Smallie14’s post got me to thinking. What is your ideal or favorite smallie rod?
For big rivers I like a 9’ 8wt. For smaller water I’ll either use my 8’ 5wt or 9’ 6wt. Ideally though I think I would like to have a 8 1/2’ 6wt.
For small stream smallmouth, I have a 6 1/2 foot 5 weight I love using.
Legend ultra 9’ 7wt
kevin
It might lack a little back-bone, but I like my Orvis Clearwater 8’ 5wt.
8’ 6 wt
-zac
The way to a flyfisherman’s heart is through his fly
Probably either one of my Orvis Clearwater 8’6" or Scott V2 6’6" 3wts. Although I’m dying to try my Orvis TLS 1wt on them…The Smallies don’t get too big near Columbus, OH…
Jake
9ft 8 wt,I like tossing large flies to large bronzebacks and lighter rods just come up short
for whipping mega flies particularly in any kind of wind.
Spin
I use either an 8 1/2 foot 4 piece 5 wgt or 9 ft 6 wgt built on Cabela’s blanks.
A 6 wt. rod was built with smallies in mind. Use a length that fits your situation. The six weight is heavy enough for small deerhair bugs, clousers, etc., and still light enough to be sporting with the average smallie you might catch. An 8 wt. will overpower most smallies, and a 5 wt. will leave you wishing for a 6 when casting the deerhair bugs and weighted clousers.
sage rpl 9 foot 7 wt
8’6 5wt… St. Croix
Spelling and Grammar not subject to judgement… 
Glass Fenwick Feralite 8.5’ 7wt
My favorite smallie rod, hmmm, probably the first fly rod I catch a smallie with. Ain’t happened yet, but yall will know when it does. Is it spring yet, I don’t have the courage to look out the window.
Whatever, I’m using at the time. Its usually a 7wt, sometimes a 9wt for big subsurface flies, sometimes a 6wt for topwaters. Cheers.
I use a 8’6" 6wt that I made on a legend ultra blank. I’ve tried hevier wt rods, but prefer the lightest rod possible for the fly I’m tossin’.
Dave,
I really depends on what kind of water you are fishing.
I get to occassionally fish for smallmouth on a neat little section of a small river. There, I like a 6 1/2 foot 2 wt. or a 4 1/2 foot 1 wt.
I also get to do some smallmouth fishing off the dam in a large lake in Colorado. This is sinking line, count it down deep type stuff with semi seal leech and craw patterns, and for that I use a 9’ 6 wt. I AM going to find a nice full sink line for my 3 wt. soon, and will probably switch to that next season. More fun and the fish never top five pounds.
Great fish, smallmouth…
Good Luck!
Buddy
Tie flies beyond the resistance of mortal trout!
Buddy, I’ll be right there along side ya! let me know if you find a 3 wt full sink, been looking for one.
9’ 2pc IMX 5wt, overlined to a WF6F.
Jeremy.
Blue Winged Olive, RW here,
I’ve caught about half-a-dozen
smallies in the four-pound classwith my 1-weight in the couple years I’ve owned it. Big smallmouths are a handfull on any fly rod, but on a 1-wt. or 2-wt. they are beasts. You’re in for some real excitement my friend.
Later, RW
“We fish for pleasure; I for mine, you for yours.” -James Leisenring on fishing the wet fly-
I agree with RG/AR on the 6 wt. rod. I have caught most of my smallies on a 9 ft. 6 wt. Redington rod. I recently gave it to a new flyfisher I had been teaching, and replaced it with a Temple Fork 8 1/2 ft. 5 wt., which unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to use for smallies yet. Here in southeastern Oklahoma, most of the rivers and creeks I fish are not very big, but I caught one 5 pounder about 3 years ago. Although a 6 wt. is probably ideal for the average smallie, I must admit that probably most of the time, I use a 7 1/2 ft. 3 wt., and have managed to catch smallies up to 3.5 pounds. Although the 3 wt. really won’t handle the larger flies very well, I have no difficulty with the panfish poppers or medium size Wooly Buggers.
Larry Compton