"There should be no reason routinely double haul a rod fishing for trout."
Z, that may be a little to direct for your tastes, but I do not know how one can be any clearer.
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"There should be no reason routinely double haul a rod fishing for trout."
Z, that may be a little to direct for your tastes, but I do not know how one can be any clearer.
More power to those who can cast 110 feet with a 5wt. I can't see that far, let alone effectively fish that far. Do I see situations where it might be handy? Sure. Do I lose sleep over not having a rod that will do it (skill, of course, having no part in it)? Nope.
Casting is ONE skill of the many you need to be a successful fly angler. And like most people, I would say that 95+% of the fish I catch (and in all immodesty I catch more than my share) are a whole heck of a lot closer than I am capable of casting, let alone 110 feet.
The older and slower I get, the slower I like my rods, and the times I push the rod to the limit (mine or its) are few and far between. Would I catch more fish with a super duper extra-fast $800 rod? Nope.
PS. I don't doublehaul much, or if I do, I don't notice I am doing it.
with proper technique and the correctly sized leader and fly for the rod, you should be able to cast just as far with a 5wt as a 9 wt.
The difference lies in the larger rod's ability to cast larger flies, and to cast farther in windy conditions.
I fish a few large reservoirs where 60-70 foot casts with a streamer are sometimes necessary. I learned to double haul for that reason, and have found that I do indeed tend to haul now even on short casts. Why? It's simply a matter of muscle memory. It's easier to just use the technique for all my casting since it now feels natural to me. There's no need for me to haul on a 30 foot cast, but I generally do because it's easier than consciously having to think about not doing it.
The previous comment about rod companies targeting distance casters (or those who think they need to be) because they are the most likely to buy the newest greatest thing to come along is, I believe, spot on. Nobody seems to advertise a rod based on it's ability to throw short accurate casts, because a) that's a more skill dependant area, therefore harder to quantify, and b) most of us already have a rod we are comfortable with in that catagory
Since this is a topic that is directly related to what I deal with every day I will add my .02. My thoughts are that people need to use the rod that fits their style and not what a magazine ad tells them they need.
I routinely get emails from people saying the exact same thing....."I'm looking for a fast action rod in such&such length and wt, needs to have crisp tip flex to it".
I usually ask them what type of streams they plan to use it on and most times the reply is .."About 30'-50' wide at the most".
The majority of the time these people are happier with a more moderate action rod that casts as well at 20' as it does at 50' rather than having a pool stick type canon that is happiest at the 70-100' range. But the market is flooded with ad's that tell you that you have to have the fastest highest modulus stick that money can buy, so people fall for it.
Super fast rods have their place...casting big streamers with a heavy 250-400 grain sinking line, or out on the wide open lakes in a stiff wind. But for 75% of your average trout anglers a true fast action rod is more of a handicap than anything else.
Steve
JohnLL,
Thanks for your expert input. Could you please let us all know what a "real" trout rod is?