-
8T,
Very sorry to hear about your winter storm woes. Man, did it go from Indian Summer to Hard Core Winter in a flash this year or WHAT?
We're having a warmer day in Kansas City this morning, but it's the first one in three weeks. We, luckily, haven't had an ice storm yet. I hate ice storms with a passion.
Well, if you're having a great time catching SC pannies on your 2-wt., then I'm sure I will, too (once I buy one). It just seemed many times during this last year's action that even with the softer of my two 3-wt. rods I was still over-gunned on rod strength.
Guess the business of catching bluegills and crappie with fly tackle is opening my eyes to why so many trout fishers prefer using short 1- or 2-wt rods.
Question: With a 2-wt. rod, would you recommend I go to a lighter leader as well? I've been using 4X tapered leaders (6 lb. test breaking strength), but I wonder if it's wise to stick with that. To protect the rod from snapping during a fight with a bigger fish, do you think it's better (or necessary) to shield the 2-wt. by using, say, a 5X or 6X tippet instead? Something that'll break under only a 3- or 4-lb. jolt?
Joe
"Better small than not at all."
-
Joe,
I've really enjoyed my Cabela's two-weight this season and really put it through it's paces. I've fished a lot of #12 Gurgle Pops on the two weight and find it has the backbone to toss them pretty well (with a bit of practice). I also go with smaller flies. Generally when fishing the Gurgle Pops, I stay with a 4X or even 3X tippet. You can never tell when a bigger fish is going to come along. Believe me, if you fish a two weight in warm water long enough, you will be badly UNDER GUNNED a couple of times each season particularly around brush piles but that's part of the fun. With smaller flies, particularly dry flies, I will go with a lighter leader.
As to breaking the rod, I've nearly had it jerked out of my hand a couple of times. It's so light you tend to grasp it lightly and can get taken by surprise when watching other non-angling activity---hawks are a special weakness of mine. Even with bigger fish, I never felt the rod was going to snap with 4x or 3x tippet material. They've got a lot of backbone and are suprisingly durable 8T http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif