Nymph Rod

[spike-2]

Appreciate suggestions for a nymphing rod (weight & length) -- Midwest/Northeast streams. Thanks Dave

[John 3:16]

I have a used TFO Pro(with Warranty Card) and a SA Nymph line I'd ship to you for $135. It will throw a double nymph rig and indicator very well. Have pics if you are interested. No pressure. James

[51BC]

I think you've thrown out a pretty broad catagory, but I'll try. Guessing you're talking trout (not steelhead or such), I'm kind of partial to a little 7' #4 bamboo made by Steve Pennington in Iowa for smaller streams, go to my Winston BIIx 8' #4 or Btx 9' #5 on a little bit bigger waters. Narrow down what you're fishing and I'm sure you'll get plenty of suggestions.

[CoachBob]

It depends entirely on the water body and your casting skills. Not the best answer, but the truth.
For best all around on gentle streams a 4-6 wt. 8-8'6" medium action rod is fine. For areas that require more roll casts, a 9' rod makes that easier. For tighter areas a 7'6" is good. Bass Pro's Hobbs Creek series is good and not too expensive ($90). TFO is good except for their shorter rods which tend to be VERY soft/slow and will be in the $125-150 range. Reddington rods are about the same, as are Cabelas (which you can often find on sale). Cabelas tend to be a little slow as well.

[vmabuck]

I nymph with all my rods. I just adjust my cast depending on how big of a nymph I have to use. I can sling large double bead stones with my 3 wt if necessary. The only thing I adjust for is size of the water and potential size of fish. I do know that the 9'6" and 10' lengths in 3 and 4 wt are very popular for Euro-nymphing nowadays.

I do not do much of that though.

I would say a 9' 5 wt should cover most trout waters...

[sagefisher]

51BC, good to hear from another Steve Pennington bamboo rod owner. I also have the Pennington Pine River 7 foot 4 weight rod, I use it for pocket water fishing on small streams. It is a fantastic rod.

Back to spike-2, out west on our larger rivers I use 11 foot 6 weight rods (Sage XP & Z-Axis) for nymphing. The reach cast and mend you can toss with those rods is unbelievable. But if your rivers are not really big then a 9 footer works just as well. If you are doing the strike indicator style of nymphing, that is what I do, then you do want to be able to toss a good mend to get a longer drag free drift.

Larry ---sagefisher---

[spike-2]

51BC is right -- I do mean trout in small streams like the Ausable & Pere Marquete in MI and the the Upper Lehigh in PA. From my little bit of "homework" it seemed there was a fair number of discussions about 91/2 and 10' rods. But from the comments above that doesn't have to be the case.
Thanks all for your helpful comments. Dave

[oldfrat]

I usually use an 8'6" 4-weight for nymphing and it has worked fine. Last summer I bought a Cabela's CZN rod --10' 4-weight. I've only had a chance to use it once so far. I'll try it a few more times to see if I can get used to it, but would not be surprised to find myself going back to my regular rod. The 10' length made high sticking a bit easier, but the rod felt too soft to fling the fly back upstream after the drift.

[anglerdave]

I have used all my rods for nymphing at one time or another. Even my Pennington 7' 4wt. I live in the midwest and fish either an 8 1/2' 4wt or, if there is allot of wind, an 8'8" 5wt. I have a friend who does allot of nymphing and he uses a 9' 5wt.

[rizeye]

for nymphing i like a slightly stiffer rod at least 9' long. I do like to do a lot of high sticking and and extra length helps keep line off the water, this help detect subtle bites. i generally like a 5wt because i use probably more weight than most fishemen, to get the flies down fast in fast/deep water. i recently bought a 6wt that's faster than anything i have. i will be working that as ofren as i can. i also do a lot of nymphing with my 4wt in the smaller < 40' wide, i normally fish.