Why is a 1wt more popular than a 0wt or 00wt? I may be wrong but from what I hear from the board I haven’t really heard of many people using 0 or 00wt rods…just 1wts. Also doesn’t seem like a 2wt is vary popular either. Why? How much more can you do with a 1wt than you can a 0 or 00wt? How much different is a 1wt and a 2wt?
“GET THE DRIFT?”
Mike:
It has to do with practicality more than anything else.
First of all a 2wt is best used on flies 16 and smaller when there is little or no wind on smaller fish. I have a 2wt and it times I love it but if conditions are not right it can be a pain in the butt to cast. I am not positive but using a 2wt as an example I would imagine that when you get to 1wt rods and 0 or 00 you probably are talking about flies smaller than 20 on days when it is deadly still. I guess if you can be sure that?s what you will encounter it?s OK but in my experience the day you take the 2wt-00wt out for a spin there will be a Hex hatch.
The other issue is available lines in those sizes. There just isn?t a decent selection of lines out there in the smallest sizes and a line can make the all difference in how a rod performs, I personally would never buy a rod that required a special line from a single manufacturer. I will guarantee you eventually it will be discontinued and you will be in possession of a 00 weight tomato stick.
And finally many fly fisherman just don?t think that it?s fair to fish in places where bigger fish lurk with ultra-light tackle; it MAY necessitate the need to over-play a fish and possibly kill it.
I personally have no use for anything smaller than a three weight although I already own a two weight rod. And don?t be fooled into thinking you need to go small to fish small; I fish regularly down to size 28-32 flies and use 3-6wt outfits to do it. The 1-00wt outfits are cute toys but better suited to be conversation pieces than fishing rods.
oh boy, … this is gonna be good 
[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 22 August 2005).]
fcch: you got that right…Mike, go to [url=http://www.byrdultrafly.com:4da56]www.byrdultrafly.com[/url:4da56] and read.
The truth shall make you free…
[url=http://www.byrdultrafly.com/ulmyths.htm:4da56]http://www.byrdultrafly.com/ulmyths.htm[/url:4da56]
[This message has been edited by jsentell (edited 23 August 2005).]
I know 3 or 4 guys who have a 0-wt, but nobody who owns a 1-wt, so my experience is quite different from yours.
I fish a lot of small streams that contain smallish fish. Where I mostly use my 0-wt, I can pretty well guarantee that I’ll catch nothing bigger than a 10" trout. I was surprised on one creek, to catch a cutthroat of 13 inches, and the 0-wt still handled that fish with ease.
The 0-wt is not a toy. Its built for delicate presentations but still has what it takes to land a good sized fish.
I guess it means how you define “popular.” I don 't see too many people using any of these rods!
Hey, Mike;
You can blame it on good old Royal Wulff. He started that stinkin 1wt club (when was that? 2 years back now? Guess not quite.) and everyone just HAD to play keep-up and go get one! Here is the thread ofr your perusal: [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/009163.html:18863]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/009163.html[/url:18863]
Don
(Still thinking I might just have to join. Got a 3wt and love it!)
I have 0 wt SLT and I threw th 00 TXL this weekend. I can throw a 10 Stimulator with a dropper no problem. Big wind ? that’s no fun. A little wind no big deal. It is so much fun – I caught a 12"+ rainbow Saturday night, what a blast.
Ward
2Fly
Caught a 13" cuttbow with a #10 caddis emerger of my own design using my Sage SLT 1 wt. A #10 fly with a 1 wt? Yep, no problem. This was in a small stream in some good current. My 1 wt. is a strong, special and refined tool, but no way is it a toy. That is a silly suggestion. Fish one and see!
Some folks, and ya gotta love um, think they are more evolved than the rest of us because they ask those little rods to do everything in all conditions. For this cowboy at least that just ain’t the case. I have some 1-2 wt rods and fish um and enjoy um too. But I’m not gonna use one with #10 flys with a dropper in the wind…It just aint worth it.
Did’nt have read any further, To say, Amen Bamboozle!!! Once tried a 1wt.and thankfully It broke and Orvis refunded the whole purchase price…Toys, is the word I’d employ for any rod under a 2wt…which I don’t carry often either…I’ve hauled in some pretty impressive fish with it…but i like a rod thats more versatile, With things like weather changes and when the fish dictate that a much larger fly is desired ten min. into the future…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
Mike, I think the reason is simply that there are not many available and with the $500 price tag on the Sage TXL series, they are not that affordable. Good reels, as well as lines for these small sizes are also not that common and the good ones are expensive. Some reels for those weights are just too small in diameter for my liking. I dont think it’s a good idea to wind line in coils that are on some reels, ? to 2 ?" diameter.
I, personally like ultra light outfits and with a good rod you can easily cast larger flies. Their smaller diameter lines cut through the wind nicely!
I think with the increasing popularity of the Sage TXL rods we will see more rods in the 1 to 00 wt range soon. Some of which will be priced much lower.
There is more involved than just the rod weight in playing and landing a fish. To codemn lighter weight rods for that reason is wrong. I’m sure no one is going to tackle king salmon with a 00 weight but big trout can be handled without danger to the fish if your a good fisherman. I have seen people take forever to land fish on much heavier tackle just because they weren’t good at it.
