small stream rods

[bushwacker]

Been thinking about getting my 1st small stream rod..6-7' 2-3wt. I'm too poor to purchass expensive rods though. Anyone have recomendations. Also, how much more difficult is it to cast a light rod. I'm used to using an 8' 6 5wt. medium action. I mostly want one because latley I keep finding myself at small, tight mountain streams fishing for small wild trout. Some brands go as short as 5'....anyone have one....how do they perform? Thanks!

 

[albatross]

Check out this 7 foot 3 weight Cabelas Clear Creek

Get it while you can. Great price for a good small stream rod.

 

[flyfishermanj]

bushwacker,

Here's a link to this subject earlier:Small Stream Rods and a little farther back; Small Stream Rods II. Hope this helps. 🙂

JH

 

[MKern]

Definately don't get anything expensive.
I built mine for $40 and a friend's for $60.

Ablie is right, if you are interested in that rod, get it quick.

 

[Fishidiot]

bw,
You might want to consider how many sections it breaks down in to. If you're a hiker a four, or better yet, five piece rod has some real advantages. I prefer extremely short brookie rods but there are a lot more options in the 7 foot range. Cabelas has an affordable five pc rod in 7.5 ft called Stowaway.

 

[AugustWest]

A buddy several years ago had me cast a Three Forks 763-3 from Cabela's a couple of years ago without my knowing anything about it. I then went and bought one as a back up rod. Around $50 and a nice little 3 piece 7'6" 3 wt. rod.

 

[pcray1231]

bushwacker,

Just my opinion, but I like a 4 or 5 wt for small streams. Short is still necessary. But a punchier rod can help with getting tight loops into tight spaces. I typically don't use tiny flies on brookie streams anyway, and delicacy (as in laying the fly down nicely) isn't usually an issue. The name of the game is pinpoint accuracy from as far away as you can practically be into often tight spots, and to me that means you need a little punch.

If you're idea of small stream fishing is tricos and midges on small spring creeks, well, just disregard this post. I'm mostly talking about brushy brookie streams.

 

[gzacckey]

If you have someone who will lend you a rod to try out that would be best. I use a variety of rods depending on the character of the stream and how I intend to fish.

On one small local stream I like an 8 ½ ft. 3wt. The stream is 10 to 12 ft wide and shallow. This stream also has a lot of trees and heavy bush cover along the banks but the over the stream itself the tree canopy it open enough to allow some casting. I started with a med-fast 6 ½ foot 3 wt. It was great for dries/streamers but not as good for my style of nymphing. I went back to the car and grabbed the 8 ½ foot 3 wt. It turned out to be perfect on this stream. It allowed me to stay out of the water and still reach the far side for high stick nymphing. It was also easier to cast dries sidearm over the water and to control drag.

On another very small stream I’ve used a 6 1/2 ft. 3wt with more success and even a med-soft 5 ft. 2wt. This 2 wt. is just a fun rod that lets you feel the smaller fish on these streams. You really appreciate the shorter rods when you need to walk/crawl through brushy areas. Plus the 8 ½ footer would have been a nightmare in the very low canopy of trees over the water. The minute you forgot and raised your rod it was in the trees. So the shorter rods just made things a little easier, especially when landing a fish. If this same stream was in the middle of a meadow I’d probably use a longer rod and be casting 20 ft. back from the bank.

So, as usual, it depends on your intended use and personal style. If you’re not too far from Cabelas you can always buy an outfit and if you don’t like it they will take it back. As was recommended earlier the Cabelas Three Forks and Clear Creek rods/combos are inexpensive and will do nicely. The Clear Creek rods are on clearance and almost gone so you should call ahead to be sure they have what you’re looking for.

Good Luck!

 

[bushwacker]

Thanks everyone for the input, it was very helpfull.

 

[nittspike]

I have a Cortland Brook 8' 4wt. They make a 7' 3wt and a 6'6" 3wt. No complaints here. Delicate enough for midges and can throw a good size streamer and bugger. I picked mine up in Spring for $179 but you may be able to find it cheaper due to the season and clearing out for 2009 models due in December.

 

[RLeeP]

>>bushwacker,

Just my opinion, but I like a 4 or 5 wt for small streams.>>

I agree with this and would even say that for me, the 5wgt. is preferable over the 4.

