10’ 4 wt experiences and recommendations

[rancid waders]

All depends on how much rod you are willing to pay for. That being said I have 2 ten four wts. I use them primarily for bobber fishing.

 

[Tigereye]

I had a 10' 4wt in a cabelas CZN rod. My first foray into euro nymphing. It was an ok rod for the price. Really had no major complaints. There are certainly much better rods out there as well as some real clubs. I lost my footing and skewered a rock with it. Otherwise I'd probably still have it.

The weight and length you are reasearching will do just about anything you ask. Personally I find a 10 ft a bit cumbersome with dry flies and you need a much longer backcast than a 9 footer. If the streams you fish allow that you are good.

All said and done I think a 10 footer is a bit too long for an all arounder. If you lean a bit more to nymphing, you should be fine. If you float alot of dries I'd consider something a bit shorter.

Really can't go wrong with a 4 weight in PA.

 

[Broodstock]

Since I haven’t seen a recommendation yet for Scott, I’ll throw one in. I’ve fished their 10’ 4wt Centric and it’s my go to rod. I use it for mono rig, have fished micro thin leaders and up to 20lb butt section. It’s great with two nymph rigs, or small to medium jig streamers. I’ve fished it with SA amplitude infinity smooth WF line and tapered/harvey leaders for throwing dry- dropper and also hopper/beetle droppers as well as larger cicadas. It also can reasonably throw a sink tip or sinking leader but I prefer a 9’ 6 wt for chucking bigger streamers.

The action is fast but it has great response and a soft and sensitive tip. I’ve landed some pretty big fish in fast current and it’s more than powerful enough in the butt section to quickly play fish.

Lifetime warranty and it’s not a TT but still made in USA.

 

[joebamboo]

Can't go wrong with an Orivis Clearwater. Very good rod and reasonalbly priced.

 

[JeffK]

I used the 10' 4 wt first generation Grey's Streamflex as my primary rod for more that a decade and loved it at the time. Wasn't full over into the mono rig at the time, but it was a solid nymphing and wet fly rod. I chucked streamers often with it as well. I wouldn't call a 10' 4 wt an all rounder dry fly rod, but it excelled in two applications. First and foremost was high sticking dries in pocket water - like the Bushkill at Ressica Falls. Keeping line off the water with a longer rod really helps when you need to drift a dry over a few conflicting currents. Second was fishing in the pools under dams. The longer length allowed me to backcast over the side walls at a couple of my regular spots. Longer rods aren't as accurate casting IMHO - that is why I like a 7' or 7 1/2' rod when fishing dries in moderately sized streams. Like a 9 1/2' 5 wt with a little more punch when fishing the Delaware, although the 10' 4 wt did OK if the wind wasn't up. Generally I like longer rods for the Upper D because I can set the hook better with the longer reach casts required up there.

Liked it for fishing small streams as well. Most forests near me are over browsed by deer and are fairly open so the length doesn't hurt and helps to stand just a bit further from the stream. Of course, it is a disaster in a rhododendron lined stream.

 

[afishinado]

My default trout fishing rod is a 10' 4wt (H2 in my case). I fish it everywhere for trout with the exception of really small streams.

It's a great nymphing rod and I also like to fish dries with it, as mentioned above, it's great for mending dries and keeping more line off the water to avoid drag.

Also it really roll casts well because a longer rod naturally has a larger "D" loop to execute a roll cast.

I even fish streamers with it and it also works for distance casting (I can lawn cast the entire line with it for show). A 10' rod is a longer lever and thus increases the amount of distance in the air on your casting stroke.

Most importantly, find a rod that casts and fishes well because just because a rod is a certain length and weight alone does not make it a good rod to cast and fish, for you anyway.

 

[rancid waders]

STP has Greys 10 3wt still in stock for very reasonable , call it a 4 for that price

 

[Skook]

STP has Greys 10 3wt still in stock for very reasonable , call it a 4 for that price

Several years ago I purchased a Fenwick Streamflex Plus 9'6" 4wt that was being discontinued and cleared out from an eBay shop. The Streamflex Plus includes an additional piece stored in the handle that extends the rod another half-foot or so to 10'+.

At that time, word was that the Fenwick Streamflex Plus was the same rod in the U.S. market as the Greys GR80 Streamflex. Both brands are owned by the same company (Pure Fishing). Anyway, I found the Fenwick Streamflex Plus 4wt to feel a bit heavy and stiff. I'd say it feels more like a 5wt. The point being that rancid waders' recommendation to buy the Greys 3wt from STP might not be a bad suggestion for someone looking for a 10' 4wt.

You should be able to return it, but I'd look into their policy to be sure.

 

[rancid waders]

I kind of said that with a wink and nod seeing how alot of fishermen like overlining.

 

[albatross]

The biggest downside for a 10 foot rod can be the swingweight/balancepoint. The reels I like tend to be a little light to balance a 10 footer. I've recently started adding some lead wire (1/8") to calibrate the balance of my rig to just inside the front of the cork.

I think this is important even if it makes the overall weight heavier

 

[afishinado]

The biggest downside for a 10 foot rod can be the swingweight/balancepoint. The reels I like tend to be a little light to balance a 10 footer. I've recently started adding some lead wire (1/8") to calibrate the balance of my rig to just inside the front of the cork.

