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Which is the most useful rod weight?

  • 6-wt.

    Votes: 11 26.2%
  • 7-wt.

    Votes: 17 40.5%
  • 8-wt.

    Votes: 13 31.0%
  • 9-wt.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 10-wt.

    Votes: 1 2.4%

Most useful all-around single-hander

3K views 26 replies 15 participants last post by  Maxg 
#1 ·
If you had to choose a rod weight that would be useful in a greater number of fishing situations than any other rod weight, which would it be? In other words, to fish for the majority of freshwater and in-shore gamefish species, which one rod weight would you choose for this purpose, and why?

My choice would be an 8-weight. I think that an 8-wt. gives the angler the greatest range of species to chase, from freshwater bass, pike, and trout to bones and mid-sized in-shore species (blues, stripers, weakfish, crevalle jacks, snapper, snook, reds, and small tarpon).
 
#2 ·
I thought of the 8 weight before I even read your response. Although it would be a bit heavy for trout and panfish and a bit undergunned for larger coastal species, it seems to be the right compromise.

Chris, did you vote? I only saw my vote for the 8 weight in the poll.
 
#5 ·
I would have to say 7wt though my first thought was 8wt. There seems to be a big difference to me anyway between a 7 and an 8. A 7wt seems a lot closer to a 6wt than it does to an 8wt. With an 8wt one can cast a fairly decent sinktip if need be but I've yet found a 7 wt that will. But I can't imagine casting an 8wt to a Henery's Fork surface feeding trout with 6 or 7x tippet but I think one could get by with like a Winston BL5 7wt and make it work a bit. I could fish summer steelhead all day with a 7wt and I could fish bait chasing schoolies all day with the 7wt. If one got over his head in a mismatch and the fight is too long just break the fish off. All 8wts have a butt section on the rod but only a few 7wts as far as I know have one. For fish under 15 pounds I don't think you need one anyway. The more I think of it the more we need a 6.5 wt and a 7.5 wt rod. The key is a 7wt will fish a light tippet still handle a good fish about the same as an 8wt. The 8wt just won't fish delicate water or soft fish.
 
#6 ·
I'm with OC on this one, more so becasue of trout being in the mix. Anything above a 7 wt. will not handle some of the delicate presentations on trout. However, that "multi-Task" 7 wt. better be of a higher quality to handle the larger fish! A cheapo rod just would not give the versatility!
 
#7 ·
ever leave a tip on the truck roof!?

cheep 8 wt. then i could abuse it and get even for the money spent on high end 6 wt.s,carry it in the drifter when fishing non-fly folks to show em' whatsup,and keep it lined in the back of the suburban for the `drivebye shootings',plus being able to buy one accross from the local `hole' in case of breakage really makes it a done deal,pfleuger,,,?,uh,,,,well,,the green ones,,,guess i'd better shut up,,been two handing it and ,,uh,,well,,did i mention the ability to pick up 60-+ ft. of line in a boat,the availa,-;)
 
#8 ·
Best 1 hander...

...is any rod with a high enough resale value to get me another 2 hander!:devil:
 
#9 ·
All good answers.

If 'only one,' (specifically) the Sage 8100 xp. Over gunned for somethings, under gunned for others. But you can handle very large fish on an 8wt ... and still have fun with smaller summer runs if need be.

A 10' 8wt seems to be the major rod of choice with the best one-handers here on the Rogue for year round fishing.
 
#12 ·
Sage TCR six weight

hmmm...thankfully I don't have to make that choice, but I might go with a very fast 6wt. Fishing for trout with anything more isn't that much fun. Most bone fish and school stripers are easily landed on a 6wt and since it's really fast, you could always throw a seven on it if you needed to throw clousers or small poppers. Except for the bigger striper flys, and hair bugs, i think I could cast most flys on a six.
A "soft" seven like the BL-5(R.I.P.) is a good call too. I have a 9' #7LT (not as soft as the BL5) that is a sweet heart. I have caught brown trout up to 16#s on it, and it is one of my favorite warmwater rods. I love that rod.
 
