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

[adam]

I'm curious about what sort of rod type you fish so I'm making a pole...

If you fish an alternative, please place a "reply" and let us know.

[adam]

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.

[Mark]

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.

[adam]

Mark makes awesome blanks.

I have had him make me dozens of them.

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

[flickfly]

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.

[gusstrand]

Superfines rocked. Loved them.

[drew03cmc]

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.