The above post by Johnno got me thinking about rod choice and usage across various geographic areas. We have a membership that covers at least 3 continents (Europe, North America, and Australia/New Zealand). I thought it would be interesting to take an informal poll of the membership. I wonder what rods (wt/length/action) are the norm in the members' geographic locales, and what are your choices for wingless wets or otherwise? It might be best to limit this to trout and similarly sized coarse fish.Johnno wrote:For a long time nine foot #6 rated rods were by far the most popular rods for trout fishing in the UK,
Still are in NZ. Most use the 6 wgt as their general all round rod. 5wgt and under are considered "light" and mostly smaller stream rods. 7 and 8 wgt rods are commonly used in the South Island High Country rivers and lakes where (often strong) wind is to be contended with and in the Central North Island 7 - 9 wgt rods are the norm particularly around Taupo and Rotorua.
Here in British Columbia, Canada the most commonly used and owned trout rod would probably be a 9-9.5' 5wt medium fast action rod. As the largest component of fly fishers in the province are stillwater fishermen, the 5wt covers the majority of situations this group might encounter. Of course for steelhead and salmon the weights are heavier (generally 8wt+), and increasingly two-handed rods are becoming popular for these species.
For my part, I own rods from 4'-14' and weights from 1-9, but the rods I currently use most are:
- 8' 1wt Medium action Scott G-series (small streams/fish)
- 9' 3wt Medium action Sage VPS-Light (small-medium sized streams)
- 9' 5wt Very Fast action Gloomis Stream-Dancer (Stillwaters)
- 9' 6wt Medium action Sage SP (Stillwaters)
the faster rod helps me get the line out. I fish the 6wt on stillwaters not for any other reason than that particular rod is an effortless joy to cast.Lets hear your situation.
Aaron
