5' 6" 3w rod

[billyboat]

Hi gng,haven't posted much but I'm having trouble casting my 5' 6" fly rod. I get sloppy casts that end up with wind knots in the leader. It's a 3w rod with 4w line and #4 leader. I have no problems casting my 7' 6" fly rod. Any sugestions would be appreciated
Thanks in adcance.
Bill

 

[riverwhy]

Is it a different action from your 7'6''? I would guess it is softer, in which case you need to slow down and make sure the rod flexes on the back cast.

 

[JimNovo]

5’6” fly rod? Do they make them that small?

Stick with the 7’6”

 

[billyboat]

5’6” fly rod? Do they make them that small?

Stick with the 7’6”

 

[billyboat]

Its made by wildwarer, graphite. I think I got the rod from Cabelas.

 

[Old Town]

I had a guy come into the shop about 30 yrs, ago and complained about not being able to cast his new rod. I asked to see it and it was a very short rod as you are describing. We went outside and I watched him with the rod then I picked it up and tried casting it myself, so guess what? My casting was not a whole lot better then what he was doing. I found out this was his first fly rod and asked where he bought it . I will not mention the shops name. I had a 8 ft. 4 or 5 weight and within 10 minutes his casting improved dramatically. Needless to say he owned a second rod leaving the shop. Why would anyone sell someone a very short hard to cast rod for there first rod?

 

[redietz]

5’6” fly rod? Do they make them that small?

I've got one of Ed Shenk's glass rods. It's 5'2" and lovely to cast.

 

[caddisflyer]

I have tried short rods like that and didn't like them. The Ed Shenk rod may be the exception and there may be others, likely fiberglass.. I have a 6 ft 3 inch 3 wt. that casts very nicely. That is probably the shortest I would go.

 

[Old Town]

Ed used wright McGill for his glass rods but I forget what cane he used. We sold several glass but I only remember selling one cane rod at the shop. As he got older his wrappings were not quite up to par and we quit selling them. Perhaps he just quit making them?

 

[Bamboozle]

I own a lot of very short rods including one of Ed's rods built on a Lamiglass blank, a 5'0" 3wt Winston Retro, a 5'6" 3wt McFarland Spruce Creek, not to mention rods at 6'0" & 6'6" and a slew at 7'0".

All with the exception of a few bamboo rods at 6"6" & 7'0" are fiberglass, all cast just fine with the recommended line and all are wonderful rods for those incredibly tight places.

HOWEVER, the first thing I noticed when fishing a 5'0" or 5'6" rod is how much faster they feel versus their longer counterparts. That requires an immediate timing change to slow things down AND a very short leader.

As it seems Billyboats' rod is graphite and he's using a heavier line, it may be even faster than my short sticks meaning the troubles may be from not allowing the line (if there is any involved) to straighten out and/or the leader is entirely too long.

BTW - What is a #4 leader? If it doesn't mean a four foot leader, I'd start by getting one and trying to slow things down and not over power the cast to compensate. Another thing is make sure you are not using a long front taper line.

A long front tapered line (meaning anything much longer than 7') is a disaster on most short rods fished at short distances, especially the shortest rods fished with a longer leader. That's because there just isn't enough fly line mass out past the tip top, even if you overload the rod with a heavier line.

Good luck!

 

[goose54cdd]

You gotta be patient and wait for it to load. When I first got a 7-footer I was having the same problem. I wasn't waiting for the rod to load before going forward and it created wind knots, etc.

 

[lestrout]

Yo billy - a few minutes hands-on could resolve this. Where are you located?

 

[billyboat]

Thank you all for your sugestions , they are very much appreciated. I had read an articale about lite and ultra lite fly rod fishing and rod setup. I also saw something about puttinf 4w line on a 3w rod for better results. (I'mthe type of person that buys some things without thinking things through, this short rod was one of them) After purchaseing it and having a hard time casting, I realized that my7'6" rod can handle panfish as well as any trout or bass that I may catch. I realize now that it was not a good choice but I will occasionaly practice with ie and maybe get better or just put it away and chalk it up to experience. Bamboozle, I should have said 4x leader, not #4. I generaly use 2, 3 or 4x leaders and mainly use 7.5 foot tapered leader and mainly buy Rio leaders.
Thanks again fot the input.
Bill

 

[billyboat]

Yo billy - a few minutes hands-on could resolve this. Where are you located?

