6wt for trout

i will admit that i am not much of a fly fisherman, but i enjoy reading about it.  it seems to me that maybe 20 years ago everyone used 6wts.  then it seemed to drop to 5 and then 4.  is it because of the emergence of graphite.  is a 6wt too much rod for pa. streams?  i would imagine that they still may be used out west.  just curious. 

A 6 wt is the best choice PA steelhead rod in my opinion

A 6 weight is acceptable for many trout waters in PA.  Primarily you should choose a rod (length and line weight) based on the conditions you are fishing (water size, wind, fish size).  The action (slow, medium, fast, etc) will change the usefulness of a trout rod for you moreso than weight.  Slower actions protect lighter tippets better than faster actions in most angler's hands(slower also lends to a better feeling fight than a fast action).  Ie, a more flexable rod will bend more, taking out the shock from the fish's pulling much better than a rod that is less flexable (read stiff).  This translates into a slow action 6 weight will protect light tippets much better than a fast 3 weight.  The other argument against "heavier" line weights is that the heavier line hitting the water spooks fish more than a lighter line does.  BUT, if you learn how to cast well, this is never an issue.  Learning how to delicately drop your fly line on the water is important no matter what line you are casting.  What has been happening more and more is that folks are going out and buying a light weight rod instead of learning how to properly cast the heavier weight rod they already own.  Extending the length of the leader will help with this too.
 
You're seeing lighter and lighter rods for the most part due to marketing by the fly fishing industry.  Just like you're seeing faster and faster rods.  The reality is that the core of fly anglers who have been doing this for a while already have all of the equipment they need and that will do the job, so the industry has to convience us that we need something different, so we get lighter and lighter and faster and faster.
 
You have to remember that the masters use to use slow action 7 and 8 weights to fish small spring creeks, like the Letort, with small (size 22 and smaller) dry flies and didn't have any problems.
 
As a disclaimer, I own and fish rods from 00 to 6 weights for trout and 6 to 8 weights for steelhead, migratory browns and salmon and sometimes salt, so I'm not knocking any line weights and believe that a lot of them have a place on the streams I fish.

riz, hope to fish with you soon.  every time i get near that fly shop, i get into trouble.  that guy is worse than a crack dealer on the east side of youngstown.
 
glad the rods are working out.  can never have too many, eh?  hey, you mending okay?
 
slate, your post was awesome.  i remember a more simple time when it seemed all fly rods had a buggy whip parabola and looked like instruments in the hands of artists.  the 6wt that i have is older, and only 8 feet, but i seem to feel it much better than my 9ft, 5wt sage ds. 

every time i get near that fly shop, i get into trouble. that guy is worse than a crack dealer on the east side of youngstown.

Really? Its an awesome shop, but I was pleased to note that he just let me look around and do my own thing in there. It really bothers me when I go into a new fly shop (for me) and the owner/employees try to "get me set up" with stuff they think I need. Usually, its well-intentioned, but it still bugs me. I was very pleased with the shop in Volant when that didn't happen, and showed it with my purchases (nothing big like a rod or reel, but a decent amount of tying stuff and a hardback book).

I also appreciated the tips & suggestions that, while it wasnt anything that was terribly secret (didnt expect that), it was frank and honest (basically, I'd arrived to less-than-great conditions, but there was a definite potential to have a good day), and the tips and suggestions didnt involve buying a dozen of 'the new killer fly'.

jack, i have a 5.6 and 7 wt rod.  i just need one or five more, or so.  also have a boo rod that is locked away.  i have used both the 5 and 7, but the 6wt has been gathering dust for too long.  it was my first rod, a gift from my wife, and though not a thomas, i am looking forward to getting it wet again.

what is it about flyrods?  i can walk by rack after rack of spinning and casting rods, of which i have too many, and never feel the need to pick one up.  yet, i do very little fly fishing and when i am in a gander mt or similar store, i have to pick up three or four and just go through the motions.  seems to me that they are more than just a fishing rod, more like an instrument or an artist's brush.  looking forward to oil creek this year.

Hah, and Bob always comes out with his trademark phrase, "We're gonna do a little damage here," when I get to the counter and he starts punching the stuff into the register.

All in all, wherever you buy your stuff, whatever you get, whatever you have, and whatever you fish it for - there is nothing quite like the whole experience. So I guess "crack" is a good analogy. I mean, from what I've heard about crack...

I went to that shop in volant today and i had a horrible experience. Seriously, it takes a lot to offend me but the owner (said he was) was probably the most dismissive person i have dealt with in a very long time. I walked in there with the intention to drop near a grand on gear and between him up and walking away from me to go take a **** while i was right in the middle of trying to explain what i was looking to do (and not closing the door so i have to hear him ****ing), filling out a hook order or something and then phoning it in while i was trying to obtain guidance, calling his buddy who sent him an email to chat for a bit, or being extremely condescending when he wasnt being dismissive.... Oh and not to mention the eventual 15 minute lesson on why i should only buy stuff from small business's and if i dont im basically a scumbag.

Seriously, everyone has bad days at work but i walked out of the place dumbfounded. Have you ever met anyone who didnt even speak a word to you yet, that you just hated right off the bat? I seriously think i was that guy for him. Anyway im buying my stuff from international angler. At least that guy engaged in small talk and exhibited a general concern to help a novice like me out. Oh and i wasnt cocky about anything to provoke that. I am way out of my element when it comes to anything flyfishing related and approach those who clearly know mountains more then i do (nearly everyone) with a great deal of humility. Hell even bass fishing, which i know a thing or two about, i approach with the humility of a novice. My opinion is there is always someone better then you and you never know who it's gonna be. oh welp..

What do you expect from an Orvis dealer?

ORIGINAL: plnoldrick

I went to that shop in volant today and i had a horrible experience. Seriously, it takes a lot to offend me but the owner (said he was) was probably the most dismissive person i have dealt with in a very long time. I walked in there with the intention to drop near a grand on gear and between him up and walking away from me to go take a **** while i was right in the middle of trying to explain what i was looking to do (and not closing the door so i have to hear him ****ing), filling out a hook order or something and then phoning it in while i was trying to obtain guidance, calling his buddy who sent him an email to chat for a bit, or being extremely condescending when he wasnt being dismissive.... Oh and not to mention the eventual 15 minute lesson on why i should only buy stuff from small business's and if i dont im basically a scumbag.

Seriously, everyone has bad days at work but i walked out of the place dumbfounded. Have you ever met anyone who didnt even speak a word to you yet, that you just hated right off the bat? I seriously think i was that guy for him. Anyway im buying my stuff from international angler. At least that guy engaged in small talk and exhibited a general concern to help a novice like me out. Oh and i wasnt cocky about anything to provoke that. I am way out of my element when it comes to anything flyfishing related and approach those who clearly know mountains more then i do (nearly everyone) with a great deal of humility. Hell even bass fishing, which i know a thing or two about, i approach with the humility of a novice. My opinion is there is always someone better then you and you never know who it's gonna be. oh welp..

I'm really sorry to hear that, plnoldrick. Though, I have read of others' complaints here to the same tone. In one hand, I'm surprised but in the other, I'm not.

Honestly my opinion is that, if you own a business, you should try your best to bend over backwards for every customer who walks in the door. That's not to say to take a slap in the face from a really hell-bent customer. Still, regardless who the customer is, never be rude. If they give real trouble, simply ask them to leave.

(I am in no way insinuating that you gave any trouble - I'm just pointing out that there is *never* a reason for an owner to be rude to a customer. What you're saying sounds like you tried to dump some major $$$ in there and got slapped in the face for it.)

I can understand someone running a shop and having multiple customers with the phone ringing having limited attention to go around, but what you described is certainly out of line. Definitely something I'll think about.

One day when I own my own coffee-slash-fly-shop (lol), customer is #1.

One day when I own my own coffee-slash-fly-shop (lol), customer is #1.
 
harry, you wanna hire me?  don't know a lot about flyfishing, but i sure can drink some java.
 
cold, what got me started down this path of debauchery was you questions about getting started.  what pushed me over the edge was your 3wt avid and what you called the "small" reels that go with the small rods.

what was your blood pressure like after that?  that stuff is the bomb.  when i was younger, i loved to sit around with a cold canadian beer, moosehead or blue.  as i got older and my innerds got weird, i started to really love caffeine.  miss a dip or a smoke with it, but it is all good.  nothing like a hot cup in the duck blind or while you are gearing up.
 
harry, the only fly shop in our area is in volant.  there is another about 40 miles n.w. of y-town, but i need something closer.  could you hurry up and open? 
 

ORIGINAL: harrypelles

One day when I own my own coffee-slash-fly-shop (lol), customer is #1.

 
i don't know if you guys read my blogs but when we went down to edenburg VA. to smallmouth fish, Harry Murray's fly shop is in his pharmacy also. you can get addicted to fly fishing and get drugs all in the same store