I think this is important even if it makes the overall weight heavier

I'm a "balance" guy too. I also add weight to my reel. I've found good way to do it is to wrap some lead tape on the spool before winding on the backing.

Amazon.com : lead tape for golf clubs

Mark the spot on the spool where the backing ends fly line starts with some masking tape. Peel off the amount of lead tape needed to balance your rod and unwind your line and backing and apply the lead tape to the spool. Wind on the backing up your mark on the spool. Cut the backing there and attached your fly line.

 

[rancid waders]

I have used LC line from Cabela's when I was making my own sink tips.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I think this is important even if it makes the overall weight heavier

I'm not sure if I agree or disagree. I like a reel that is "heavy enough" but I don't like a heavier reel that provides a great deal of rear weight bias.

Personally I think it's important to keep the setup as light as possible. I've fished my 2wt 10 footer with a fairly light reel (4.19 oz.) and it seemed to fish well with it not being too heavy, granted I indicator fished with my rod so it wasn't as raised as it would be if I were tight-lining.

Having used a 9oz reel on a 7wt 10ft I found the setup to be overall quite heavy (maybe I'm just weak and used to light setups). Most of the modern age wonder rods are just so light in terms of weight and swing weight.

I will say there is an increased line pick-up rate on running a slightly over-sized reel.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Can't go wrong with an Orivis Clearwater. Very good rod and reasonalbly priced.

I like the Cosmetics of the current gen Clearwater and have two of them (both current gen). The one is a 3wt 7'6" that is a really fun rod to lawn cast, I just haven't taken it to the water yet. The other is a 7wt 10ft that I had fun lawn casting but really didn't care too much for it when fishing it. I did fish it in some tighter confines where a graphite rod with that wt and length would suffer but I wasn't very impressed with the rod overall so I will sell it and opt for an H3F 8wt 10ft, mainly because that H3 will pair so much better with a reel I acquired for the Clearwater 7wt 10ft (I already traded the reel I had paired on the Clearwater so it's time for the rod to go). I do know that 10ft 7wts are heavy in general. I was pretty bummed about the 7wt Clearwater as I had high expectations for it and thought it'd be a great rod for larger Erie tribs.

Synopsis: the Clearwater is a tad heavy in terms of weight and swing weight. In a ten footer platform these qualities become more magnified. I speculate a 10ft 4wt Clearwater would irk me a bit when fishing it but I'd have to test cast one to offer a more thorough opinion. For a few dollars more the Douglas DXF is a much more tantalizing option.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I had a 10' 4wt in a cabelas CZN rod.

What kind of Saran wrap did you use with that one?

 

[Tigereye]

That was Orvis, Simms, or Pategonia if I recall. The Pategonia was a little pricier but worth every penny.

 

[Tigereye]

For those of you scratching your heads asking WTH are these 2 nit wits talking about, here's the story.

My son broke the tip of his Douglas LRS salmon rod. On our way home we stopped in All Season Sports. They just gave him a new rod told him to keep the butt section.
We got home I called douglas and asked if I could buy a tip. They sent me a free one. Talk about excellent customer service. Whe I received the tip, it was loose by a few thousandths. A small piece of saran wrap (abot 1 inch by 2 inces) on the male section before inserting is just enough to tighten the sections nicely. I got the rod for free so I'm not gonna be picky. When together, you don't even know it's there.

it was the source of much harassment during a 3 day salmon trip.

 

[simpliFly]

The 10’ 4 weight seems to be quite popular in PA. George Daniel and Troutbitten are proponents. TCO promotes it above all other configs for PA. Seems like a fair number on this board are using this config as their primary trout rod.

My perception is it’s often used where the mono-rig is the preferred setup or as an indicator rod. I’d be interested in hearing thoughts on a 10’ 4 weight as an all around trout rod when the mono-rig is not in the mix.

 

[afishinado]

The 10’ 4 weight seems to be quite popular in PA. George Daniel and Troutbitten are proponents. TCO promotes it above all other configs for PA. Seems like a fair number on this board are using this config as their primary trout rod.

My perception is it’s often used where the mono-rig is the preferred setup or as an indicator rod. I’d be interested in hearing thoughts on a 10’ 4 weight as an all around trout rod when the mono-rig is not in the mix.

I use my 10' 4wt for all my trout fishing from big rivers like the Delaware and Lehigh to the smaller streams I fish.

I fish dries, wets, streamer and nymphs with the rod with fly line, and sorry, also fishing a mono rig at times, but my 10' 4wt was my preferred rod for all trout fishing before I started messing with all the mono stuff.

The key is really not to get a 10' 4wt, but rather the 10" 4wt that has the action and feel that works best for your casting and fishing.....there are plenty of them out there for you to try.

Good luck.

 

[jifigz]

The 10’ 4 weight seems to be quite popular in PA. George Daniel and Troutbitten are proponents. TCO promotes it above all other configs for PA. Seems like a fair number on this board are using this config as their primary trout rod.

My perception is it’s often used where the mono-rig is the preferred setup or as an indicator rod. I’d be interested in hearing thoughts on a 10’ 4 weight as an all around trout rod when the mono-rig is not in the mix.

I have one and I don't use a mono rig. It has its purposes, but I often fish smaller waters and still adore my 8'6" 4 weight.

When I am on a bigger water like Penns, I am basically ALWAYS using my 10' 4 weight. It does everything okay. I have a TFO Blue Ribbon.