Rods designed for PA or the North East USA?

troutbert said:
Fishing a small stream is similar no matter where that small stream is located.

And fishing a larger stream or river is similar no matter where it is located.
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Not really. Wind is huge factor in the Rockies, and you can expect it most days. Here, wind is not usually that much of a factor.

I don't like fast action rods in general, but if I'm throwing hoppers into a 20 mph out west, I have to admit they're better suited for the job. Not so when casting ants into almost no wind here in the east.
 
First rod was a Fenwick glass 7.5 6wt buit from a kit. I still have it. Then in early 80s bought a 7ft 9in 5wt Orvis Far and Fine Green Mtn with reel and fly line. I eventually sold that rod and bought a Winston IM6 8.5ft 5wt that was on closeout as the WT rods were the new model. Wish I kept the Orvis but the Winston was/is a really nice rod and more versatile to the habitats I fish.
 
tie1fly said:
I’d push back a little here. Fishing a 20’ stream in Montana located in a sprawling meadow, with constant wind, and 20” trout isn’t exactly the same as fishing Falling Springs.

Not trying to be argumentative, just providing context to my original question.
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I agree with this, but Falling Spring is likely closer to that than most PA streams only because it has meadows and some large trout.

The majority of PA wild trout water does not.

Your post 17 IMO is accurate. However, while I think a 8'6" 4wt medium action does more closely match what we have in PA compared to a Sage X 590, that IMO is still a bit long when you consider the majority of small wild trout streams in the state.

This is all preference and opinion. Some guys like long rods for small water. Everything is trade offs. Advantages and disadvantages to either.


I still think a 7'6" 4wt when considering all wild trout water in the state of PA as a whole, is the most practical rod.


This said you don't need to own just one rod, but always consider where you fish first and take what you deem as most appropriate for the situation. For me, most my fishing is on small streams, brushy, in the woods with small wild trout. I mostly use a 6'6" 3wt glass rod. It's comfortable to walk with, fish fight nice, it's fiberglass so very durable, 3wt delicate short casts but little to no wind.

It's what I like for those streams.
But id grab an 8'6"-9' 8wt and toss articulated streamers on Penns or the Lehigh too.

So there is that.
 
Couple of comments. Once when I visited my son in Reno, NV I hired a guide because I was having trouble with local tailwaters. The day before I left I fished the Little Lehigh and packed the outfit I used. When I met the guide he brought out the same outfit and the same flies as I had used in PA. After that fishing got easier in NV.

BTW, back in the 70's the hot light trout rod for PA was the Fenwick 756 - 7 1/2' 6wt (Fenwick was a Washington state company). Was broke back then and couldn't afford one. A few years ago I bought one and it is the dry fly rod I currently use on the LL. Nice soft, accurate delivery and soft action to protect the tippet. I guess everything comes around. No more 2 and 3 wts for me.

First ran into the Z-Axis 9 1/2' 5 wt fishing big Western waters. Loved it and built one from a blank. It is now my Delaware rod. Can get good ideas from either side of the country.
 
After fishing with a Scott Centric...I wont own another fishing rod but Scott...they're absolutely amazing
 
I was broke also. The Fenwick 756 ws available through Cabelas as a build kit for about 15.00. It was called the New Englander. Modern glass today is generally better but can be pricey. It is still a very decent rod.
 
My first 7'6" 5wt was a Fenwick HMG that I saved up for and had on my radar screen after seeing an UL spinning version at a local reservior.

What was great about those days was I got by with two rods for at least a decade so it wasn't hard to wait until I had the money.
 
falcon said:
Many rod companies with US fabrication are located near the high tech aerospace industry. One would think a material scientist would prefer to work somewhere other than Twin Bridges. No Boeing in MT. Other companies design here and have fabrication done in high tech South Korea. Orvis builds their high end stuff in VT. However Lockhead Martin is in nearby Owego, NY.

