This may or may not be a controversial topic. I remember reading an old article in Field & Stream by one of my favorite writers, Gene Hill, about his preferred rods. I don't have the article in front of me - no, it's packed away with the bulk of my magazine collection in a closet.

The gist of the article was though, that Gene didn't want to stress fish too much, and as such his go-to rod for 99% of fishing situations was a 9 weight. His reasoning was that the 9 weight could be cast almost as delicately as a 6 weight - he could cast a size 14 dry fly fairly well with it, just as he could cast a size 2 weighted Wooly Bugger. The 9 had enough backbone and strength to quickly play and land a fish without overexerting it, even if you lost some of the fun of the fight. He likened the 9wts as the 12 guage shotgun of the flyfishing world - very versatile if the person holding it did their part.

I don't necessarily see eye to eye with Gene on that point - I mean I understand his logic, but I find myself drawn to the light weight rods, within reason. I'm sure for small streams, Gene had a 4 weight tucked away. With me, the streams I fish don't grow monster fish, the largest trout I've ever landed on any of my three favorite streams went a whopping 13 inches or so. Gaints for their home water, but not that big in the scheme of things. They're usually narrow, and bushy. My little 3 weight, and my new 2 weight will handle those jobs much better than a 9 weight could. If I'm not fishing for small trout, I'm usually tossing flies to bluegill, crappie, and bass. Biggest fly-caught bass was about 5lbs, landed with a 9 foot 5 weight rod and a stout 8lb leader, using a Deciever.

I've taken a major interest in carp on a fly - and hopefully this year will see that dream come to fruition. For carp I've got a 6 weight ready and waiting for them.

I know Gene had some issues with folks like AJ McLean who fished for damn near every species of fish you could fish for with the little 6 foot "midge" rods of the time - rods that would run probably in the 2 or 3 weight category. Bonefish on a 3 weight would be exciting, but I can see how that would lead to increased mortality with the fish. Lactic acidosis is a fish killer. I know there's folks on here that are probably members of the Orvis 1 club - and have probably landed a number of bigger fish on small rods. There's probably just as many people who think those people are nuttier than squirrel poop, and wouldn't knowingly fish for bigger fish with anything less than a medium or heavy weight rod.

What are your views on the issue? Where do you stand - is big fish on small light rods a no no, or do you say 'hooah' and continue your quest for the 5lb brown on an 0wt rod?

Like I said before, I'm a light tackle guy, tho I prefer to chase the smaller fish. I wouldn't go steelheading with anything less than a 6. When I fish gear, I usually have an ultralight rod in my hand, but again, I'm targeting smaller fish usually. Smallmouth/Largemouth bass in the 1/2 to 5lb range. At the same time though, I do thoroughly enjoy fishing for big carp on ultra light spinning tackle, and have landed a 20lb beast on 4lb line. I played that fish for about 20-30 minutes before bringing her to hand, and I released her quickly. She shot off away from the bank without hesistation, and I'm sure she probably made it. Carp are hardier than trout. I wouldn't think of trying to land a 20lb trout on 4 lb line.