short fly rod

[56kodiakshooter]

oes anyone know of a descent fly rod for under 300.00 5 1/2 ft.-6 1/2 , for small stream fishing-thanks

 

[lestrout]

Yo 56 - what line weight are you thinking? Will you be chucking buggers, big Stimmies or hopper/droppers? For that you would want 5wt. For more normal dry flies, a 3 or 4wt is what I use.

Also are you into bow'n arrow type casting and/or mostly flipping, rather than conventional casting?

 

[56kodiakshooter]

3 -4wt.

 

[DavidFin]

If you're going to have enough room to cast you may want to stay around 6 and a half.

I would check out the Douglas Upstream rods. They're a touch more expensive ($350) but very, very nice. If I didn't have a TMF I would buy one.

 

[MKern]

I've build many 6'6" 2 weights for about $70. I've said it a million times...a small stream rod should be cheap. You are going to drop it, bang it off trees, and try and yank flies free with it.

 

[LetortAngler]

Cabelas TQRs are one of the sweetest short rods I've come across and generally run around 110.00, they go on sale almost everytime Cabelas runs a sale, as with their CGRs (glass).
I now own 3 TQRs, A 7ft, 7.5ft and 6.5ft, but they do make shorter ones.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

MKern wrote:
I've build many 6'6" 2 weights for about $70. I've said it a million times...a small stream rod should be cheap. You are going to drop it, bang it off trees, and try and yank flies free with it. [/quote MKern, I see your reasoning but I must respectfully disagree at least speaking for myself. Just because the flyrod is used for small streams does not mean it should be cheap. I fish many small streams and I certainly do not bang my flyrod off trees or even worse drop it or try to yank flies out of trees with it. I give my small stream flyrods the same care I do ALL my flyrods. The main thing to remember is to take your time and watch your step. If you do that you will not hit your rod against trees or even worse drop it. I never use my rod to yank at flies stuck in trees. I use the leader or line and pull. Never the rod. I have enjoyed many days along small streams while using several top quality flyrods. WTT

 

[dano]

I once fished my friends 5 1/2 footer on a mountain brookie stream and I hated it. It cast OK but I didn't like the short reach, especially while trying to keep flyline off the tailout water presenting dries upstream.

I really like the rainshadow 6'6" RX6 2wt with a 3wt line for sidecasting and shooting line under the hemlocks.
On occasion, I fish a 6'3" 4wt boo that gets the job done but find myself reaching for the rainshadow most of the time as the boo needs a little sloweer/longer casting motion compared to the RX6.
The RX6 is much easier to use in tight casting situations.

 

[Bamboozle]

dano wrote:
I once fished my friends 5 1/2 footer on a mountain brookie stream and I hated it. It cast OK but I didn't like the short reach, especially while trying to keep flyline off the tailout water presenting dries upstream.

This ↑

The reach thing is HUGE on fast riffles behind pools, which is what most dinky creeks are loaded with. I own rods down to 5'0" and nine times out of ten on small streams that truly warrant a rod shorter than 7'0"...

I grab my 6'6" 3wt.

While the shorter rods have their place (I guess), in all honesty there are not many spots where fishing something as short as 5'0" or 5'6" is the difference between being able to fish a particular hole or not.

Case in point, I was fishing a really small Schuylkill County stream with a 6'6" rod. The place was so tight that just walking through the woods was a hassle. Fishing consisted of standing on the bank, poking the rod tip through the rhododendron and throwing the line/leader/fly through the hole, letting it drift downstream & wiggling it through suspected lies. While not a lot of fun casting-wise, catching-wise I did great...

However I thought a shorter rod would be the ticket on this creek.

When I got home I pulled the trigger on a 5 footer. Guess what, when I went back I discovered the rod was TOO short to effectively poke though openings in the rhododendron while standing on the bank because the rod tip didn't extend far enough over the creek.

Walking through the woods was a bit easier though...;-)

I also don't subscribe to the “beater” mentality for small stream roads. It’s not hard to take care of a rod while bushwhacking. I even carry my cloth rod bag to certain places and pack-in, and out with the rod broken down to make life easier.

As far as a recommendation, I’d look at the Cabela’s CGR 466-3. It’s a nice rod for $64.99. You could probably do an entire rod/reel/line combo for $125.

Good luck!

 

[springer1]

Fiberglass

 

[troutbert]

For brook trout streams I recommend a 7 1/2 ft, 4 wt, moderately fast action graphite rod.

With that rod you can fish any stream that you can walk up.

It's much more versatile than something like a 6 ft 2 wt.

 

[steveo27]

Kinda the opposite end of the spectrum, but I have a 6'6" 3/4w Eagle Claw Featherlight that I use on alotta really small streams. It cheap and it gets the job done.

I also have a cheapy 7'6' 3 Cabelas 3 Fork rod that I use. Also gets the job done well

I subscribe to the school of though MKern does so I cant justify dropping 300$ on a rod thats gonna be abused.

 

[hookedonthefly]

56.. what did you end up getting??

i use a cabelas prime 6'4 4wt.

 

[MKern]

The Batson Rainshadow is what I build for this situation. I've built about a half dozen of them...never a complaint.

Oh and get the really cheap reel that is light weight. Defiantly no need for a $200 reel that will do nothing but hold your line.


A second thought. You could go to a shop that sells rod building supplies and ask if they have any top sections of fly rods that the bottom piece broke. Then build a 4.5' rod for pennies.
The shop I used to work at had tons of odds and ends that just sat there that I would have sold for next to nothing.

 

[auriemma]

Sorry I'm late to the party on this.

I have a 5ft 3wt from Shu-fly. It sold for about $100 at outdoor show 2 years ago. I also found a nice Shu-fly 3/4 reel for it as well, small and light. I use it in the small tree crowded streams around me.

What did you finally get?

 

[outsider]

I have a 6'-6" 3 weight Shu-fly that I bought at the outdoor show in Harrisburg. A favorite rod, and it roll casts well. It is a wisp of a rod, and small fish feel big.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

I have 2 custom Fenwick FL72-6 rods. One is 6'4" the other is 6'1".
Bought one for 23 bucks and the other for around 70 I think.
Lovem both on small streams.

 

[dano]

Rainshadow RX6 Blank 6' 6" 2wt.. $19.95 at Hook&Hackle
Very nice for tight casting lanes.
My favorite with a 3wt line, short cigar grip and cork reel seat.