Who uses a 2wt?

[Janus]

Looking for a winter project and am thinking of building a 6'6" 2wt. Not sure why, but i seem to have all the other wts covered and was looking for something different. To those who use a 2wt what type of fishing do you use them for? Is it a rod you reach for often? For some reason I have always thought of them as a novelty and have never given them much thought. I fish for gills in the summer and a 3wt sometimes seems too much on some ponds so it got me thinking...
Janus

[fishaholic69]

I also own a 3wt. a 2wt couldn't be that much different. at least I would think.. prolly small bass gills or trout would be ok on it. to me my 3wt still doesn't do the gills and smaller bass around here justice. they don't take it to the reel hardly ever. only had 2 bass take me to my reel this year on the 3wt. i heard of a guy landing a great lakes steelie on his 4wt last week! he says he was bass fishing and it grabbed his bugger. almost got one on my 5wt tfo on a brown bugger bass fishing the same day but he missed the bugger when he came at it.

[Gardenfish]

several of us fish a one weight rod. Mine is a Sage SLT (the first SLT model) and it is not a toy nor a novelty. THis is a strong rod and did just fine on 13" cutthroat trout. Go for it. When ya get into small fish it is a joy. There are many posts on the topic of 1 wt. rods, but I could get the search engine to cooperate. Built the 2 and fish the heck out of it.

[ohiotuber]

I fish a lot for BIG gills with both my 8' St Croix Legend Ultra 3 wt & my 6'6" 2 wt (Forecast 2pc blank) that good buddy Joe Valencic built for me. At least in my rods, there is QUITE a difference. The 3 wt is a good deal "faster" & casts MUCH better in the wind, but BOTH are a hoot when a 9" to 11" gill or 2 lb bass is on the other end. As much fun as the 3 wt is, there is a MAJOR difference with that "softer" 2 wt when a big ol' honker is yankin' away! I also love fishing the 2 wt fishing for brookies in the Virginia mountain streams. The foliage blocks the wind well there, so it's really not an issue.
Build that 2 wt...you won't be sorry. Then give me a holler & I'll show you what REAL gills are, & they WILL test a 2 or 3 wt....here are a few examples...









The bottom picture is the 2 wt...the gill was 9" to 9 1/2"....the top pic is 11 1/4". Slightly longer & a LOT wider than the gill in pics 2 & 3. My buddy Gary told me I should also have had a "head on" pic of THAT monster.
Mike

[Ron Eagle Elk]

I fished a new one weight at the Idaho Fish-In. Best fish on it was a 15 inch cutthroat trout. Nice casting rod. Not a toy or novelty.

Tuber, those are some huge "Gills". Nicely done. Can I fish your pond?

REE

[chris from canada]

2 wt's are a blast!!

Don't pass up the oppeotunity to build one, and fish it.

I built a 4 piece 2wt, and have caught some decent sized fish on it; from trout to pike.

Go for it!!!

Be warned though; fishing them is very adictive.

Take care,
chris

[ohiotuber]

I fished a new one weight at the Idaho Fish-In. Best fish on it was a 15 inch cutthroat trout. Nice casting rod. Not a toy or novelty.

Tuber, those are some huge "Gills". Nicely done. Can I fish your pond?

REE

Ron,
Come to Ohio & you WILL fish there! We would have a ball & I'd send you off with a box of PB fudge.
Mike

[troutbert]

I fish a lot for BIG gills with both my 8' St Croix Legend Ultra 3 wt & my 6'6" 2 wt (Forecast 2pc blank) that good buddy Joe Valencic built for me. At least in my rods, there is QUITE a difference. The 3 wt is a good deal "faster" & casts MUCH better in the wind, but BOTH are a hoot when a 9" to 11" gill or 2 lb bass is on the other end. As much fun as the 3 wt is, there is a MAJOR difference with that "softer" 2 wt when a big ol' honker is yankin' away! I also love fishing the 2 wt fishing for brookies in the Virginia mountain streams. The foliage blocks the wind well there, so it's really not an issue.
Build that 2 wt...you won't be sorry. Then give me a holler & I'll show you what REAL gills are, & they WILL test a 2 or 3 wt....here are a few examples...









The bottom picture is the 2 wt...the gill was 9" to 9 1/2"....the top pic is 11 1/4". Slightly longer & a LOT wider than the gill in pics 2 & 3. My buddy Gary told me I should also have had a "head on" pic of THAT monster.
Mike

The lightest rod I use is a 4 wt. I used a buddy's 2 wt on a brook trout stream one time. At first I liked it, because it was so light. But casting a big bulky dry fly, it didn't do so well. I felt like I was fighting with it.

But I'm not so interested in the fly rods as in those BLUEGILLS! I live in Centre Cty, PA, near some very good trout streams. But I haven't founded decent bluefill fishing around here. I'm jealous.

[ohiotuber]

The lightest rod I use is a 4 wt. I used a buddy's 2 wt on a brook trout stream one time. At first I liked it, because it was so light. But casting a big bulky dry fly, it didn't do so well. I felt like I was fighting with it.

But I'm not so interested in the fly rods as in those BLUEGILLS! I live in Centre Cty, PA, near some very good trout streams. But I haven't founded decent bluefill fishing around here. I'm jealous.

Well just plan on gettin' on over here to fish with the ol' 'tuber & catch some gills!...They're usually fair to middlin'!!
Mikey

[J Castwell]

I found a 2wt was more work than a 3wt; I had to 'work harder' to get the fly to the fish. Have not used one in years. But even a 3wt will give you very little 'buffer' between you and any big fish. I have caught a few bigger rainbow on a 3wt but didn't like it. I had to be so careful of the rod that I (rightly or wrongly) felt that I was not being fair to the fish. At this time the smallest we own are 3wt's. I prefer to use a 5wt even on little flies when I can. I guess I'm not all that in favor of a 2wt.