I once won a T&T 7' 3wgt. at a banquet. I fished it for a year and then sold it. It was, IMO, useless for fishing the typical PA small wild trout stream where you need to punch a #14 humpy in under a hemlock bough at 25'.

But certainly, YMMV

 

[shipnfish2006]

I have a 5' 3wt white river classic. The rod is great for all of the laurel and rhodedenrin (sp?) choked streams that I fish where you can't cast more than a few feet anyway. However, it is a specialty rod and I wouldn't recommend it unless you fish in these streams where you spend more time crawling than walking. If you're going to be fishing areas where casts beyond 10-15' are the norm I'd go with something in the 6' - 7' 6" range.

 

[afishinado]

Another vote for a slightly heavier wt rod. My bushwacking rod is a moderately fast 4wt pack rod. It converts from a 7' to a 6'. I often find a need to punch flies under, over, around and into cover. The 4wt usually gets the job done.

 

[sundrunk]

Fennwick FF70 5wt's pop up on ebay all the time $50.ish.

 

[jayL]

I like a 7'6'' 3wt for streams around here. I've got a custom from Versitex in Phoenixville. When I go to Shenandoah, I use my 8' TFO 4wt. I've been there on a few very windy days and was thankful that I didn't have the 3wt.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

I purchased a 7' 5 weight White River outfit at BassProShops recently. I spent $200 for it, which was as much as I was willing to pay for an extra rod at the time. It performs well and looks nice. It also comes with a great little disc drag reel. It is short but not too short. Its not super light, But that wasn't the issue with me.
It is a unique weight/length, but I can get into nice tight spots, it's not too light to cast big nymphs, and I regularly use it with ease on larger streams. Also I don't find it useful too make very long casts mostly anyway, which keps me from overlooking water or casting over fish. I catch less trees, it packs down to 28" and my other rod stays in the vehicle. Its a 3 piece do all.

 

[pcray1231]

Another idea is overlining the rod. Rod weights are determined for proper loading with a given amount of fly line out (30 feet?). If the streams you plan to fish are brushy, even when trying to cast as far as possible for the situation, you'll rarely be at the that length, and thus you won't load the rod properly and have trouble at short distances. Going 1 size up in the line weight, compared to the rod rating, can help load the rod at short distances. That will help with power and accuracy.

Again, just an opinion, and it depends on the action of the rod. Some rods have a high tolerance, and cast well when underloaded, others do not. Try it out at a fly shop and see if you like it before laying down hard earned cash. Just as a warning, the danger in overlining is that if you ever throw a long line with it, you could vastly overload the rod, which could lead to breakage. I sincerely doubt it'd ever come to that but thought I should throw it out there.

 

[AlwaysWading]

Take a look at the Cabela LST series. I have one in that series for native trout streams like the Swiftwater, then one a bit larger for the streams like the Little Lehigh, Latort, etc, and then one at the upper end for steel head out at the Lake Erie Tribs. I matched up an LSR reel for each and all three versions handle whatever I throw at them. I work the heck out of the steel head setup hauling in anywhere from 5 to 20 fish on any given day we head across state to wade in the tribs. I also have a less expensive starter setup that I picked up at Cabelas when I first started to fly fish, and the only thing I did there was upgrade to a better reel, other than that all my cabela setups work great. You may think that picking up a $50 or $60 fly fishing setup at say Walmart would be a great inexpensive way to start, but throw a few more dollars at a better setup, you will quickly see it was worth a bit more change, as you gain ability and love for the sport.

 

[eballat]

I own 2 small rods and i love them both. I own a 5'6" cabelas clear creek in a 4wt. I also own a cabela pt3 in a 6'6" 2 wt. I like them both my favorite however is the clear creek. The extra weight to the line really improves accuracy. I find that when i fish small brookie streams, especially with over hanging hemlocks, even a 7'6" Is too long of a rod, at least for me.

 

[Buggy]

I went to the Wheeling Cabela's today to buy a 5'6" 4wt Clearcreek rod. They didn't have them in the store but an employee was able to locate one at the distribution center 3/4 mile from the store. The rod is discontinued at $59.98. I paid for the rod and drove to the distribution center for pick up. I think they have more if anyone is interested. I can't wait to try this rod out. It is tough to find a 4wt rod in this length.