I live in the outscurts of Allentown. I appreciate the offer but I think that at this point, I will just put the rod away and chalk it up to experience. The older I get the more I am able to curb my impulse buying. I also consider myself a halfway fly fisherman. By that I mean that I only flyfish but I don't concern myself with the different hatches (my mind can't remember them. LOL) I tie my own flys and am not very god at it, I can't tie a fly smaller than a 12. I taught myself how to fly fish 47 years ago with vhs videos and books . after about 15 years of fly fishing I gave it up dew to my wifes healthgoiing downhill, I took care of her. After her passing, I decided to get back into fly fishing.
Sorry I rambled on. But now you know a little more about me than you did befor.
Bill

 

[wildtrout2]

...and mainly use 7.5 foot tapered leader and mainly buy Rio leaders.
Thanks again fot the input.
Bill

Just a suggestion. Instead of constantly buying Rio tapered leaders (not cheap), you might think about just using a tippet ring about four feet down the leader, then simply adding about four feet or so of 5X/6X tippet. When the tippet gets too short for whatever reason, just replace it with a new tippet. Faster, easier, and cheaper. Also, it's more economical to just buy a small spool of four pound mono to use for your tippet.

Not to mention, what happens if you don't uncoil a new packaged leader correctly.

 

[falcon]

Graphite rod companies dont put a lot of effort into designing graphite rods less than 7 1/2 ft as they would not be their best sellers. Shorter rods have always been the realm of the glass and cane people.

 

[billyboat]

Wild trout2: Thanks for the tipet ring suggestion. When my leader gets to about 5' I do add tippet, usually about 2 or so feet of it, I tie directly to leader. With a tippet ring and mono, wouldn't that reduce the taper to just 2 sizes? and will it perform the same as a standard tapered leader? Some times I have trouble tying tippet to leader, after about 3 or 4 attempts to get a good knot I will get frustrated and just put on a new tapered leader.
Bill

 

[Bamboozle]

Thank you all for your sugestions , they are very much appreciated. I had read an articale about lite and ultra lite fly rod fishing and rod setup. I also saw something about puttinf 4w line on a 3w rod for better results. ...Bamboozle, I should have said 4x leader, not #4. I generaly use 2, 3 or 4x leaders and mainly use 7.5 foot tapered leader and mainly buy Rio leaders.
Thanks again fot the input.
Bill

Bill:

Many moons when fishing some dinky Pocono streams ago all I used for a leader was about 2 feet of 3X & about 3 feet 4X or 5x on the end of my fly line and sometimes just 4X. What Wildtrout2 is suggesting is an even better idea if you don't like tying Blood Knots.

The bottom line with short rods & short casts is IF you have a 7'6" foot leader and a long front taper fly line, it is conceivable that you would need to have a combination of at least 20+ feet of fly line & leader past the tip top guide just to be able to feel the rod load.

When the rod doesn't feel like it is loading that's when you can get into trouble and overpower the casts resulting in all sorts of problems. If you are fishing in tight quarters where a 20 foot cast is a long cast, it gets even worse.

THAT'S the reason why going with a heavier fly line is advocated by some when casting short because the heavier line suggested compensates for the fact that you are not into the belly of your lighter weight fly line.

However the reason for that is probably because you are fishing a longer leader than necessary when casting short distances and/or you fly line front taper is way too long for the job. Every foot you make your leader shorter and every foot shorter the front taper of your fly line is, the less line you will need in play to feel the rod load.

FWIW - My hands down favorite line is a SciAngler Mastery DT. On the 3wt version I use most often on my short rods the front taper is only 4.8" long. I also fish about a 5 foot long leader in tight quarters so it is conceivable it takes me almost half the amount of line & leader to feel the rod load. That & because my rods are fiberglass & bamboo, I never felt the need to over-line.

For leaders, I use 3' long furled leaders to which I add 2 - 3 feet of tippet. If you are buying regular tapered leaders that are knotted, you can probably lop off some of the heaviest two sections and shorten a 7'6" leader with almost no performance issues.

I do want to add that I exclusively use short rods for short casts on very small streams. I would NEVER use a 5'6" rod anywhere that I could comfortably fish something longer because longer rods do everything better except fit in tight places.

Good luck if you decide to give the short rod another go...

 

[wildtrout2]

With a tippet ring and mono, wouldn't that reduce the taper to just 2 sizes? and will it perform the same as a standard tapered leader?

Pretty much, but the mostly unpressured trout I chase don't seem to care at all.

Some times I have trouble tying tippet to leader, after about 3 or 4 attempts to get a good knot I will get frustrated and just put on a new tapered leader.
Bill

Hence the simplicity of the tippet ring. Having to keep replacing tapered leaders gets costly. I learned that early on.

 

[tomgamber]

I have a 6ft 2/3 wt I built from the top two sections of a 3pc 9ft. I think I got them from a board member who sold them on ebay. Anyway. It turned out great and is no more difficult to cast than my 7ft which is actually softer.