I’ve seen several posts in the forum about 3 wt rods and the many configurations. I’m sure this topic has been debated and discussed thousands of times but what is the ideal length (like there is such a thing) for a 3 wt rod if you had to choose only one. I was recently given a Sage SLT 376-4 for a gift. I’m trying to decide if I should exchange it for a 383-4.
I little background… I have 3 other rods, a 486 LL, a 590 Z-AXIS, and a 690 XP I use for the occasional big water streamer/nymph trip. Living in Utah gives me the opportunity to fish a variety of rivers of various sizes. I use the 5 weight most of the time and the 4 weight on smaller rivers. The main use for the 3 weight will be small mountain streams, but I could see it crossing over and taking over some of the role my 4 weight plays because I love the idea of a 3 weight. Knowing the other rods I own, which rod would fit into the group better.
Anyone have any experience with these or similar rods? Thanks in advance for the feedback.
Being from the east I use my 3wt alot. I am also a bamboo nut.
For small streams I use a Lon Blauvelt 6’6" 2/3 or my Orvis Seven/Three.
for med to larger streams I like a Blades & DeGuisti 7’9" 3wt.
From your description I would say 7’ to 7’6" would be a good compromise length. IMHO No matter what material your rod is made of I would recommend you stay away from a really fast rod. The softer tip will protect the lighter tippets you’ll be using with a 3wt.
Before anyone jumps on me about the cost of bamboo I paid less for each of these rods than most of the high end new graphites. The B&D and the Blauvelt were bought new. With high end graphite between 600-1200 I can definitly afford bamboo now.
I have a B2X 3wt LTX 3wt and a Z axis 3wt and prefer the sage over all the rods range is size from 8’ to 9’. The sage has much more power and will handle anything you can throw within reason on a 3wt
Hopper,
I have the 7’6" 3wt Sage SLT.
I also have a Scott G2 9’ 5wt.
I wanted to state that up front as my opinions may be a little biased.
With the two rods mentioned above, I feel well prepared for any fishing I’m likely to be doing. I live in Kentucky so my fishing opportunities are mainly small streams for bluegill, smallmouth and largemouth bass, lakes (same species with crappie and an occassional catfish or carp thrown in) and other warm water fishing. I also live close enough to a tail water to fish for trout (browns and rainbows) about 1X per month. Within about 6 hour’s drive is the Smokey Mountains and very small freestone streams for little wild trout and native brookies.
The 5wt covers the ponds, larger streams quite well. It also covers most of my tailwater fishing.
The 3wt is absolutely beautiful for the small streams with a lot of tree cover (both my warmwater fishing and the the mountain streams).
I have used the 3wt on the ponds and tailwaters. It works well, but that’s not where it shines. The longer 5wt suits my fishing style on those types of waters better. The 3wt is fun (catch a 17" brown in the riffles in a tailwater with a short 3wt and 7X tippet. yippie. too much fun) and it works there.
I have also used the 5wt on some of the smaller streams. It works but that is not where it shines. (try casting with a 9’ rod and trees over your head. Just forget once that the trees are there and do a straight overhead cast. fun fun fun).
So, any rod can pretty much be made to work but the 3wt (7’6") SLT is, to me, the perfect rod for the small mountain streams and the small warm water streams where the canopy is close and the water is small. The 9’ 5wt G2 is better for the lakes, ponds, wider tailwaters and larger streams.
At least that’ s how it seems to play out for me. It’ll be interesting to hear what other’s say.
To answer you question about what is the ideal 3wt? That’s easy, it’s the one that is in your hand at any given moment. Get out ther and fish that Sage and fish it hard. They’re nice rods.
I have 3wts in everything from 5’0" to 8’0" and I like them just fine…
…until the wind blows.
I only fish streamers kicking and screaming when I’m TOTALLY frustrated, bored or out of Bourbon so the bigger fly thing really isn’t an issue for me.
In the late fall and winter when the wind picks up here in Pennsylvania; I put away the 7’6" & 8’0" 3wts. I don’t have a lot of choice with the super short rods since their short length is required for the some of the places I like to fish but some of those place are so dense with cover the wind doesn’t matter much. But my idea of a small stream is a LOT smaller than most people.
But in regards to the NECESSITY of a 3wt for small streams; small streams USUALLY mean short casts and when you cast short; line weight doesn’t factor into things a whole lot in my experience. I don’t own a 3wt 7’0" rod which many consider to be ideal for “small streams”. I do all my 7’0" small stream fishing with 4wt outfits. I personally consider a 4wt or 5wt almost perfect for just about everything I do with trout and if I didn’t already have 3wts; I really wouldn’t miss them.
I don’t know you, your preferences, your state or the conditions you will encounter so I can’t recommend what will work best for you but just wanted to pass along my 3wt experiences.
I agree with the previous post that you really don’t need a 3 wt. Personally, I use an old Hardy glass 5 wt. (7’) for most of my small stream fishing. That rod, a 7’9" glass & an 8’ Steffen glass cover just about any trout fishing I would do (they’re all 5 wts.) although now my goto rod is an 8’ 5/6 wt. bamboo (most of what I fish are larger tailwaters or larger spring creeks.
That said, I do still have my Echo 7’6" 3 wt. that gets fished every now and then (it’s a ton of fun on our small stream Sea Run Cutts)…but, since I’ve moved away from graphite I pretty much only fish those other rods.
I built a Pacific Bay Tradition II 7’-9" 3wt that’s the cat’s meow…for me! Casts great up short and out where it needs to be at 30-40’. With its fast action I can roll cast to 40’+ if need be.
