Paniced and bought a 4wt. Mistake?

Wildfish

Wildfish

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Sep 4, 2009
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I have a 3wt scott a3 and love it. TCO has had their a3's on clearance, and with my groupon they're a great deal. But I've hesitated because money is tight and I have too much fishing gear (according to my wife, that is).

So I finally call to get my 9' 5wt and they're sold out. Only have 9' 4wt. The guys convince me I can throw tandem rigs with it no problem. Anyone else fish a 4wt with tandem nymphs and an indicator? Did I make a mistake?

I don't always fish tandem rigs, of course. This would also throw dries, dry-droppers, single bh nymphs, etc. Basically, everything but streamers.
 
I use a 4wt for almost everything I do. It is loaded a little bigger with a 5wt line, that seems to work best for me.
 
Any time you spend your hard earned money on something you didn't actually want, it's a mistake. When I'm spending the kind of money that a new rod usually costs, I disregard salesmen, and will leave if they get pushy. They should have offered to order you the rod you wanted, instead of trying to clear stock on you.

That said, the rod will do you just fine. I would say that you're going to be buying a 5wt to do what you want to do eventually, but the 4wt will suffice. I think a 5wt is a much, much better tool for the job on anything but smallish streams, but not so much so that it's that big of a deal.

There are people that disagree and say the 4wt is a good choice, but... well, I think they are wrong.
 
I threw a heavy double rig with a big indicator all weekend and never felt under gunned. I think the differences are small until you start getting into the world of streamers. You'll be fine!
 
Ditto on clearing stock....

Having said that, I use an 8'6" 4wt for most of my fishing. It'll throw a hopper/dropper rig that is quite large: #6 foam hopper and a #12 and #14 GRHE no problem. That's assuming you don't want to cast the rig 60 feet into the wind, however. In that case, a 6wt rod might be the better tool. I really enjoy 4wt's of all different lengths, and can cast some fairly heavy junk (including Clousers) with mine. Having a leader that's well-matched to the flies will help your casting helps enormously, as will using proper the line. I like to use SA's GPX for casting everything except drys. SA's Trout Mastery works nicely for that purpose.
 
I have a 5wt now that is much too fast for the kind of nymphing I like to do. I use it for everything, but it's best for buggers--at 8' I can back cast in tighter quarters, and I generally only back cast with something like a bugger on. For nymphing I won't be back casting as often, so I wanted 9' for reach and a softer tip. The a3 5 was great--though still even a little fast for my taste. Never tried the 4wt.

Anyway, yes, they were clearing stock. But no more ordering is possible--the a3 is discontinued. I love the rod, and definitely want another of the a3 model. Just hoping the 4wt will be enough for everyday trout trips. I've only casted the 3, 5, and 6wts.
 

I used a 4wt for everything, including two weighted nymphs and an indicator. I never had a problem with it. It would be an issue with chunky streamers, but I haven't been bothered with that much.

I, frankly, think its better for trout fishing than a 4wt. Jay is wrong. He thinks he's right, but he's not. Unless you talk about bigger water. I don't really fish that sort of stuff, I fish 20-30' wide creeks. Then maybe he's right, but whatever. I'm still righter. You can trust me.

That said, if you're unhappy, take it back. Personal satisfaction is the most important thing, and you'll probably always desire the 5wt version.
 
The difference between the 3wt and 4wt is tremendous. The difference between 4wt and 5wt is not as big. I use a 4wt 75% of the time I am trout fishing.
 
I also use a 4wt for most fishing. have no problems with throwing weight (reasonable amounts) and tandem rigs. If you feel the need, try loading a 5wt on it and see how it throws in the backyard. I don't think you'll have any issues with it though.
 
gfen wrote:
Unless you talk about bigger water.
Click to expand...


Yep. I prefer larger streams for the most part. I also prefer to use enough weight to maximize the amount of time that my flies stay on the bottom.

4wts suck at that imo.

The critical difference is that 5wts don't. They also work perfectly fine in smaller waters that are more appropriate for a 4wt. It's all about versatility.
 
(they go on the bottom?)
 
why do people think they cant fish streamers on a 4wt?...Im not talking going to the delaware and throwing tandem meat flies or just streamer bashing for the day with a 5wt which i do...If you're out fishing your local midsized or small stream you can fish sz 24 midges/tricos, tandem nymph rigs and yes even a good sized streamer all in one day.....
 


I use my 4wt more often than any other weight rod for trout fishing. I agree with the posts above that most decent 4wts can handle just about anything except maybe the huge streamers pitched on the bigger rivers. If plan to use it for general trout fishing in small to medium streams in PA and it casts and fishes well for you - keep it. Enjoy your new rig.

Note: Jay spent some time with Kelly G. out there in Big Sky country and turned into a gunner!...lol. I'm gunna miss him. Good luck Dude.
 
That 4 wt will serve you well. I use a 9' 4wt for most trout fishing in SEPA. Granted, you'll be undergunned tossing a double nymnph rig with 3/0 shot or weighted size 4 streamers, but you'll be able to fish any small to mid size stream effectively. It's a great rod for tight line nymphing as well.

Not to say you shouldn't add a 5 wt to your arsenal too...
 
I use my 4wt for most of my fishing with the exception of big water like Penns. I have no issues with two nymphs under an indicator or chucking a streamer in size 8 or 10.
Not a mistake, just an excuse to save up for another rod beofe spring.
 
You want to sell it for what you bought it for? I might be interested in it.
 
Arrived today (free overnight shipping I guess, thanks TCO!)

Rod is sweet. Very similar to the 5wt, just a bit slower/deeper flex. Which is not to say it's "slow" by, say, Winston standards. More like a medium action 5wt. Throws surprisingly tight loops, however. I think it's a keeper. Definitely closer to a 5 than a 3. Plus can't beat the price--$100 off A3s, and I had that old Groupon. Just need to get it on the water to be sure.

Now I need a 6wt--you know, for bass and the upper D.
 
I fish my 4wt almost exclusively during prime trout season. I find it to be very delicate but I'm also able to chuck anchor fly/dropper rigs, hopper dropper rigs, and smallish indicators with virtually no incident. I would say where I feel the shortcomings of my 4wt would be on big water, and not just biggish water, but big time water.

The only time I feel under gunned is on the Delaware, and only when I'm throwing weight or indicators. But in that case, I don't know how much difference a 5wt would make. In situations like that, where you want to throw weight, I would say step up to a 6wt.

Even for dry flies, I like my 4wt on big waters. I can throw a #OOPS# ton of line, mend easier, and think the lighter weight line offers better tippet protection when you have 60+ feet of line out.

Long story short, for 90%-95% of trout fishing, you should be fine with the 4wt. You'll probably love it actually.
 
I love my Winston Passport 4wt and used it all season for trout. Heck, I even used it as my dry fly rod on the D and the Lehigh. I used my 6wt to Nymph both and to chuck streamers. I want a 5 wt, just because :)
 
That Passport is a great rod. I use it all the time on the D for dries and love it. I landed the largest trout I've ever landed on that rod on the Delaware. It does really well when paired with the GPX line, IMO.

If I had to pick 3 weights of lines/rods to own for North American freshwater species I'd pick 4/6/8. You can really cover a lot of ground with just those three rods. It seems to offer much better coverage than 3/5/7. IMO YMMV BBQ
 
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