Joe
[This message has been edited by flyfisherjoe (edited 22 August 2005).]
Most companies don’t offer a 00wt, 0wt or 1wt rod in an inexpensive model. These rods are usually more costly to most fishermen.
drolf, RW here
That thread was only a little over a year ago, and it got close to 50 posts. There are 7 guys I know of here on FAOL that had one-weights before I got mine so don’t say they aren’t fished. I fish with mine now amost 95 percent of the time…and two or three of the folks at the Roscoe fish-in were fishing 2-weights. I have fun with it and that’s all that is necessary. But aside from you guy’s pompous diatribes, you can trust me on this…They are not toys.
Drolf, Buzz, I don’t ridicule your methods or style of fishing and I don’t appreciate you ridiculing mine. But hey, if it makes you feel like a big man go right ahead. I got broad shoulders.
Incidentally, read my signature line carefully, and take it to heart.
P.S. Joe: Sage, Orvis, Scientfic Angler and Cortland all make 60 grain, WF1F lines for 1-weights, so there is actually quite a selection of “quality” brands out there.
Later, RW
“We fish for pleasure; I for mine, you for yours.” -James Leisenring on fishing the wet fly-
[This message has been edited by Royal Wulff (edited 22 August 2005).]
Maybe I will throw my 2c in here - I have a #2, my fishing bubby has a #2, my other buddy has a #1 and most other people I know have at least one rod below #4 in mostly #2’s.
They are definitely serious little sticks, and out here we fish them in what you call (I think) “skinny water” where the fish are little, wild, and feisty, and the going is tough, maybe on all fours to get through undergrowth of branches and ferns; on streams you can mostly step over or through.
Bloody hard going I call it. Tough fishing.
It is a specialist form of fly fishing, and a lot of fun, and very popular.
Nobody is stupid enough to try to fish for double digit trout in a lake with one!
Mike,
Being the owner of the lighter Sages, the 3,2 and 1wt SPL’s (and they’re my favorite rods!) because on my smaller streams, the small fish are a treat to take. I"m wondering “whatinell” Sage will do next. A “000” wt? Grins
I love the touch a little light rod will give you and smaller trout and panfish are a ball on top on that 1wt.
Hey, this summer whilst panfishing with a small foam spider, I made a cast to a couple of smallish (pounders) largemouths near shore and from noplace a very big one slammed it first.
Turned out to be a 6 1/2 lb fish! Talk about one “H” of a fight! My biggest largemouth period.
Now when my son and I go out bassin’ I get reminded to bring that 1wt! G
Jeremy.
Jeremy.
[This message has been edited by Jeremy (edited 23 August 2005).]
RW, DRolf here;
I was in no manner ridiculing you! Hey, that was one of my favorite threads! That one enticed me to get the 3wt I have (Just couldn’t quite talk myself into the 1wt yet. I will have one of them there Clear Creek ones in the not too far distant future though!) 
I also do not think they are toys! Heck, the cabelas Three Forks 3wt I bought casts better with most of the flys I use mostly (even a lot of dremel bugs) then my 5wt. (St. Croix Imperial) This is probably my casting ability more than the rod difference.
Heck, yesterday I was throwing a size 6 gurgle pop with a zug bug dropper for red-ears over lunch. Had me a ball, and it was gusting to 20 mph. Just had to watch the back-cast a bit with the weeds.
Wouldn;t use it for salmon, but I have caught some decent Bass this year on it.
Don
Drolf, RW here
I was havin a bad day…You’re forgiven…lol
Buzz: Can’t figure out your problem. At the DRC fish-in in 02 when I showed you my 2 weight cane and little Hardy flyweight, you asked me how much I wanted for it. Then later on I found out you had a Clear Creek 1-wt. Where does that translate into “more evolved”. You had a 1 wt. before I did. I been fishing light tackle as long as it’s been available, and it’s perfectly suited for the fish I fish for.
Later, RW
“We fish for pleasure; I for mine, you for yours.” -James Leisenring on fishing the wet fly-
I personally feel that it all boils down to giving onself a game. catching bluegills on a 6 or 8 weight rod would be relatively less exciting than same fish on a 1 or 0 or 00 rod. At least that’s how it seems to be to me.
They are admittedly less popular, not everyone wants that game. Not enough to warrant huge manufacturer outlays.
Best answer I’d say would be to find someone who owns one and is willing to give you a try at it. or if you can manage it, buy one and see what you think.
RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:790d8]http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com[/url:790d8]
IM = robinrhyne@hotmail.com
RW…re-read my post. I acknowledged everything you said. I am just not going to fish an ultra lite rod using weighted flys, in the wind…there are better tools to do that with. You may be a better caster than me but I cant pick 35-45’ of line off the water with a 1 wt without bending it nearly double and the rod have enough left in it to make a back cast. I am also not going to put up with the limitations of such rods when I have other equiptment that is IMO better suited to the task. As I said I own um and I fish um. To fish those rods only because one might feel it gives the fish a better chance or for some other humanitarian reason is bunk.
[This message has been edited by Buzz (edited 23 August 2005).]