Fly rod length

[gadabout]

Drats, I must be doing something wrong. I fish 7 1/2 to 8 foot rods.

[pspaint]

I use the 10 footers a lot for steelheading. There is a definite advantage, in terms of line control. For trout fishing, if you do a lot of high stick nymphing, the 10 footers are nice.
There's no distance advantage, in terms of casting. Actually in some cases, its the opposite. If it's windy for example.

[Fly Goddess]

gadabout, Hey I am not saying that shorter aren't great. I will never get tired of my 7' boo or the trout-bum, far and fine, one ounce, but this was new and fun and proved to be of great use.

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she who dies with the most toy's wins.

[anglerdave]

"Drats, I must be doing something wrong. I fish 7 1/2 to 8 foot rods."

gadabout

Me too! Even when I am fishing from my float tube or kayak. I think longer rods help with line mending and also when fishing nymphs in bigger water.

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Every fly fisherman has an unreasonable view of fly rods, and I am no different. Thomas McGuane from The Longest Silence.

[Plain Old Jim]

Fly Goddess,

Thanks for the info. Makes me feel better about the 10' 4wt medium to medium fast action blank I bought.

Sincerely,

Gem

[fcch]

My 0.02$ ...

My go to rod here is a 10ft 7 or 8 wt XP.

I guess I like it 'cause I always use it. I "feel" I can mend the line better and have more line control, ... Then again, ... maybe it's just covering up poor technic.

We roll cast quite a bit from a couple favourite casting positions ... so I think the longer rod helps.

(I'm REALLY getting scared about meeting LF 'n JC this summer, ... 'cause they are going to show me all the error of my ways )

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Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://flyanglersonline.com/travel/quebec06fishin/:9e411]2006 FishIn Ste-Marguerite River[/url:9e411]
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:9e411]Fishing the Ste-Marguerite[/url:9e411]

[Flynuts]

Some very good points all.
So I'll step into this one with both feet too. I picked up a TFO 9'6" 5wt a couple of years ago specifically for float tubing, thinking a little longer rod would help my casting distance. < BUZZ, wrong answer! >
My casting was the same ( awful ), until I spent some time practicing, and un-learning some bad habits. NOW I cast further and my presentations are better, but the rod length makes really no difference.
The upside is that the I love the TFO and I use it exclusively for all lake fishing.

Joe

[Hans Weilenmann]

If distance is the aim, 9'is the answer. It provides the optimal combination of length and line speed. No need to take my word for it. Just look at the rods used for distance casting in competition, whether with actual fishing tackle or with tournament tackle. 9' is the magic number.

Cheers,
Hans W


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=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier

[Hans Weilenmann]

cardiac,

Some tournament rod length restrictions apply, but this does not apply to all single hand flyrod events.

The key component is to get the rod to move at speed. The longer the rod, the more unwieldy it gets. If one could get the 10'rod to move as fast as the 9'rod, then a longer cast becomes a real proposition.

What casters have found is that it becomes a game of diminishing returns, with 9' being the sweet spot for single hand rods.

Cheers,
Hans W


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=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier

I have an 11 ft 6 wgt rod that was a lot of fun until I got too old to wave it for long periods. Its advantages are:

It roll casts beatifully.

Great for dapping on small streams.

High sticking is easier for me.

I can fish down stream with streamers and wets and cover a whole 25 ft wide stream bank to bank by wading down the middle. Hardly possible to mend at some distances I fish at, (sometimes 75 feet or more) but the extra length helps.

Fishing dry flies is no problem. After a long float, I allow the fly to drift to the shore below me then flip it upstream again as if it were a wet. No backcasting is necessary with good floatant.

Disadvantages:
Although not heavy by any means, it is more tiring.

Landing a sizeable fish can be a job in itself, a long handled net may help but I don't carry one. Beaching is an option if you intend to catch and cook.

The optimum length for an all around flyrod IMHO is 8'9" to 9'3".

Ol' Bill
1932