Matrix: What type of small stream rod do you fish?

I went back to glass rods. Its a more relaxed casting style. Glass rods are tough rods they can take the abuse of brush busting and "tunnel" fishing.

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Originally Posted by Pete-G

For any of you that know me from other forums and I think this forum. (was there another older version?) I have gone through a ton of fly rods. Graphite, glass, and bamboo. I was looking for something, but wasn't sure what it was. I felt that when I found it i'd know right away. I also fished many different types of waters. I kind of liked the Frying Pan, but the crowds drove me nuts. No to mention the 200 mile round trip.
I finally settled on small streams as my favorite kind of fishing. It put the biggest smile on my face, and it did it everytime. Ok, so that made picking a rod a little easier. Sort of. Again I tried graphite, glass, and bamboo, but now in shorter lengths. I love the looks and tradition of bamboo. It's what my grandpa used. Graphite leaves me cold. Even if they do cast well.(some) Glass is ok, but still not the tradition of bamboo and i'm not crazy over the looks.

So, it was going to be bamboo for sure. Not a hard decision, because I love bamboo. I looked for the perfect rod for my streams. I wanted a well known taper, because, well, tradition again. After much experimenting I settled on the Garrison 201 taper. It has a soft tip and will load with 1' of line out. It will also cast a good distance when needed. Farther than I can see the fly, and that far enough. I do fish a pond during runoff, and the distance helps. The rod does all I ask of it in my fishing, and puts a huge smail on my face everytime I use it. Which is everyday I fish.

My battle of buying and selling rods is over. I have no interest in the latest and greatest fly fishing gear. I love tradition and i'm comfortable back in that time period. Catching fish is a bonus.

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I'm with you on this Pete,

Something special and magical about a boo rod designed for small streams! My Rod is a 6ft.3in, #3,weight Tim Harris Cane Rod - I asked Tim to make it using a Cattanach Taper! It's extremely lightweight for a Cane Rod and has a small diameter, I love it! although I now have two more cane rods - but the Tim Harris is my favourite. I've also gone for the Hardy Lightweight Reels to compliment the small stream rods.

I have run the full gamut.

I love all sorts of rods, fiberglass being the least, only because it is a compromise between graphite and bamboo, it is not great at anything except being a good compromise.

However, because a premium tenkara rod is so compact, those damn things are really nice for backpacking. I don't find much of a compromise there.

Bamboo is just awesome, beautiful and a work of art.

Tenkara rods are the best at a minimalistic approach.

But if I had only one rod for small streams, no other choices, it would be a 6'6" bamboo rod in 4 weight, I would use a silk line.

But I don't have to use one rod, I have several including the one above but I reach for a 11' tenkara rod most of the time.

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Originally Posted by lawrenceh_w

I've been using a March Brown Hidden Water 7-piece, 6'6" #3 rod this year witha DT3 line. I need to get a new reel (looking at an Orvis BBS I ... it just looks so ... right). The good thing with the rod is that the section above the butt can be removed (no rod ring) instantly shortening it to 5'6". Really handy for those tight little spots.

So far I'm very impressed with it. It's got a lovely mid to full flex action. Nice and matt finish as well. The cork handle fits really nicely in my hand as well.

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You're not kidding, I picked up a MB 7' 4 weight about a year or two ago to serve as a travel rod - so easy to carry on an airplane - and I'm surprised how much I like it.
The fact that it breaks down a section is pretty convenient. Not my first choice when fishing smaller water (I've become a bit of a tenkara junkie), but not a rod I feel bad about grabbing.
I pair it with a relatively inexpensive Albright Topwater Click & Pawl, makes for a nice match.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PdIpP5rmbD...640x480%5D.JPG

On everything but the tiniest trickle I will always use a long rod, 10'-0" Orvis Helios 4wt, med tip action, also 12'-0" Tenkara Iwana.

Minimum line on the water has always been my philosophy.

Bill

I mostly fish graphite on small water. My favorites right now are a WW Grigg made 8' 4 weight that I under line and fish with a #3 double taper line, and a Cabela's Wind River 8'6" 4 weight that I over line with a #5 WF line. I just finished building a pair of fly rods - one of them is a small stream special of 5'6". It's a 5/6 weight - not by choice, really, but necessity. The rod was originally supposed to be an 11' long 3 weight. I got the blank from eBay, it was sold as an unmarked imported close-out rod. Well, the only thing accurate about the description was the color and number of sections of the blank. In it's fully assembled form, a #6 line barely loaded the rod, so I took it down section by section, and found that it cast sweetly with a #5 or 6 line. Not the #3 I wanted, but it worked. I got to fish the rod for the first time on my lunch break at work today. Had a few strikes from some small trout - but didn't get any solid hook ups, but then I could only fish for about 15 minutes.

Previous favorite small water rods were a TFO 6' 2 weight, a Cabela's Three Forks 3 weight, and a WW Grigg 9' 4 weight.

My 30th birthday is a month from today - and if I can scrape together the funds, I'd really like to get my hands on a Steffen 3 or 4 weight blank and build it up.

Mark makes awesome blanks.

I have had him make me dozens of them.

Highly recommended, the ferrules are no issue, will last forever...

Still fishing my Glass rods & enjoying them. I still have a couple of rods built on Shikari blanks that I like as well as an Orvis Superfine 7"9 2wt.

Superfines rocked. Loved them.

I am looking into a Steve Kiley Deschutes...liking what I see and can't wait until the funds free up. Until then, my 6'6" 5wt that a buddy built for me will suffice.