Quote Originally Posted by MontanaMoose View Post
I'd never pull so hard as to risk breaking the tippet. For me that usually only happens when something is wrong with my setup. Let's say I'm using a 9ft. 9wt. with 0x tippet and while fishing for big buckets I somehow hook a 1lb. gill...I bet you the farm I can land it faster than someone with a 2wt and 0x tippet....now if I hook my new record bucket of 7lbs. or so I'll be able to make a much better effort at keeping it from diving into the weeds and wrapping me up than I would be able to with a 2 wt. and I haven't even tried it with a 2 wt. but I have with a 3wt. and it's just not nearly as easy.

Your version of physics makes sense of course Mr. Sanders, but applied physics when used in the fashion I'm used to actually works. If'n you've not tried a 2 and a 9 on a big bucket or big trout or steel in heavy current, you can't know from whence you speak.

I haven't tried it with a 2 but I have with a 3 and the 9 kicks it's butt, all else being equal, i.e. fly tippet, current/lack thereof etc. I do appreciate your great response though, so thanks, you made me thing it through again to talk myself into a 2 wt. being a better fish fighting tool than a 9wt. with the same tippet. It just ain't so.

MontanaMoose the respectful
I don't chase 7lbs. buckets so I don't need a 9wt. I don't even need a 9wt for Lake Erie Steelhead, I can get by with a 6wt, and many of those fish are well over 7lbs. You are kind of missing the point here. The original poster, Brian, won't be chasing 7lbs. buckets with his new 2wt either. Here in the Island Nation, 2wts and panfish go good together. We like 2wts for their intended purpose. Of course we can land the average sized bass on a 2wt too, which around here runs about 2-3lbs.