Saltwater @ 5wt.?

[eponymous]

I caught my biggest striper of the year on a 5 wt RPLXi. A keeper and then some plus a little bit extra.

It really isn't the "rod" so much as it is the size of the flies and the wind. If conditions are mild and smaller flies will work then I don't hesitate to grab the "little" rod. Sage no longer makes a 5 wt with a fighting butt. I would never ever give this rod up.

[tailingloop]

TFO has a 5wt with a fighting but. All rods in the Jim Teeny Series have fighting butts, down to a 4 wt. Nice rods too. That 5wt RPLXi was a really nice rod.

[Micropteris]

I like my 3wt with a click and pawl reel for NE salt water. Little spots with little flies with a nice long headed tapered line. Great for spey casts and long mends in tight areas where overhead casts are unneccesary.

I have fished in at times where heavy fly lines slapping and ripping the water have put rising saltwater fish down just like trout would. Pulled out the 3wt for a softer presentation and they started rising again.

I fished a 3wt along side a friend who was using a 9wt and was able to bring every fish to hand faster than he was.

Little fish tactics doesn't mean using just little rods, it means using little fish tactics to catch little fish. Changing tactics doesn't mean just changing rod size. It means changing how you fish.

As far as back-bone goes, you got this little thing on the end of your rod. Most people call it a reel. It makes a great winch for stopping and cranking in any size fish. Want to stop a fish dead in his tracks; grab your reel or the line. He either stops or your leader breaks. It's so effective you can even do it with a handline.

[dudley]

If you're just winching the fish in on the reel, why bother with a fly rod at all?

http://www.whitemouseflyfishing.com/handlines.html

[Micropteris]

Cause you don't need backbone to land a fish.