So, how many rods do you need?

[gwold]

...

Which in my experience means, if you DON'T want to get robbed, park your Hyundai in the vicinity....

Wait, is this thread about the number of rods we own, or the number of vehicles?

 

[BrookieChaser]

Wait, is this thread about the number of rods we own, or the number of vehicles?

I have too many of both fly rods and vehicles.

For years I had a 580 for freshwater trout, and an 890 for smallmouth and saltwater.

 

[discomidge]

I got a Hyundai this summer, nice car. I think her name is Debra.

For central PA and the streams I frequent, I'd be happy with just a 9' 4wt, a 9' 6wt, and a euro rod. Having said that, I have a bunch of other rods that also make me happy. A 7'6" 4wt brookie rod and a 9' 8wt saltwater rod are nearly essential for me. I think it all depends on how and where you like to fish.

 

[jeffroey]

Like others that have already posted, how many I need and how many I have are two very different numbers. I fly fish and - it turns out - I collect fly rods along the way - ones that I've built from blanks, classic glass that are highly regarded, and modern ones that intrigue me for one reason or another. I learned the collecting part from my late father - an avid toy train collector whose Lionel collectiongrew so big, my mother agreed to let him open a small train shop in Pittston as a means of protecting the upstairs living space.

To illustrate that point, I just took a look across my current rod inventory. I have 9 x 8-1/2' rods, 8 x 8' rods, and 8 x 7-1/2' rods. 25 in just those 3 lengths and most in the 4-5-6 line weights.

How many to I NEED? Of those 25, maybe 2 but I'm not ashamed of the others.

I have many others in lengths shorter than 7-1/2' and a little longer than 8-1/2' but I don't fish them much anymore and stopped collecting new ones.

My recent obsession is 6 PC rods and I'll always shove 2 in the same rod tube strapped to my pack if I'm hiking in - maybe an 8' and a 7-1/2' . . . not to have length options on the stream but to have the confidence of knowing I have a backup rod with me. That's well worth the 3-4 ozs of extra pack weight to me.

 

[tomgamber]

I had a 9ft 2pc 5/6 LLBean that was my main rod for a long time. Very versatile. Also had a 7.5ft 3/4 wt Cortland. A little soft but still landed my biggest trout ever on a 24 hook because it delivered so delicately. Bean is now my son's. Replaced it with a Cabela's 4pc 9ft 5wt that I like a lot. Added a 9ft 8wt Clearwater that suited my surf/Steelhead needs. Built a really nice 7ft3wt Aussie blank that I liked a lot. Sold it to Albatross on the site. He sold it to someone else. Black and gold wraps. Hope someone is enjoying it. Built a 9 ft 6wt for my float tube fishing (which thanks to PA's infantile boating laws isn't used much) has a custom grip that fits my hand to avoid fatigue. Built a 6ft 2/3wt from what I feel was the top 2 sections of a 3pc 9ft blank. Also suspect someone on the site sold it to me on ebay. Dont remember who but thanks. Great little rod for brookies. Added a 10 ft 7wt 4pc a couple years ago that I really like for smallies and hope yo use in Erie at some point.
Never spent more than $200 bucks for a rod. Never spent more than $50 forward reel. Won a $90 Sharskin line in a drawing and really liked it when I wasn't sawing through my finger stripping streamers. Other than that I mostly fished Cortland lines. 333 and 444. Probably only owned 3 pairs of waders and 4 pairs if boots over nearly 40 years of flyishing. Have two float tube es and a Hobie SOT. Probably spent more on gas and food than gear over those years. Fished maybe 50 days a year before mo ING to ID. Fished 200+ days a year for the 5 years in ID. Moved back, got married, had kids,. Don't fish as much as I'd liked ladt 30 years. Trying yo get out more and good lird wiling, hope the improve on that after retirement. Love tying but only MAKE time when I know there's a specific trip upcoming. Have a camp the sits right on a river. Live less than a mile from two beautiful put and take lakes. Half hour to an hour to any decent trout streams. Hour + to good streams. 2 hours to great fishing. If I ain't fishing enough, it's on me.