Back in the 90s Winston came out with a rod called the Delaware Special. They may have done this a couple of years in a row. Not sure of the configuration but I think it was a 9.5ft 5wt matched with a Ross Reel. The rod had Delaware Special inked on the rod and maybe the reel. This was a proprietary rod for a now defunct Fly Shop in Hankins, NY on the mainstem.i will thnk of the shop owners name at some point. He was a colorful character.
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McFadden
 
I have been fishing a older Loomis gl3 9ft 4wt as my primary rod for years even on small/ medium streams. I am planning on this being my primary rod out in mt and wy here in about 2 weeks. I have a 7ft 3wt for a small stream rod. My wife has an 8.5ft 5wt sage, forget model but it's mid level. It cast dries in the 30-50 ft range like an absolute dream.

So much of how a rod performs depends on individual preference, line choice and leader design.
 
lycoflyfisher said:
I have been fishing a older Loomis gl3 9ft 4wt as my primary rod for years even on small/ medium streams. I am planning on this being my primary rod out in mt and wy here in about 2 weeks. I have a 7ft 3wt for a small stream rod. My wife has an 8.5ft 5wt sage, forget model but it's mid level. It cast dries in the 30-50 ft range like an absolute dream.

So much of how a rod performs depends on individual preference, line choice and leader design.
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Dear lycofisher,

You left out the most important component, skill! ;)

Regards,

Tim Murphy :)
 
Bill is the one that got me started on 1 pcs rods. Every time I ran into him at a show years ago I would spend more than an hour talking. Split and Glued is wonderful, Bill and Tom did an excellent job plenty of rods on my bucket list to make for PA and NY tapers.
 
JoeE said:
Bill is the one that got me started on 1 pcs rods. Every time I ran into him at a show years ago I would spend more than an hour talking. Split and Glued is wonderful, Bill and Tom did an excellent job plenty of rods on my bucket list to make for PA and NY tapers.
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1 PC rods are wonderful in fluid taper and feel.
The blank being all one PC, has no hinge points, is likely more durable, is consistent in its taper and has no points to get loose or break.
Just a major burden to transport or use on multi day hike and fish excursions.
 
Rods come in all different lengths, weights and actions. No need to further delineate based on East vs. West. Just find something that works best for you on the streams you fish no matter where it was manufactured.
 
I'll throw out two other names, both bamboo makers although the first one retired from rod building and the other passed away:

Wyatt Dietrich and the man who taught him, George Maurer. Both are PA guys and both designed their own tapers.

I have two of Wyatt's rods which had names, not model numbers; one is called the "Willow Beetle" and the other is "Carlisle Springs."

It don't get more PA than that... ;)
 
McSneek said:
Rods come in all different lengths, weights and actions. No need to further delineate based on East vs. West. Just find something that works best for you on the streams you fish no matter where it was manufactured.
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Sorry if I worded the question badly. Many designers have a specific habitat they design their rods for. Doesn’t mean that can’t be used other places. Just curious of rods that were designed and tested in PA or the NorthEast. Lots of good examples in this thread.
 
McSneek said:
Rods come in all different lengths, weights and actions. No need to further delineate based on East vs. West. Just find something that works best for you on the streams you fish no matter where it was manufactured.
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Precisely.

There are so many rods out there on the market, just find one you like and have at it.

These things aren't magic wands. They're fishing poles.
 
Jim Green (Washington) designed a Fenwick FF784 for the Fenwick rep for PA. I liked it so much that I bought two.

BTW, in the '70s, Fenwick was independent and had its plant in Westminster, CA - Orange County.
 
lestrout said:
Jim Green (Washington) designed a Fenwick FF784 for the Fenwick rep for PA. I liked it so much that I bought two.

BTW, in the '70s, Fenwick was independent and had its plant in Westminster, CA - Orange County.
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Is that a SP784 turned into a fly rod?
I'm not aware of a FF784
 
TheAppalachianAngler said:
Is that a SP784 turned into a fly rod?
I'm not aware of a FF784
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Yo App - nope. This FF784 was not a widely distributed or sold model, as it was positioned as being specifically a PA trouter. That's why I got the second one. I rarely get duplicates of rod models, even though I have hundreds. The action is soft, even more than a 4wt version of the magnificent Far'nFine 5wt. Much like some canes and glasses.
 
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