panfish?
hello all. would like some input. looking for a rod for panfish. currently have a couple of 5wts. should i consider a 3 or a 4wt (or should i stick with the 5)? i am an infrequent fly guy, at best. i fish mostly impoundments, if that should play into any advice.
Welcome to FOAL mooney. If I were restricted to one rod it would be a 5 wt. but since I am not I have a 3 wt. TFO rod that I love to fish with. I usually keep a dry fly on it when fishing for trout but carry it with a grasshopper and a dropper when fishing for warm water species. I would like to have a 4 or 5 piece 3 wt. but I got a deal on my 2 piece so that's what I have. Good luck with your choice.
Want to hear God laugh? Tell him Your plans!!!
Everyone has an opinion...mine is that I use 5wts for panfish. Bluegills in the 8"+ range and crappies 10"+ will give you a seriously good tussle on that gear, plus there's ALWAYS a chance you'll hook into a decent bass or catfish...or who knows what? The 5 wt can handle most of the fish you might encounter, plus you can toss some smaller bass-sized flies with it. You might also have some smallmouth bass water near you. The 5wt is very versatile, and if you fly-fish infrequently, that is what you want. It might be overkill for smaller panfish, but its still fun.
David Merical
St. Louis, MO
First off, welcome!
If you're looking for a new rod, I'd say that bluegills/crappie and 3-weights go together like peanut butter and jelly. I've caught plenty of 10-12" crappie on mine, up to about a 4-lb channel cat. If you know how to use the rod, you can land a pretty big fish on a 3-weight.
The Green Hornet strikes again!!!
Probably 5 wt with medium action is best for you. You may use a popper/dropper and casting one with a 3 wt can take advanced ability.
I fish a 6'6" 2wt medium action. If you don't fish all that much I would avoid a medium or finesse action rod and stick with a mod-fast rod. A 8' mod-fast 3 or 4 wt would be a decent choice. It all depends on how well you cast..... i usually fish a popper+tiny dropper or a micro-jig head spider+ unweighted spider on my 2wt and i dont have any problems. My best advice would be to go to your fly shop and test cast some of these rods and see which works best for you. Make sure to take into account where you fish (can i use a 9' rod or do i need something shorter?) and what size of fly you normally cast (casting my 2wt with no leader or fly is entirely different than casting it with a 7 or 8' leader with 2 flies on the end). If you can't find exactly what you want (once you know what you want), you can custom build a rod for ~$100-120 + a couple of afternoons.
Mooney,
Welcome to FAOL!! Where in Ohio do you live? I'm in Canton, so if you're near here & want to catch some dandy gills, let me know.
My go to rod for 'gills is my St Croix Legend Ultra 8' 3wt. Your 5wts are fine, but if you wanted a nice all around rod for panfish & light fishing, I like the 3. BTW, St Croix is an FAOL sponsor & I am a HUGE fan of their rods.
Mike
FAOL..All about caring, sharing, & good friends!!
Welcome to FAOL. By now you have had a chance to digest some different opinions to your question. One of the many nice things about this site is you can get a large variety of opinions on most subjects without a lot on rancor. That being said here is my two cents worth.
I have a variety of rods in different lengths including a 3, 4 & 5 which I use to fish impoundments. All of them do the trick and are fun to fish. After I have fished a rod for a few minutes I kinda forget what weight it it and just enjoy the day. A bluegill can put a pretty good bend in a 5 weight and is enjoyable. The same can be said of the 3 weight. I probably wouldn't get a 4 weight unless you are just want to have one like I did. When I fish the stillwater I usually take both a 5 and a 3 weight with me. If the wind is not blowing too hard I use the 3 wt but my 5 wt does better in the wind. Likewise if the impoundment has little moss, limbs & other objects that you can hang up on I use the 3 wt. If not the 5 wt.
That being said I would suggest you get a 3 wt to compliment your rod arsenal.
Tim
My go to panfish/pond bass rod is a Sage TXL 4 weight. Its capable of casting smaller bass flies and anything you would throw and gills including weighted dropper rigs. I don't own a 5 weight and haven't for years, never really had a need. That said, your 5 would be a good versatile stick but man, those light rods are fun! I ordered a 00 weight this morning. Can't wait to feel the tussle of a good bluegill on that one!
I thought I'd throw my .02 cents worth into this discussion. I own several (3) 4 wt. rods two of which see frequent service. I think 4 wt. rods would be a nice compliment to the 5 wt rods. They aren't too wimpy in the wind and will throw the smaller bass flies just fine. Plus they just are a hoot to fish with. I've caught lots of trout, a fair number of bass plus tons of crappies, bluegills and other panfish with mine.
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