 

[Striperbobby]

I was fishing last week at a small local creek and ran into a gentleman older than me and far more experienced in fly fishing. He said he had been fly fishing somewhere between 50 and 60 years. We shared the same run for a while, each of us catching a fish or two, and having a relaxed conversation. I've been fly fishing slightly less than 3 years, and already have 4 fly rods.

1. An old 8'6" 5wt Sage offered to me for $50 by a fishing acquaintance I met trout fishing 4 years ago (I blame this fly fishing interest all on him, great guy too)
2. A 9' 5wt Orvis Encounter beginner's combo my wife decided I needed for Christmas 3 years ago (after using a spinning rod for 60 years)
3. A 9' 6wt Echo Carbon XL I bought in Colorado this summer after deciding I "needed a more powerful rod" for tossing slightly bigger streamers to slightly bigger fish in CO lakes & rivers
4. A 9' 5wt Thomas Dynamix because it would be a "step up" from my Encounter rod but in reality probably wasn't needed given my level of casting, fly selection, and line management expertise.

I figured a guy who had been fly fishing for 50-60 years probably had a number of fly rods, so I asked how many he had. Two. The 9' 5wt he was fishing and a shorter 3wt for smaller streams. Not the answer I was expecting but instructive. It made me think, how many do I really need? For the type of fly fishing I've done in 3 years and can reasonably expect to do going forward, the brutal answer is one. I could have done everything with that old Sage rod, except take it with me to CO since it is a two piece rod. A slightly less brutal answer is two rods, adding the Orvis Encounter which is much easier to transport via airlines.

So, how many rods do you need?

No matter what, you always need one more rod!

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Lots of rod collecting dust. Getting old sucks. GG

 

[redietz]

Never enough.

 

[JeffK]

I too have plenty of rods, always looking for the sweet one. That said, 95% of my fishing is with just 3: 7' 4 wt for small streams, 9 1/2' 5 wt for large streams and a 10 1/2' 3 wt nymph rod.

40 years ago just had one rod: a Beans 8 1/2' 5 wt. I caught fish. Then got a cheap 7' 4 wt which made fishing dries on the streams near my home far more pleasant. Got a better one 20 years ago at a TU auction which I liked better. 15 or so years ago I fished the Reno NV area with guides and they all had 9 1/2' 5 wt Z-Axis rods which I liked better so I built one from a blank. Still use it when I need to cast farther, like on the Delaware. Been trying Euronymphing since 90's when not much was available. Tried all sorts of long rods, stooping to making fly rods from crappie rod blanks. 20 years ago got a first generation 10' 4 wt Greys Streamflex and it was an eye opener. Used it until about 3 years ago when a got a 10 1/2' 3 wt Moonshine Epiphany. Old nymphing rod feels like a club compared to newer rods and it sits.

Have messed with all sorts of fiberglass, bamboo and other roughly 7' 3/4 wts and have generated a dozen or so rods, but always go back to the three I am most comfortable with.

 

[wildtrout2]

I think it all depends on how and where you like to fish.

This^^^

 

[moodyblues]

How many rods do I need? Well that's easy one 8' 5wt would probably be good for 90% of my fishing.

How many rods do I have or want to have.....a lot. Think women and shoes, you can never have enough!

So.........................are you telling us you collect women and shoes as well as rods???

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Need? I had that covered in 2019. Now want, that is where things get interesting.

For PA I'd say that 3 rods is about as low as I'd go. I'd want a dedicated nymph rod that tight-lines as well as well as tosses an indicator. I'd like a dedicated dry/small creek rod, and a streamer rod.

My own quiver is as follows (all rods are carbon unless specified otherwise);

Tiny creeks;

1wt 8'2" (extremely short range with loading a leader just out of the tip)

Slightly larger tiny creeks;

2wt 8ft (needed for tight confines where short quick casts are needed)

3wt 8ft (for creeks where I will make a lot of roll casts, a fun rod to fish, used when I have a bit more room to work with) (also may be a pond rod when panfishing) (this rod is also a 6 piece so it's my travel rod should I need such a thing)

3wt 8'4" (used if I will be nymphing a bit more and where I want some extended reach)

Slightly larger creeks;

4wt 8'3" (where I will do a lot of roll-casting and making a lot of downstream drifts)

Rod I'd like to add to slightly larger creek;

4/5wt 8'2" (reason: just because and I want to compare it to my 4wt 8'3" and see if I can fill the position
that rod does) (it's also made a very prestigious rod builder who I have yet to get a rod from)

Nymph rods;

2wt 10'2" (light indicator work on smaller creeks and light rigs)

3wt 10ft (preferred tight-lining rod)

4wt 11ft (heavy indicator fishing and fishing larger water in general) (light steelhead work in theory) (a great mop tosser!)