That being said, I tell people to fish whatever YOU are most comfortable fishing with. Some like short rods, some in the mid range and some like the long sticks. THERE IS NO RIGHT ROD FOR EVERYONE. That’s why there are so many combinations of length and actions available.
Try different rods if you feel the need to, but don’t let anyone tell you that what you have is not the right rod for a particular application. People who “SHOULD” on you are really doing you a disservice, and just trying to validate that their decision in a rod purchase is the “right” decision. Poo poo on them.
If you’re not pleased with the performance of your rod up short, put on a reel with a 4wt line and it will load better for you. Protecting tippets by having a longer rod is much over-rated in small stream situations, IMHO. Once you get to 6wt and above, I can see where that can be a factor. Even then, it might only apply if you are fishing for a line class record. If you are fishing C&R, my guess is that you might want to land and release the fish quickly so as to not stress the fish, which might just kill it. That involves tippets sized to your target species size & weight. I have landed 4# bass with my 7’-0" 1wt and 4x tippet.
I’ll get off my soap box. Go out and enjoy what you have.
You must be from this area. I probably wouldn’t use it much on the Middle, but the Uintas is exactly what I’m talking about. In your opinion is there an advantage to going longer. I’ve always liked 8’6" and 9’ rods and the 7’6" length of this rod is a foot shorter than anything else I have. It feels really nice in the hand, but I haven’t fished it to give it a true test which is the only way to really tell.
I think you’d be fine on the Upper P with the shorter rod. What other small mountain streams are you plannin to hit with it? I’d feel comfortable taking a 7 to 7’6 ft 3 wt on Thistle creek, AF river, diamondfork, either of the Cottonwood creeks, Huntington river, Strawberry River(above the Pinnacles) and definitely the Upper P in the Uintahs. Middle and LP, you would’t see me smaller than a 5 wt. I’ve noticed that most of these rivers tend to stay pretty calm regarding wind speeds, unless you’re in AF canyon when the sun comes up. Seems theres always a breeze coming down canyon in the mornings.
BTW, welcome to site bro. You wouldn’t happen to be a previous UDWR user would you? Your user name sounds really familiar… If you are, you’ll be happy here. Beats the socks off of the old UDWR forum!
I see that you?re in Ohio. You seem to know your Utah streams pretty well for an out of stater. Are you from Utah originally?
I appreciate your input. I think this rod length issue is more of a mental block than anything else. I like the thought of a 7’6" rod; I just don’t want to make it such a specialized rod that I miss out on using it on a wider range of streams. As I stated earlier, I have a 486 LL than it really like and would like to continue to use, so I?d like to fill a little different niche with this 3 weight.
Everyone’s preferences are different so I’ll give you mine. If conditions allow, I always opt for a longer rod. The extra length usually means easier long casts, bigger on water mends, bigger aerial mends and curves and line manipulation over complex currents.
My all time favorite trout rod is a Sage XP 9’ 4 wt 4 piece- a very fast rod. You can cast the tiniest tricos to very large hoppers with great accuracy from up really close to over 80’,not that you’d ever want to fish that far away. However, if the wind is blowing hard in your face, being able to cast far makes the 40’ cast manageable. TomTrout is correct that a very soft rod tip has more shock absorbing effect than a stiff one. Don’t forget though that the angler with a responsive and supple rod grip won’t be breaking any more fine tippets than any one else. Whatever. This is just my $0.02. YMMV.
HD, yes I’m from that area. With those waters the shorter rod will be ideal. On larger streams/rivers that’s where a 4w and above come in. Once you fish it you’ll not even notice the length difference.
HD,
I think a 3wt 7’6" SLT is an excellent rod to compliment that Sage 486LL. With that said, if you are fishing small brushy streams with overgrowth the 376 is the ticket. But if you are fishing small streams that are more wide open the 486LL would be better. For instance, I use my Sage 279LL or 379LL for small brushy streams out here in Southern California but if I’m fishing open meadows up in the Eastern Sierras I prefer my Sage 389VPS-light. Just my $0.02 worth. Good-luck!
Thanks for all the responses. This is a great forum. I can tell by the posts that the people in here are passionate. I enjoy fishing with and talking about fly rods that just feel right. Whether it’s 9’ 6 wt or a 7’6" 3 wt…if it feels perfect for the fishing conditions it gives you confidence and frees your mind to fish better. Keep the comments coming, I enjoy the opinions.
No particular 3 wt would be the best rod for all situations, in my opinion. Each length, stiffness, and # of pieces, has its own pros and cons. There is no rule that says you can only have one 3 wt, and that one has to do everything for you.
Do yourself a favor, go to a fly shop that carries Scott Fibertouch rods and cast the F 703/3, it is 7’ long 3 pcs and is easily the best short 3 weight rod I have ever cast. It is the favorite rod I own and I have owned about 25 fly rods including the high end rods from all the major manufacturers.
HD,
Grew up in American Fork and just moved here last fall. I learned to fly fish up AF canyon. You’re definitely getting some great all-around responses here and most guys are right. There is no “ideal” 3 wt for all conditions, but I don’t think that’s what you’re looking for. Where do you live and what river do you fish most often? Again, for any of the rivers I mentioned before, I’d choose the short rod. For a long time I actually fished with a 6’ 6" rod on AF river, Hobble Creek and even occasionally on the extreme LP. For getting into those tight spots on most Northern UT rivers, I’d stick with a short rod.
Thanks for the response. I’ll probably be using this rod on all of the smaller rivers you mentioned sooner or later, but I fish the both Cottonwood Creeks quite a bit in the summer. I do like the idea of the shorter rod, especially since i have a 8’6" 4 weight.
It’s great to read everyones opinions…I appreciate all the input.