I am in the market for a 3 wgt rod and have managed to get 4 loaner rods from a fly shop for a side by side comparison. Besides the obvious "feel" we all talk about, do any of you have any suggestions as to the most effective/thorough way to compare these rods? ie, what would you do to run these through their paces?

I'll be taking them to the Catskills next weekend for a few days, so it should be an excellent time to test them.

The 4 that I have chosen to test are:

Winston Ibis
Winston LT
Sage SLT
Sage TXL

All are between 7'6" and 7"10". The loaner reel is a Sage 3200 with their Quiet Taper WF 3 wgt line.

It was suggested to me that I consider a 4 weight instead. My only other rod is a Winston LT 5 weight. My thought is that there may not be that much difference between the 5 wgt and the 4, so go with the 3 wgt to really enjoy catching those typically small trout in those small streams. Any thoughts on the topic?

Any suggestions will be most appreciated.