How Long is your Rod?

[afishinado]

SurfCowboyXX wrote:
The 10' 4wt H2 is absolutely my favorite trout rod. Everything Afish says about it is true. I like mine so much I'm going to get a 10' 5wt if they ever make an H3 model.

...and just think about all the fish Surf would catch if he took off the training wheels (his bobber) and fished it right!

 

[ryansheehan]

steveo wrote:
Come on guys. Everyone knows that it doesn't matter how long your rod is. What counts is how well you cast it!

That's a lie women say to make us feel better.

 

[JoeE]

Depends on where I’m fishing, I normally take 3 or 4 rods with me. I have no problem going back to the truck to fish a different section of the stream with a different rod or fishing dries or wets. If it is a new stream I normally start with an 8.5 5wt or 7’9” 4wt. Joe E

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

Afish, remember--I'm a foot taller than you. I cast a longer shadow and line of sight for a fish with regard to me is considerably longer. It would be as if you were standing on a chair in the river. Which is to say, more fish will see you, and you won't catch the ones that do. They see me coming from 8th Avenue. I nymph water far away from me so that the fish won't know I'm there. I'll Euro-nymph where the water is so broken that the fish won't see me, but otherwise, I'll nymph 20-30' away for stealth. I can't see the end of my leader at that distance, so I use various indicators depending on the weight of the nymph. You can't fish a heavy nymph at range like I do without an indicator to keep you from hanging bottom constantly.

 

[Fredrick]

SurfCowboyXX wrote:
Afish, remember--I'm a foot taller than you. I cast a longer shadow and line of sight for a fish with regard to me is considerably longer. It would be as if you were standing on a chair in the river. Which is to say, more fish will see you, and you won't catch the ones that do. They see me coming from 8th Avenue. I nymph water far away from me so that the fish won't know I'm there. I'll Euro-nymph where the water is so broken that the fish won't see me, but otherwise, I'll nymph 20-30' away for stealth. I can't see the end of my leader at that distance, so I use various indicators depending on the weight of the nymph. You can't fish a heavy nymph at range like I do without an indicator to keep you from hanging bottom constantly.

Never slowed down George Daniels he might even be a little taller .

 

[ryansheehan]

SurfCowboyXX wrote:
Afish, remember--I'm a foot taller than you. I cast a longer shadow and line of sight for a fish with regard to me is considerably longer. It would be as if you were standing on a chair in the river. Which is to say, more fish will see you, and you won't catch the ones that do. They see me coming from 8th Avenue. I nymph water far away from me so that the fish won't know I'm there. I'll Euro-nymph where the water is so broken that the fish won't see me, but otherwise, I'll nymph 20-30' away for stealth. I can't see the end of my leader at that distance, so I use various indicators depending on the weight of the nymph. You can't fish a heavy nymph at range like I do without an indicator to keep you from hanging bottom constantly.

Damn!!! but I need to ask just how tall are you? I'm 6'4" and never considered it anything but an advantage when it comes to fly fishing.

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

I'm 6'2" and about as wide in the shoulders as a barn door (suit jacket is a 48" Long). I am particularly good at spotting/seeing fish, and I can tell you that I spook a ton of fish with shadow and movement. It's hard for me to get close enough sometimes. That, and 220lbs has to create more sound and vibration underwater when my cleats come up against stones or I kick one over by accident. Like I said before, if the water is really broken up at the surface or there isn't a ton of light, I'll Euro-nymph. There are some runs that can't be fished any other way. But if I can fish the run from 25-30' away with an indicator first? Better believe it. I try to fish from as far away as possible in order to "get the drop" on bigger fish before they have any idea I'm around.

 

[Bogey]

Today I was able to cast the Helios 3F....5wt. 9ft. It was super accurate and incredibly lightweight...enough to rethink the 4wt. vs 5wt. decision.

 

[fritz]

If you get a chance try a Scott Radian to see how that fits in your plans.

 

[Bogey]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but does the feel of fighting a fish get muted with a longer rod? I have used fast rods in the past that feel more stiff when fighting a fish than I have liked.

 

[moon1284]

I think you feel the fish more with a longer rod.

 

[nomad_archer]

Depending on my mood 10' 6" or 11' 3wt nymph rods are my go to. They will both do a dry dropper or and indicator rig when necessary. In a pinch I can also toss modestly sized streamers. I dont know how they do with just dries as I havn't had a need to fish just dries. If I need to fish just dries I probably would get my 10' 4wt with a WFF line for the job. I have sorter 9' and 8'6" rods but they rarely get used unless the stream is so tight like dave_w's picture or I am throwing streamers all and need a higher wt rod.

 

[bikerfish]

I fish rods from 5'6" to 9'3", almost always fishing dries, wets, or streamers if I'm desperate.
It all depends on the waters i fish and the mood i'm in.