how to choose a fly rod?

[yrkcountyfly]

hey guys i just started fly fishing about a year in a half ago. started on my grandfathers old 50s bambo fly rod then went and got a cheapy. its a 3 wt rod. i want to get another rod but not sure what wt rod i should get. how do i choose what wt rod i need? thanks

Don

 

[Fishidiot]

Hi Don,
Welcome to the Paff forums and our online community.

The short answer is "it depends on what sort of fishing you seek to do." If you're mainly going to fish here in PA for trout, the usual answer is to get a 5 weight rod that is 8 or 9 feet long.

We have a Beginner's Forum that has been set up precisely for newbies to ask basic questions such as this. There's a ton of basic info in this forum on how to select a fly rod. Take some time to scroll through some of the threads.
I'm going to move this thread over to the Beginner's Forum shortly.
Thanks,
Dave

 

[Chaz]

Cast as many rods as you can before you decide. To do this, you can in one weekend go to the Fly-Fishing Show Nearest you and cast them there. I've done that every time I've bought a new rod.

 

[Love2fish]

Can you go into more detail about what kind of fishing you do? Species, type of water etc

 

[yrkcountyfly]

I trout fish now and the rod I use works just fine IMO but I'm looking to start for maybe small mouth bass and stuff like that and some bigger trout. Might be going to new Mexico for a trout fishing trip but mainly for bass and stuff like thsh

 

[Love2fish]

As was stated a 8-9" 5wt would work, action is a personal thing. Test cast as many as you can within your price range. Most shops (Not ****s etc) will go outside with you and cast, some will even have a "parking lot" line.

 

[lv2nymph]

Like Chaz has said, get to a ff show before you buy one. Even if it's kind of a drive and that's the only thing you go for it will be worth it. There will be just about every rod out there at the sumerset show in Nj. at the end of Jan. that you can play with.

 

[bikerfish]

while it's nice to get a new rod once in a while, I wouldn't be afraid to just keep using your grandfathers bamboo rod.
if you really want a different rod, chaz offers good advice, cast as many as you can, ignore the marketing crap, and go with what feels good to YOU.

 

[tomitrout]

Or instead of going to one of the big impersonal shows, you could maybe support your local flyshop? They'll be more than happy to let you try out what they have in the rod rack. If you're looking to throw big flies and harass some smallies with the new stick I'd be more inclined to think 6wt over a 5wt, maybe even a 7wt...

 

[lv2nymph]

TT it would be nice to support one's local shop.The idea of going to the show is because there will be pretty much every rod made there. No one shop will ever have that many rods for someone to "play" with at once. Just a good opportunity to see em all, in one go to boot.