Fly outfit weight

[34ric]

My current set up consisted of a 5/6wt fly rod (kit combo rod) with a 4-7wt battenkill bar stock. I was in the market for another 5 wt rod but then started thinking that maybe ill spool up a 4wt line on my reel and buy a 4wt rod instead. The reason for me double thinking the original decision is that the most fishing i do is on smaller rivers (upper credit) to small/medium rivers (grand river) where i would be mainly doing dry fly fishing with occasional nymphing for trout. But as i considered this i realized i also want to be able to go for the occasional bass or smaller sized pike when i go with my friend on his boat to lakes such as simcoe and scugog. I know that a 3 wt would be optimal for trout fishing in the conditions i will be in and do not want to by a new reel so im thinking that a 4wt set up will be the best option. Is the difference from going 5wt to 4wt that drastic in the presentation/ability for larger fish?

 

[Madriverfisher]

Not to much that I know of but I think a 5 wt would be a little light for pike I have caught small bass on my 4 wt while targeting trout and its a blast but I guess it would depend on how big the pike are but I thin ether rod would be to light for them

 

[grubman]

Hey Mad

As I understand it rod wt=line wt=leader size=tippet size, they all have to balance and so does fly sizes. Of course you don't go salmon fishing with a 2wt. Rod wt is related to fly size, but what if a huge fish hits your smaller fly?

Won't it be like UL fishing? If you play the fish and apply less pressure your tippet won't break neither will your rod. And you should get more hits with the lighter line.

Where's that thread that Schnip had about rod wt and fly sizes? It was just before he got his first outfit.

EDIT: Ok I found it. Ric follow the link.
http://www.ontariofishingforums.com/forum/topic/17529-might-help-out-some-noobs-like-me/

 

[[email protected]]

thing is, if you don't have the power in the rod, its going to be a long drawn out fight putting more stress than nessecary on both the fish and rod, making recovery time longer on the fish

 

[grubman]

thing is, if you don't have the power in the rod, its going to be a long drawn out fight putting more stress than nessecary on both the fish and rod, making recovery time longer on the fish

Yeah that's pretty obvious, but how can you say that if you're fishing with say a 3wt that a 15lb pike won't hit your small fly? You have no idea what's going to bite and can't select which fish hits, unless of course you decide to deliberatly break off. Like I said don't go salmon fishing with a 2wt.......lol.

 

[[email protected]]

Yeah that's pretty obvious, but how can you say that if you're fishing with say a 3wt that a 15lb pike won't hit your small fly? You have no idea what's going to bite and can't select which fish hits, unless of course you decide to deliberatly break off. Like I said don't go salmon fishing with a 2wt.......lol.

but if you're fishing creeks, chances of hitting a pike are slim to none, but if you're on a lake or big river, take a heavier rod,

 

[torco]

I would invest more in the set-up you would use most often. Sounds like 3-4 weight would work out best for you.

 

[redneckchromer]

but if you're fishing creeks, chances of hitting a pike are slim to none, but if you're on a lake or big river, take a heavier rod,

x2 get the fish in as quickly as possible I hate seeing guys playing with a half dead fish on the end of their line, is it really that fun? A 4wt would be the equivilant of a light or medium/light rod right? So IMO too light for pike. And like grub said what if a 15# pike hits on a 3wt? Break the darn thing off!! There is no chance in hell your landing that fish without killing/severely harming it!! Come on fly guys i though u were all about protecting the fish jks

 

[34ric]

I just had an idea... With the reel I have (battenkill 4-7 wt) could I effectively load it with 3wt line? That way I can buy a 3wt rod and have one spool with 3wt line and my spare spool with 5 wt and can swap between line weights when I want to take my 5wt out.

 

[Madriverfisher]

ya you could do that thats a really good idea

 

[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.

 

[34ric]

So i went to the local fishing store and came home with a 7'6" 3wt Grey's GS2 and fresh 3wt DT line. Just finished spooling it up on my extra spool - Cant wait to test it out.

 

[Madriverfisher]

greys make nice rods good choice