5wt rods?

[FlyCraft]

I have owned one 5wt once a G Loomis GL3, and it was a great rod for the application at that stage - in Colrado, on the Roaring Fork, Colorado and Eagle Rivers. Sure also in NZ on their size rivers. Since then, in SA I have seen many fly fishers go the 5wt route, something I can't understand, maybe on the Vaal river it has its place. Apart from that a 6wt is way more versatile, a 7wt has a distinct place in you arsenal, then hop to a 9wt, 10 wt if the budget affords it and then a 12 if you target species requiring this setup. Lower a 4wt and a 3wt, 1 wt and below are more "fun"sticks" I think.

My preferred rod range - 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12. Your thoughts ?

Reason for this post, is that many/most suppliers think we have to fish 5wt's in SA.

[tombosis]

I own a 10/11 weight GL3 which I will never sell. It still amazes me how well this rod casts a full 100ft Tarpon Taper line. Not bad for a rod I bought over 18 years ago!

Current rod weights: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10/11 (its more of an 11 than a 10 having tried both weights on this stick)

As an aside, when I started fishing the Vaal many years ago I used a 4, then went to a 5, and prefered a 6 the last few years I was in JHB. Low flow I'm still happy to use a 4.

[Nepptune]

My current Quiver:

#00's, #3, #5's, #6(Glass) #7, #8 (Glass ) #9's and #12's..

I really enjoy the 5's and find them to be an almost perfect Stillwater stick for trouting, and they've done their fair share of work on the Carp too... Mine have also done a fair amount of light Saltwater work too..

Granted I've not fished a regular 6 weight for a loooong time, so perhaps thats why I fish the 5's so much..

[JadeDsantos]

I have the pretty standard lot:

0wt, lots of 2wts, 4wt, 5wt's, 6wt's, 8wt (I use the Stealth deep red, its a bit soft and could probably match up to a 7wt fast rod. I use for Estuaries, carp, and bass.) 9wt, 12wt

The wt I dont get, which everyone loves, is the 3wt. Its to big for small stream work (hence I have lots of two's) and to small for yellowfish unless its a tiny yellow stream. To me its more of an odd one out, but everybody loves their 3wts.

[shector]

The wt I dont get, which everyone loves, is the 3wt.

JD, I can kinda see why, especially in the WC. During early season (September and October), rivers run high and a 2 wt (a standard 8'0 2wt I must add) is to light to master the "strong" current and wind. A 3 wt in the 9 ft to 10 ft class has the ability to fish well in these conditions and manages to be light enough not to feel like your fishing a broom stick. On the other had, a specialist 2wt i.e. 10 ft 2wt will have the same benefits.

My 2c

[BenzoV]

The wt I dont get, which everyone loves, is the 3wt. Its to big for small stream work (hence I have lots of two's) and to small for yellowfish unless its a tiny yellow stream. To me its more of an odd one out, but everybody loves their 3wts.

I was thinking the same, although wasn't #3 generally the standard/lightest small stream rod before graphite and ultralight came along?

Philip why do you prefer to have both a 2 and a 3? And if you had to choose between the two, which would it be?

[dollar]

my current thing
1wt, 3wt and 4wt for fishing freshwater streams and river, normaly casting short to medium distance.
5wt for still water.
8wt and 9wt for estuaries and the surf.
why fly guys dont fish 6 and 7wt's could be a misconception of "carry the additional weight all day long" or the finesse thing taken to limits

[JadeDsantos]

Yeah I can se that Stan. I do fish light on the Cape Streams, and do have a 10ft 2wt for such occasions (Actually built for the NEC). I am really hoping the cape gets some good rain, I havent been on the Cape Streams since December last year.

[Mike Taylor]

Interesting thread. I hadn't thought about it before, but my first fly rod was a 5wt. When I gave it away, I didn't replace it. I bet most people start with a 5wt, as that's usually what's recommended as a "general purpose rod". A friend who's just started fly fishing was sold a 3wt as a general purpose stream rod and a 5wt as a still water rod. Maybe it's a good beginners' rod
I have an 8'4 2wt for dry fly, a 10' 3wt for nymphing, a 9' 4wt for buzzer and wet fly fishing, a 10' 6wt for streamers in fresh and salt and a 9wt for salt (which I very seldom use).
I'd have no use for a 5wt at present.

[Andre]

The only 5wt I ever possessed, was a Greys Streamflex 10 foot, and a Greys Missionary 4/5wt, which i used for yellowfish nymphing. I put them both out to pasture when I got my Sage 99, which I found to be far superior in every aspect of Czech and euro nymphing for yellowfish. Even though the Sage is a lighter rod than the Greys, it is far stronger at bringing the fish to the net quicker. My choice for trout and yellowfish are 2wt (10 foot), 3wt (9 foot) and 4wt.
The Sage 99 4wt, is my current first choice for yellowfish numphing and trout stillwaters.