The Best 9' 5 wt Rod?

raftman

raftman

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Jun 25, 2012
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Hey folks,

I love my 9' 5wt T&T Horizon rod. It's a great do-all rod which is what I look for in that type - it can throw streams and dries and does well nymphing. However, I may start looking for a new one as my T&T is getting pretty banged up after years of abuse. I've found the Yellowstone Angler 5 weight shootout to be pretty interesting.

Anyone have a favorite 9'5 wt rod they use? What do you think the best all-around fly rod is?
 
I enjoy reading those shoot-outs. I would caution you to consider their situation. With a few exceptions, PA trout fishing is very different from western trout fishing. We typically don't fish large rivers in windy conditions, so we don't need ultra-fast action rods. Most of out trout fishing is done inside 40'. If you have a 9' leader and add in 3' for your arm, you will have 28' of fly line out of the tip. Add in a bit of shooting in there and there is little need for a cannon to make a functional cast.

I love my 9' 5WT Sage SP and my 8'1" Sage LL. The former is enough rod for larger water, the latter is great on small streams.
 
I don't believe a trout knows the difference between an expensive or cheap rod. It's what your comfortable with and get the best results. A rod does not the fisherman make. GG
 
I haven't cast too many rods that I don't like.

Not an endorsement of the best 9' 5wt ever, but I do regret selling a Sage ZXL in that configuration a few years back.
 
A fly rod is too much of a personal choice for me to tell you what rod you will like. You have to find that rod for yourself. All we can give you are rods to put on your casting list.

I like my 590 Sage One. It is in my hand 90% of the time on a trout stream.
 
"Best" is almost entirely subjective. Are cosmetics important to you? What's your casting stroke like? What kind of water do you usually fish? Do you do a lot of throwing big, wind-resistant flies into strong winds? How important is roll casting? How important is it that the rod actually casts a true-to-weight 5 weight? How important is the actual weight of the rod? How important is cost? Does a warantee matter?

I agree with Fly-Swatter about the shoot-outs; they are heavily slanted to western conditions, long casts and faster action rods. Still fun to read, but take them with a grain of salt.

IMO, you're already got a pretty darn good rod. How "banged up" is it?
 
Sorry... guess I should have worded my initial post better. I totally get that each rod is different and that a rod really doesn't make an angler. I also know that it's TOTALLY subjective. So I guess I was just looking for what people's favorite all around trout rod is out of, mostly, curiosity.
 
There are so many nice rods around now, that it would be tough to pick a certain brand model IMO. I certainly haven't been able to try many of them.

My latest 9 '5 weight is an Echo Carbon.
Paid $160 for it new. And it does everything I want it to do just fine.
However, if I tried some of the more expensive rods, I might think differently.

I think that the best all around size rod - regardless of brand - is an 8"6" 5 weight

 
My wife had a custom 9' 5wt made for me from a CTS blank she sent for in New Zealand. Its a super stick. Luv it.
I have a St Croix Imperial that does everything I ask of it. Its smooth and does a great job. I can't say the amount of money makes too much difference. I rarely cast more than 40ft I can get that out of just about anything.
 
I really like my cabelas three forks 5 wt and I really really like my 401K.
 
Favorite 5 weight?
Enjoy St Croix legend elite. Pleasure to cast. Not a cannon. Z-Axis. Maybe a tad faster but similar. Hardy Zenith. Very light with crisp / fast action. This rod is more of a cannon but still functional at short range. Still toss the old RPL+ from time to time. Still a great rod. Hell, the echo base for $90, Redington path or CT are great and less than $150.
 
I have an 8'6" Orvis Clearwater Classic 5-wt that I've had for 15 years or more (the sanded blank). I absolutely love this rod.

In my opinion, the Clearwaters then took a turn for the worse until this past year.

The new Clearwater's are both pretty and fun to fish again. I just bought a 10' 3 wt for nymphing and so far I love it. I haven't cast the new model in 5 wt yet. In short, I guess if I was looking for 5-wt I would check them out.
 
I primarily use 3 rods for different conditions / situations.

Sage One 9'6" 5wt - wade fishing the Upper Delaware - long cast dry fly fishing on larger waters

Hardy Zenith 9' 5wt - all around rod for medium to large rivers

Legacy Winston IM6 8'6" 5wt - predominantly used in small to medium streams
 
Batson Eternity2 blank built any way you want it! Yes it will perform at the level of the $900+ rods on the market if you build it right!
 
I love my Sage X. My fishing partner loves his Orvis H3.
 
I love my Sage X. My fishing partner loves his Orvis H3.
 
I'm pretty fond of my St Croix Imperial 9 footer for a 5 wgt, but I don't like it as much as I do my 1997 vintage Diamondback Americana 905. The older Americanas were good rods, especially for the price, IMO...
 
I have yet to cast a St. Croix... I think I'd like to check them out sometime. I had never heard of the Diamondback before - sounds like an interesting rod ... out of Vermont?
 
I believe my Americana was made in Vermont, although I wouldn't bet the ranch on it. But bear in mind that was over 20 years ago. Since then, IIRC, they went under for a while, then Cortland bought the name and marketed the rods. Then Cortland themselves went through a re-org and changed hands. I'm unsure where Diamondback ended up in the wake of all this other than that they are still (or maybe back) in the rod business.

My Americana is a 2 pc. One of the main reasons I like it is because it is, like me, kinda slow...:) I've never been a big fan of faster rods.
 
Mine is my custom built (by me) St. Croix Avid.

I like them so much I have 3.

But I have caught just as many fish from my Gander Mt. setup when I was 16.
 
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