#13 ·
I love a 7 wt rod. Has plenty of backbone for large flies and yet can still deliver a delicate fly. I have fished for trout that I call "Baby Heads" because their head is a large as a small baby on the Mighty Missouri in Montana. Once you see one of these trout you'll know what I'm talking about . I use the odd line weight line system for my rods. Ex. 5wt, 7wt, 9wt.
FishHawk
 
#14 ·
Nobody said this was strictly salt water. It started out fresh water and inshore fishing and my choice of rod for that is a 5wt. Salt water is another story and for that I use a 6wt in the summer. Also in the summer and it depends where I'm at I will use a 4 wt.

I only have a few rods as I don't feel the need to have one for every different type of fishing. So I will stick with what works for me.

Jim
 
#15 ·
Interesting; I would never dream of taking a 5-wt. to fish in-shore species, as the risk of hooking something and not being able to land it within a safe amount of time would be too great. Additionally, the size of flies able to cast any appreciable distance would be pretty small. Perhaps that's just a difference in the fisheries between our home waters.
 
#19 ·
Well I've hooked and landed some big Chum Salmon with a 5wt on the Skagit River fishing for dollies. I see no problem with that size rod And my tippet size was about 8 lbs. If the fish is too big I just break it off. I just fish for fun. If I catch something or not I don't really care.

Jim
 
#20 ·
Powr/Pakt by Phillipson

Durable and capable yet light enough to enjoy smaller sea run Cutthroats. One of my favorite summer rods is an old Bamboo 7wt by Bill Phillipson the one I like the most was owned first by a fellow in Conneticut and he bought it brand new in 1949. I was then one year old! :)
 
#21 ·
I agree with Moose, anything from 17# to 1# as long as it sells for enough money to get another 12'4" 8/9# Loop double hander.
Preferably a Greenline and the appropiate Loop adaptive head and tip. Or a few SA T40's.
All of which means there isn't a best 9 footer, its all myth, but there is a best double hander, which fits everything, fresh to salt.
Cherers Max

Stir, Joke VBG.
 
#22 ·
TIC...

Max it's good to see you've come down from the 15ft position down to 12'6" ;)

As you know I am a huge two-handed proponent BUT there is no substitute for a sweet little single hander where and when it is called for.

7' 3" 4wt light trout rod, 8' 6" 5wt, 9' 7wt. 9' 6" 8wt, 9' 9wt, 9' 10wt - all on my must-have list for their applications.

I do however own twice as many two-handers :p

The question is which single hander? I have to say... it's impossible to have just one :devil:
 
#23 ·
Ah but you guys were talking about the "most useful", and "light" and a 15' Talon is not the most useful, nor is it light. Since I don't fish for trout, introduced feral rubbish out here, I can't think of a place I'd use a light fly rod in 9 foot in salt water. No a light double hander in 12 foot is another matter entirely. I have 9 foters but I havent put a reel on one in a year. Max
 
#24 ·
SWFF -

I'm 85% flats sight fisherman and 15% big surf and rip currents here on Cape Cod's striped bass flats, so the single hander still has an important role in my arsenal... but lately I've been playing with super-light 10.5-11ft 9wt prototypes that cast just like throwing darts for accuracy in the sight fishing game on the flats while also making longer casts with easy effort when needed. They are so light (just over 7oz) that overhand casting with a double haul is easy as well.

It's redefining the way I sight fish on the flats. I will have them on some bonefish flats for some field testing prior to the striper season. Randall Kaufmann states in his book that bonefishing is mostly 30ft casts made for accuracy. I have to agree with that assessment. I've been really surprised at how an 11ft rod can throw laser beam casts with accuracy even across the body (to deal with wind) with eyes focused on the fish and no movement of the feet or legs to make the cast.

Two-handers as flats rods? I wouldn't have believed it myself until Nobuo sent me this last prototype!
 
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