Rods I'd like to add to nymph rods;

1wt 10ft for ultra-light stealthy style tight-line fishing

2wt 11ft for reach and to use a rod with more sensitivity than the 4wt

Dry fly rods (distance dry fly rods)

4wt 9ft (standard)

5wt 9ft (heavier wind, larger water) (light streamers too)

Rods I'd like to add to dry fly rods;

4wt 8'6" for more delicate controlled presentations as well fishing in a little closer than what I'd fish with my other dry fly rods) (think the Delaware on a calm day or dapping the Kiddie Pool on the Little Lehigh)

Another 9ft 5wt just because and I want to experiment with another 9ft 5wt on the Delaware (an excuse to buy another rod)

Streamer rods;

9ft 6wt (lighter streamers, also good for transitioning to poppers) (heavier pond blaster)

9ft 8wt (heaver streamers and heavier lines such as intermediates and full sink lines)

Steelhead specific;

6wt 9ft 6inch rod (used for places where I want to cast a little further as this rod has more energy than my 7wt 10ft) (a good light streamer rod too)

7wt 10ft (standard bobber lobber but I hate how this rod fishes close)

9ft 8wt (different than the streamer 9ft 8wt) (used for tighter confines)

Rod I'd like to add to steelhead;

Custom glass rod for fishing tight quarters. I don't know what configuration I want but am thinking 6wt in the 7-7'6" range. Basically I want something that loads up fast and I think it would be so fun to fish streamers on a short glass rod using a sink tip extension. I think this rod would throw these streamers better than my longer carbon rods would at close range. I just want a roll-casting machine and I much prefer the quicker loading capabilities at close range. This would eliminate my 9ft 8wt steelhead specific rod. I do want to retire that rod as it's rare and I don't think I could fix it (I've had two scares with it this year)

Stripers (if I attempt it)

7wt 9ft (rod has an incredible amount of fish fighting power) (lighter work minimal to no wind)

9wt 9ft (heavier work, wind)

Salmon;

10wt 9ft cheapo that I don't care about smacking with shot

Rods I'd like to add to salmon;

12wt 8'6" glass rod for the close quarters nymphing on the S.R. This would be a big game saltwater rod for me too.

Stupid salmon option;

Saltwater marlin rod to horse them in if they start p***ing me off (I want my meat)

I left out the rods that I will fish to match the configurations when fishing with friends. Also, note that I may not have fished some of these rods this is just my present loadout for what I would fish given what I now own and the understanding of the fisheries I now have.

 

[Bamboozle]

So.........................are you telling us you collect women and shoes as well as rods???

Women's shoes...

 

[DomR]

So.........................are you telling us you collect women and shoes as well as rods???

No, no, I'm a 1 woman guy.

Women collect shoes for every situation (outfit combo). Same for my rod philosophy

 

[Silent Ocelot]

I'm a 1 woman guy.

You should get those numbers up, 5-6 is more ideal.

 

[dryflyguy]

No, no, I'm a 1 woman guy.

Women collect shoes for every situation (outfit combo). Same for my rod philosophy

Amen to that.
My wife also buys tops like crazy.
And no matter how many she gets of both, a few months later she's saying "I have nothing to wear"

 

[jifigz]

Need? I had that covered in 2019. Now want, that is where things get interesting.

For PA I'd say that 3 rods is about as low as I'd go. I'd want a dedicated nymph rod that tight-lines as well as well as tosses an indicator. I'd like a dedicated dry/small creek rod, and a streamer rod.

