Art Burton's "Fishing the Two Weight"

The fishing last year was fantastic, and the two weight performed beyond my wildest hopes.

It's been my constant companion from April to November. The advantages far out weigh the one disadvantage, that being trying to cast in a 25 mph wind. Just go to the other side of the pond...

During my lifetime here in the Northeast I may have only caught a dozen or so trout that topped the weight of two pounds. Sometimes I find it hard to admit it since I've logged forty-five years of trout fishing (and still counting). I have been able to catch trout with some consistently during this time, but the fact is throughout most of those years if I had a good fish on I usually lost it because I fish with too fine a leader. My friend, this past year sure has changed all of that.

By combining the two weight with 6X to 8X leaders I've been able to consistently land trout that top four pounds. These fish all have college degrees. The two weight allows for a delicate presentation of the fly in truly a life-like manner. When using a five weight, I have had problems of leaving the fly in more fish than I care to admit. I believe the reason is that on the take the rod is to strong for the initial surge of the fish. I've found that if you use 4X or 5X tippets quite possibly you will survive the first surge. The problem is however that large fish seem to notice that the fly appears to drift with some drag. The two weight gives me the best of both worlds.

Some flyfishers frown on it, but I belong to a flyfishing club. The advantage is that I get to fish for trout the year around. The fish range from about a pound to over six pounds, and I have one mounted at almost seven pounds.

The waters that I have been fishing are crystal clear, so you can watch the fish's reaction. Many, many times I have seen the fish move toward the fly only to turn away. All one has to do is to take out the two weight, same fly, use 6X or 8X tippets, and observe. I'll miss my guess if the same trout doesn’t come up and inhale your offering.

An original trout pattern Art developed called the "trouteater" fishes well on his two-weight outfit

Believe me, the fight on the two weight doesn’t leave much to be desired. The two weight has the ability to present flies from size 14 to 28 with a delicate touch that few trout can resist if they're feeding at all. The feel of the fish through the length of the rod, and the ability to control the fish without breaking the tippet are both highly desirable.

This year I have taken bigger fish, and taken more trout than I've ever done before. The biggest trout I have taken this past year was 5 lbs 13 oz. The biggest trout taken on the two weight was 4 pounds and 2 oz. The flies I used are to remain secret but I will tell you this - I am a lazy flytyer. My flies are tied for the fish, not the fisherman. I guess it's no secret that I thoroughly enjoy fishing the two weight.

	Tight Lines, Art Burton artb@fastdial.net
Art's been a fly fisher for fifty-eight years. He has fished with Harold Gibbs, Rube Cross, Rube Richmond, Jim Seifort and last, but not least Al Brewster. Says Art: "Al taught me fly fishing and flytying. After so many years, I might have learned a thing or two from these guys". Last January he purchased the Orvis "Western Two" 8-1/2 foot for a two weight line, which is the rod he talks about in this article. That's the beauty of flyfishing - there's always room for experimentation and learning.