easternshores

In my opinion, you won't get one rod that is perfect for all conditions. This is a generalization, mind you, since a 5wt. could work as a dry fly rod or a nymph rod. But if you wanted to get the most performance out of a rod, I'd suggest buying individual rods for those situations. For instance, dry fly fishing and nymph fishing usually requires slightly different rod properties. With dry flies you want a slow to medium action, mid to full flex rod to be able to finely target and delicately land a fly. Also most dry flies for resident trout are small and very light so a 3-5wt. would be ideal. For nymphing, you won't have to be casting as delicately or precise as dry fly fishing but you will be casting heavier, weighted flies so a fast action 3-5wt. is necessary. More importantly, in order to detect takes while you nymph, you need a sensitive rod that will communicate takes quickly but also protect your tippet. A tip flex rod is ideal for communicating takes and a tip-mid flex is great for protecting your tippet.

Finally, these rods aren't going to be too useful for pike fishing since pike very rarely take small dry flies or weighted nymphs. You will be casting large ugly flies that are heavily weighted for pike. That would require a fast action rod in a higher weight category, 7-9wt.

Then again, a 5wt. medium action mid flex is probably the most ideal rod if you had to have a rod that could handle most type of fly fishing in a mediocre fashion.

My first setup was a 7'6" 3wt. rod made by Mark Prewitt of RDPFlyrods (www.rdpflyrods.com). Great price point for a medium fast action, mid flex rod. The workmanship is first class and Mark is open to rod customizations and personalizations. The rod casts a 3/4wt. line very smoothly. I paired this rod up with a 3wt Ross Flystart (www.rossreels.com). It's a small, cheap and simple reel. This setup was designed for trout in small streams but I have caught a few river smallmouth on this setup and it plays these fish very well. This is probably because of the strong butt section that it has.

Not sure about about other zones, but zone 16, most tribes are open all year for salmonids from lake Ontario to highway 2, highway 3, highway 403 or eglington, whichever is the most southerly large road/highway.

I might head out. Correct me if I'm wrong but people are talking about fishing south of the 403 or highway 2 in the GTA tribs, correct?

Trying watching Oliver Edward's movies about fly fishing. Great way to understand the basics. And his voice reminds me of David Attenborough and his narration of nature videos, very soothing.