For a more accurate idea on size.

[BigFishingShop]

Hi everyone, got this pic from the fly shop I was at today, from July this year , came out of Charley's Creek, down the road from my house and is pretty typical of the larger Rainbows I catch around here, may be a bit bigger than what I described for 5/6 ?? They fight like they aint ready to die too and Ive caught them while rigged for smaller fish, snapped my line a few times as well.

[inline "Charley creek.jpg"]


Hope pic may help, thanks

BFS [fishin]
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[flygoddess]

NICE!
To answer you with more fish porn. All of these were taken on a 6 weight.





and of course:




And this on a 10' 5 weight:


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[macfly55]

sis.. are you trying to show off..[sly]

but love that second to last pic.. ya know the one where the fish is almost as big as you.. [sly]

MacFly [cool]
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[flygoddess]

Well, maybe just a little[angelic] No, no....I am just saying it is all in the butt and a 6 weight is a good all around stick.
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[Brook]

Can't disagree with that.

And, for the one-rod angler, the longer the better. My recommendation is a #6 weight at least 8 feet long. That's probably the most versatile outfit you can build.
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[flygoddess]

Note the one in my Avatar. An Eagle Claw 5/6 WITH 6 weight line which isn't really important as I am not really casting that rod, but rather lobbing it out with a 20+' leader. But the BEND.....OMG I love the BENDS!
By the way, the rod was like $14.[laugh] The price of a couple of my furled leaders![cool]
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[Brook]

Ahhhh, Eagle Claw. The guides best friend.[sly]

I remember a buddy of mine, who ran a salmon boat on Lake Michigan, using nothing but. As I recall, trolling rods were about 23 bucks at the time.

His attitude: If a sport managed to break one, so what?

But the fact is, pricepoint aside, they're surprisingly durable rods.
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[macfly55]

LOL.. I think your pics made your point well.. and I know you are not a show off.. :-)

MacFly [cool]
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[Dryrod]

[font "Garamond"][#008000][size 4]My first rod was & still is an 8½' 6 wt Fenwick Eagle. Since I have a better 6wt 9' rod to call on the Eagle has become my back yard play thing. BTW it came with a sock and an aluminum tube. Paid Abt $100 way back then and I think that they still run abt the same price.[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[Brook]

Fenwick is one of those brands you cannot generalize about, Dryrod. It's existence has been a roller coaster ride from top-of-the-line to crap, and back again.

When I got into flyfishing, Fenwick was as good as you could get, and I saved a long time to buy one. It was a 7 1/2 foot #5 weight, and I used it long and hard until it was part of a bunch of gear I lost when my car was stolen. Had a Medalist reel (y'all remember them), and a SA line that was the highest of high tech at the time.

Ya know what? Despite the trunck full of Winston's, and Orvis', and Sages I still miss that little rod.

Brook
http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com
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[flygoddess]

Now you had to mention "little" and "Fenwick"
I have a Fenglass, it is "E" glass but due to it's length a little more like an "S".
5'3" 4/5 weight...Now that is fun stuff right there. But , it is picky about what line you put on it.
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[Brook]

Big and little are such relative terms, Flygoddess. I called 7 1/2' little only in relationship to the longer rods preferred today---and by me even then. First rod I ever built, right after the Fenwick, was just short of 9 feet, and folks thought I was crazy.

But compared to the midge rods that were all the rage when I bought the Fenwick, it was a giant. Some of those boys got really obsessive, with rods that were shorter than most rod tips.

Comes Lee Wulff (of course) who demonstrates that you don't need a rod at all to cast the whole 90 feet.

To me that whole thing was like the #1 weights of today. An affectation, more than a serious tool, for anglers who have far too much time and money on their hands.

Brook
[url "http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com"]http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com[/url]
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[BigFishingShop]

Look like smokers to me [] .

so I take it the 5/6 is a real good choice. Now I am looking at all the different gear and wondering whether to go with a travel rod that stows real nice or less pieces for better action.

pics remind me of fishing Strawberry or the I forget the name of it lake in the pass out of Spanish Fork

BFS [fishin]
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[macfly55]

I think that SA 5/6 wt trout combo we talked about before may be a good choice.. as FG and Brook said.. its a good allaround lenght and wt.. plus in a combo the line and reel are usually ones that help give you a balanced first ff'ing rig.. also that combo that FG linked last night.. the glass one that looks like a boo might be a good deal..

MacFly
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[BigFishingShop]

Hi Brook, thanks for the reply. Was going to be my next question about a good length. Wondering now just how much action I will sacrifice for "Travel" rod compactability.

May be on quad or hiking through some pretty tangled woods (real pain with no gear in many places here) in many spots so trying to weight out some differences that way too.

thanks again,

BFS [fishin]
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[macfly55]

Id stay away from that travel rod idea.. fly rods come apart in three to four pieces.. so at max a 9 ft rod will be roughly 3 feet long.. and once it is all packed into a rod sock.. or rod tube.. you can pack that easily inside or lashed to your backpack..

MacFly [cool]
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[Brook]

Multi-piece travel rods---particularly the old spin/fly combos---used to mean you sacraficed action for the convenience of break down.

Nowadays, however, there are some pretty good outfits out there which, when assembled, equal that company's two-piece rod in the same size.

I haven't kept up, so won't make recommendations. But an example would be the three-piece Winstons. I've got four of them, and they're both as good as their regular rods. The carry cases, each of which holds two rods, measure slightly more than 38 inches.

I've got a four-piece Orvis #5 weight, too, that I was happy with until I got the Winstons. Nothing wrong with the Orvis---it just lacks the snob appeal. [cool]

BTW, a trick many people don't seem to know. When negotiating thick stuff, hold the rod by the reel end, with the tip behind you. The rod will just snake through the brush, following in your footsteps.

Brook
http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com
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[flygoddess]

[quote Brook]
Comes Lee Wulff (of course) who demonstrates that you don't need a rod at all to cast the whole 90 feet.

Brook
[url "http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com"]http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com[/url][/quote]



Now that is a new one for me. But then again Silk line is unbelievable.
I have seen videos of Lefty Krah do the casting 90' with his hand, but again, new technology in the line.
If you have some video or what ever of Mr. Wulff doing this, I would love to see it. He as his wife are my heros.
I never took Wulff as a distance caster anyway. I do have the video of him breaking out the little 6' 5/6 Bamboo for the first time and landing 25+ lb Fish!



I have answered before about muti piece rods, and as Brook mention, with todays design, the amount of pieces does not mean the same. The older rods actually were made with a big hump at the ferrule. A build up so it could slip over the other section. You just don't see that any more.
With today Graphite the ferrule forms a connection in which makes it as one.
Again I don't think the number of sections matters. The only thing I have heard is HARMONICS. And that an ODD number of pieces puts the guides in a desired spot. ODD meaning 3, 5, 7 piece rods.
I have a 7 piece and love the idea that it can fit in my back pocket on a hike.

Brook, about the odd pieces...hmmmm, two of my Winstons are three and one is a five...Hummmmmm. Even my Bamboo is a three Hmmmmm. And my Mc Farland Glass!

But wait, all my other rods are four with a couple of two piece and they are FANTASTIC! (even the Eagle Claw LOL)
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[BigFishingShop]

Yup, prob will be, unless, eBay man !! having more fun looking a fly deals there than I did guitars, already scored me one cool old combo [cool] .

BFS [fishin]
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