What weight

[greenhead]

My father and I took a trip last year to the Bighorn and on our way back his rod and reel was stole. He had a 5 wt reel and a 9ft 5 wt rod. He is in the process of replacing it but he is not sure of what weight he should purchase. We mainly fish the Yough spillway and PA streams. What would you guys recommend weigjt and size? Most of PA's stockies are very small. We may in the future get back to the Bighorn but didn't run into any giants that a 5 wt couldn't handle. Thanks for the help guys!

 

[1wt]

A 9' 5wt is probably the most popular rod, but I like a 3wt so much better.

Any trout you will ever catch in PA, can be caught on a 3wt. And so much more fun with a light rod!

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear greenhead,

Just to be contrary I'll split the difference and suggest a 4 weight. It gives you just a little more "ummph" to chuck and duck a weighted nymph rig or a larger streamer.

With skill you can handle 99% of the fish you will ever hook on a 1wt, assuming of course that you have a leader of adequate strength to handle the fish you hooked.

In fly fishing the line weight is the delivery system, and heavier line weights make delivering larger flies and heavier rigs easier.

The rest is up to the person working the rod.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[csoult]

4 wt

 

[sandfly]

stick with the 5 wt. it will do more, like another trip, small bass, carp,etc.

 

[boychick]

9' 5 wt. Much is more versital than a 4 wt. A 4 wt is nice for a soft dry fly presentation, but will be a struggle to throw a size 4 weighted streamer. 5 wt will do it all nymph, streamers, and dry flies.

 

[lv2nymph]

Over the years I've come to realize that I prefer 4 weights.( with a stiff action) For what and where you're gonna fish I'd go four weight.

 

[JeffK]

I prefer a 4 wt, but consider the 5 wt a more all rounder if you have only one rod. On larger rivers there are places I can't hit with a 4 wt if my position or the wind are contrary, but I can hit with a 5 wt. Therefore, I've had a lot more days when I wished I had my 5 wt with me than days I wished I had my 4 wt with me.

 

[JeffK]

BTW, I just saw Joe Humphrey's talk on small stream fishing and he recommended a 5 wt or a 6 wt. There is an argument for a heavier weight to punch a tighter path through cover. It's not the trend these days, but someone like Joe can catch an awful lot of trout in any sort of stream.

 

[kbobb]

I would consider what type of flies you fish and what rod action he likes. You don't always have to fish the line weight printed on the rod. If you get a faster action rod marked as a 5 wt you can probably fish a 6 wt line also with bigger/heavier flies.
Just experiment with some different lines to see what you like.
I have a sage xp marked as a 6 wt that I use with 7 wt line for bass/steelhead/big flies but sometimes when I'm on bigger trout water (like the yough) or fishing smaller flies I'll use a 6 wt line.

 

[FiveWeight]

Go with the 5. Pick n choose the action to your style of fishing.

 

[dryflyguy]

Your style of fishing should come into play here.
For my dry fly only approach, I like a 4 weight for most of my PA fishing.
But if I did a lot of dredging, I would go with a 5 weight

 

[PennKev]

1wt wrote:

Any trout you will ever catch in PA, can be caught on a 3wt. And so much more fun with a light rod!

Matching your tackle to the size of the fish rather than the predominant water size and conditions you will be fishing in is a recipe for frustration.

A 3wt on a 60ft wide creek, with typical spring time flows, and a light breeze is no fun. A 5wt on the otherhand easily handles the conditions.

If you don't already have a 9' 5wt rod, that would be a good starting point. 4wt's and 6wt's also do a good job too depending on the type of creeks you normally fish.

Leave the short rods and light line weights for when you'd like to have a rod for a specific set of conditions.

Kev

 

[donles]

It seems unlikely to fish with only one fly rod. I have had 9' 5wt and a 6'6" 3wt.
If I could start over, I think I'd go 4 and 6 weights. I think a 6wt is the right choice for streamers on bigger water and the 4wt is fine for smaller streams.
My 3wt broke last year. I had built it from a Loomis IM6 blank in the nineties. It broke right where it exits the grip while I was casting. No good fish story here. What a disappointment but I guess graphite can do that.
Having said all that, I'd go 6wt with a 4wt in the future.

 

[StarvinMarvin]

I own a 6 wt cabelas LSI 9 ft that is fast action and i've never casted a better rod, I love it for nymphing and it will fling dries with ease in a small breeze, I also have a konic on it and fully loaded the setup is very light which makes the fight very fun, you can gear up just look at weight of the rod not the line weight

 

[FlyGuyFromPa]

I'm new to the sport, so my opinion may not mean much, but I fish an 8'6 5wt and wouldn't change it for anything. I may get a 7'6 3wt for smaller streams, but my 5wt hasn't let me down yet. I've yet to land a "big" fish on it, but I've caught some 15-16 inchers on it with no problems at all.

 

[Jake41]

I think a 4 or 5 weight in the 8'-8 1/2' length will do the job. You can always put a 4 weight line on the 5 wt. rod if you want a little lighter feel. Sorry to hear about the loss. Good luck with the new set up.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

I own 2 thru 6 weight rods for trout. IMO the 8 1/2 to 9' 5 weights are the best all-around rods.

 

[Troutking]

I am by far not an expert because I am pretty new at all this but I feel a 5wt will give you more options.

 

[GenCon]

I agree with the 5wt. Double taper for trout, wheight forward for smallies.

Gencon