hollow
building just down from this topic.
Last Edited By: Canewrap 01/19/2009 17:36.
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andre49 |
#28 | |||
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Posts: 1052 01/19/2009 19:11 Deeply Shallow |
As I get older and maybe wiser I think I could do 95% of my fresh water fishing with a 71/2 ft, 101 or 206 E clone. I fish midges down to 30 on these rods and
can throw size 4 zonkers with little difficulty( just slow the stroke down). A 71/2 ft rod is not to big for small streams or to short for places like the
Delaware. I would have no problems fishing for any freswater species that I can think of. ( I don't fish for pike or muskies) Of course I own over 14
bamboo rods but don't own them because I need thenm only because I want them. I just don't believe that fishing is specialized that we need different
tools for every situation. Salt water is of course a whole different animal. In short I catch the same amount of fish if not more with 1 rod for months at a
time than if I try different rods for different situations.
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Berry Point |
#29 | |||
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Posts: 439 01/20/2009 07:32 |
Before I acquired the bamboo disease, I did all my trout fishing with a single graphite rod--an 8 and 1/2 ft 5 weight. It was pretty good at covering all my
needs from small dries to nymphs and streamers and could even handle a 6 wt line when I needed it to. It was a bit unwieldy in tight conditions on small
streams but I got by.
Last Edited By: Berry Point 01/20/2009 09:29.
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cyangler |
#30 | |||
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Posts: 2 01/20/2009 10:51 |
Sounds like you came to the right group with your consideration. I have a bunch of rods and trying to decide which of them will be my go-to rod will be tough
as I begin pairing back. I already have one or two I just can't let go of though others I own handily cover the same territory. I am leaning in the same
direction as the others here on this one. I have a 7'6" impregnated Cortland 444 Ltd. that throws a 6wt 444 sylk very nicely close in or the distance
when I need it. Delicate, precise, powerful. Not too long for smaller streams, but with enough reserve for bigger water when called upon. A medium length mid
weight quad should give you what you're looking for.
Last Edited By: cyangler 01/20/2009 10:53.
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Eric Peper |
#31 | |||
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Posts: 102 01/20/2009 11:44 |
I don't know how many rods I have at the moment, but I guess that's irrelevant because I only fish about 8 or 9 of them in the course of a season. The
question that is begged in the "one rod" issue is "Where will I fish it?" If I were only going to fish one river, I could probably settle
on one rod, albeit I would not choose to be so limited. Given that I fish a dozen different size and types of rivers in different conditions and in different
ways (floating versus wading, for example) there is no one rod that would do it all well. I could make a compromise decision, I suppose, but to be limited in
that way would remove a good deal of the enjoyment of fishing those several rivers.
EP |
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mattcliff |
#32 | |||
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Posts: 33 01/21/2009 00:46 |
This thread has been dominated by Easterners. Clearly the best one-rod, all-around bamboo fly rod is an 8 1/2-foot 6-weight. Maybe a 5.
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Chip Node |
#33 | |||
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Posts: 572 01/21/2009 10:49 |
Variety is the spice of life, though having dozens of choices can draw out the final decision. Then, having that many choices one is more likely to have the
right tool for the job. Still one can't help wonder about the man with one rod, if they are any less satisfied at the end of the day with their fishing
experience. One rod, my choice would be a 7' or 7'6" in a 4wt or a 7'9" or 8' 5wt. Thank goodness with careful splitting a culm
can provide enough strips for three one tip rods!
Last Edited By: Chip Node 01/21/2009 10:59.
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cdmoore |
While I still agree with myself... | #34 | ||
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Posts: 2645 01/21/2009 11:39 Moderator |
...that is, you should get three rods, there may be a way to cheat: a companion rod. Walt Powell and a few others mastered this approach. I think Jim
Reams is making one these days, too. There may be others. This would net you multiple options from a single rod...er...sort of.
"Occasionally, I hallucinate. About fly fishing. Well, not really. I guess I just forget about everything else."
~Tom Chandler |
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cyangler |
Variation on a theme | #35 | ||
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Posts: 4 01/23/2009 04:33 |
That is, essentially, what I did for awhile. I trimmed down to two rods. A 1967 cane 6'6" Orvis Superfine, lined with a 5.5 wt on a SA System/Marquis
5 reel, and a multi-configuration Bacon graphite that has a butt section one can cap or use one of two different length fighting butts. There is a 12 inch
insert one can fish with or without, giving combinations of 8 1/2 and 9 1/2 foot lengths. The rod is fitted with two sets of mids and tips allowing line
weights of 4-7 that cast as well in any one of these configurations as a rod designed for any one or two weights in that range. It will even handle down to 3
and up to 8 surprisingly well. I originally purchased this one for air travel to use after business on business trips. I picked up "my-plus" share of
full-bodied Bows on the White in Arkansas on one of these trips and lots of Spotted Sea Trout and Ladyfish while on the Indian River in Florida. Two-or-three
rods? It can be done!
If I were to stick to one, I'd prefer to stick with cane. There I still go with my 7'6" Cortland cane mentioned earlier in this string. It has more flexibility in line wt and taper than I went into and being an Easterner, though I love my newer 8' Kosmic, the extra six inches snickers me into doing more contortion than I'd prefer on a small but significant portion of the water I fish. But, I'm speaking generalist rod here. I like the 8 to 9 foot rods a lot, as I do a fair amount of broad stream fishing as well. And I like the 7 footers for the small streams. A few smaller ones for special sections of select water but seldom go less than 6'6", though have a six footer for those extra special spots. Had a shorter than 6' Fenwick fiberglas once, but it didn't have enough backbone for its length to be of much practical use to me.
Last Edited By: cyangler 01/23/2009 19:06.
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