My own quiver is as follows (all rods are carbon unless specified otherwise);

Tiny creeks;

1wt 8'2" (extremely short range with loading a leader just out of the tip)

Slightly larger tiny creeks;

2wt 8ft (needed for tight confines where short quick casts are needed)

3wt 8ft (for creeks where I will make a lot of roll casts, a fun rod to fish, used when I have a bit more room to work with) (also may be a pond rod when panfishing) (this rod is also a 6 piece so it's my travel rod should I need such a thing)

3wt 8'4" (used if I will be nymphing a bit more and where I want some extended reach)

Slightly larger creeks;

4wt 8'3" (where I will do a lot of roll-casting and making a lot of downstream drifts)

Rod I'd like to add to slightly larger creek;

4/5wt 8'2" (reason: just because and I want to compare it to my 4wt 8'3" and see if I can fill the position
that rod does) (it's also made a very prestigious rod builder who I have yet to get a rod from)

Nymph rods;

2wt 10'2" (light indicator work on smaller creeks and light rigs)

3wt 10ft (preferred tight-lining rod)

4wt 11ft (heavy indicator fishing and fishing larger water in general) (light steelhead work in theory) (a great mop tosser!)

Rods I'd like to add to nymph rods;

1wt 10ft for ultra-light stealthy style tight-line fishing

2wt 11ft for reach and to use a rod with more sensitivity than the 4wt

Dry fly rods (distance dry fly rods)

4wt 9ft (standard)

5wt 9ft (heavier wind, larger water) (light streamers too)

Rods I'd like to add to dry fly rods;

4wt 8'6" for more delicate controlled presentations as well fishing in a little closer than what I'd fish with my other dry fly rods) (think the Delaware on a calm day or dapping the Kiddie Pool on the Little Lehigh)

Another 9ft 5wt just because and I want to experiment with another 9ft 5wt on the Delaware (an excuse to buy another rod)

Streamer rods;

9ft 6wt (lighter streamers, also good for transitioning to poppers) (heavier pond blaster)

9ft 8wt (heaver streamers and heavier lines such as intermediates and full sink lines)

Steelhead specific;

6wt 9ft 6inch rod (used for places where I want to cast a little further as this rod has more energy than my 7wt 10ft) (a good light streamer rod too)

7wt 10ft (standard bobber lobber but I hate how this rod fishes close)

9ft 8wt (different than the streamer 9ft 8wt) (used for tighter confines)

Rod I'd like to add to steelhead;

Custom glass rod for fishing tight quarters. I don't know what configuration I want but am thinking 6wt in the 7-7'6" range. Basically I want something that loads up fast and I think it would be so fun to fish streamers on a short glass rod using a sink tip extension. I think this rod would throw these streamers better than my longer carbon rods would at close range. I just want a roll-casting machine and I much prefer the quicker loading capabilities at close range. This would eliminate my 9ft 8wt steelhead specific rod. I do want to retire that rod as it's rare and I don't think I could fix it (I've had two scares with it this year)

Stripers (if I attempt it)

7wt 9ft (rod has an incredible amount of fish fighting power) (lighter work minimal to no wind)

9wt 9ft (heavier work, wind)

Salmon;

10wt 9ft cheapo that I don't care about smacking with shot

Rods I'd like to add to salmon;

12wt 8'6" glass rod for the close quarters nymphing on the S.R. This would be a big game saltwater rod for me too.

Stupid salmon option;

Saltwater marlin rod to horse them in if they start p***ing me off (I want my meat)

I left out the rods that I will fish to match the configurations when fishing with friends. Also, note that I may not have fished some of these rods this is just my present loadout for what I would fish given what I now own and the understanding of the fisheries I now have.

Just a note to any newcomers.....this is a little bit overkill. You can successfully enjoy much of the fishing opportunities in PA with one or two fly rods. As I suggested earlier, a 9' 6 weight will get it done. If you had to break it down further, a 9' 4 weight and an 8 weight will work beautifully for almost every opportunity in the state.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Silent Ocelot:

 

[rancid waders]

So that's how multiple rods are carried. Huh.

 

[Tom1980]

Silent Ocelot:

View attachment 1641233289

Here he is shaved, working a nice hole with "sideways" Euro nymphing techniques.