You won't be disapponted with a 10' rod. Most of our streams are medium size to small here in Central, PA, and many guys use 10' rods. As far as casting dry flies with it, you'll find it fun. It is just as accurate as a 9' rod. I don't think you'll be able to land a fly in a tea cup every cast, but you really don't need to. An extra foot of reach doesn't seem like much, but it has its advantages. I have a 10', 3wt., 5wt., 5/6 wt., 6 wt., and enjoy all of them. I built the 3wt. and 6 wt.s. I'd be glad to sell the 3 wt. to you. I only fished it about 5 times. The only reason is is that I have too many rods to use. That's one thing about rod building, if you're not into selling them, you quickly have too many.