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Post 11 Jan 2013, 23:03 • #26 
Master Guide
Joined: 01/08/08
Posts: 695
Location: US-MA
bulldog1935 wrote:
mikee wrote:
It sure looks as though alot of you use Fenwicks..must really be a nice rod for Smallies :D

don't look at Fenwicks in shorter rods - they won't roll cast, which is where the short Phillipsons excel.

Indeed, that's why my favorite is the FF857 for the rivers I fish for smallmouths. For mending, roll-casting, or distance when needed, it's a versatile rod that works well for me. …and best of all, pretty much all of all my older reels will fit on the seat.


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Post 12 Jan 2017, 21:35 • #27 
Sport
Joined: 12/04/15
Posts: 72
Location: South Central PA
My number one is the FF80 and then the 806 ! :)


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Post 12 Jan 2017, 21:53 • #28 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 08/25/08
Posts: 1526
Location: Delton, MI
Kayakusq, since you resurrected an old thread, I'm curious what Mikee ended up with.


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Post 13 Jan 2017, 14:28 • #29 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
wanting to make my ff706 my favorite but i am liking the 322975 browning,at least in the yard.bought it awhile ago and just started playing with it when the weather changed.phillipson johnson 7.5 is a 6wt .in 7wt i have 3 8footers a glass ferruled heddon golden mark,a brule and a W/M sweetheart and a heddon viscount.any of these will get the job done ,but the shorter the better as i have the same conditions with brush and overhead branches.


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Post 13 Jan 2017, 15:14 • #30 
Guide
Joined: 10/02/12
Posts: 114
Location: Missouri Ozarks
Wow guys, I forgot about this thread it has been a while. Thanks for the posts again. I have had many rods since this post just for Smallmouth fishing. I have tried some Fenwicks, Barclays, Scott and now my present rod I use is an Orvis Superfine Glass 6wt rod. This rod works really well for throwing some fat Bass bugs and streamers. I would not mind trying an Epic 686 once , just to compare it to the Orvis.


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Post 13 Jan 2017, 15:16 • #31 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
If you have been through all those six-weights, try an 8' seven weight.


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Post 13 Jan 2017, 15:20 • #32 
Guide
Joined: 10/02/12
Posts: 114
Location: Missouri Ozarks
I also tried a couple James Green Glass rods. I probably had more but have forget in 4 years :lol


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Post 13 Jan 2017, 15:24 • #33 
Guide
Joined: 10/02/12
Posts: 114
Location: Missouri Ozarks
Yeah, todays glass rod market has made it nice to try 6, 7, and eight weight rods. There is a lot of nice rods to choose from and more companies making or selling glass rods. I just love it!!


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Post 13 Jan 2017, 15:38 • #34 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 10/20/11
Posts: 1880
Location: US-MD
Actually I replaced my steffen with an Epic 686.


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Post 13 Jan 2017, 18:10 • #35 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 07/22/11
Posts: 1720
Location: US-TX
I like my 8' 6/7wt.


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Post 13 Jan 2017, 18:46 • #36 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 08/14/06
Posts: 1227
Location: Panther City, Texas
I've been using a McFarland 7'9 7wt from Mike's original Spruce Creek series. Mike made this rod along with a 7' 7 wt for the fly fishing show circuit in 2009. I believe he also had an 8'3 7wt model. I fished the heck out of this rod for 3 or 4 years and recently rediscovered it. It's a great casting rod as you'd expect from McFarland. It's a real versatile rod and throws big dries as well as streamers, poppers and other big bugs. I don't know how many 7 wts Mike made in this series but they are well worth keeping an eye out for.


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Post 13 Jan 2017, 23:12 • #37 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 08/25/08
Posts: 1526
Location: Delton, MI
All that is "needed" to fight Smallmouth is a 6wt. But to cast the heavier flies that catch more and bigger Smallmouth, an 8wt isn't too big. You aren't even close to being overgunned with 7wts and 8wts because even smaller Smallmouth fight plenty hard. I believe the best all around weight to be a 7wt for 70 to 80 percent of Smallmouth fishing. The rest is split fairly evenly between 6 and 8 wts. 6wts serve well earlier in the season when quarry is smaller or when fish are taking smaller insects on the surface. 8wts can be good for lunker searching or when there are other fish like pike and largemouth around.

I also don't understand the preference for shorter rods either, even on smaller streams. Having a full battery of mending techniques available to you will absolutely catch you more and bigger Smallies and I think an 8 footer is a minimum for that. I prefer 8'0" to 8'6" glass on smaller or canopied rivers and 9'0" to 9'6" graphite on lakes and larger rivers out in the open for Smallmouth.


Last edited by CrustyBugger on 16 Jan 2017, 10:05, edited 3 times in total.

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Post 14 Jan 2017, 04:59 • #38 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/03/07
Posts: 1152
Location: Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
Good points, Crusty. My favorites in glass last summer, in no particular order, were Berkley Parametric 8'6", McFarland 8'3" 6 weight, and the Echo 9' 6 weight and 8'6" 5 weight fished with a TT6.


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Post 14 Jan 2017, 09:18 • #39 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/21/06
Posts: 3081
Location: Orygun
my preference has definitely changed from when I first responded to this thread....I still use my 5/6 Steffen, but I find myself more and more using my Fisher 8'6" 7wt. As Crusty noted, the extra length for mending ability helps a lot. Because I prefer to use glass, that's about as long as I'm going to get (unless I break down and use my IM6 4wt switch--also a pretty fun and surprisingly versatile rod). But, because of my growing preference for throwing streamers (at whatever I'm fishing for), my rod preference is also getting heavier.


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Post 14 Jan 2017, 12:47 • #40 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
i now have enough rods reels ,need to get more lines.i agree with using the stouter setups for bigger streams and lakes.always seem to hook up with something besides a smallie,a big carp, sucker, pike.my most unusual was a really big soft shell turtle.kind of like fighting a bucket in the current


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Post 14 Jan 2017, 13:03 • #41 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
It isn't the size of the fish, although a big smallmouth in heavy river current can tire an arm out. The size (weight, bulk, or both) of the flies used (or poppers, or the jigs called Clauser minnows) used is the prime determiner for line weight. They can get pretty big for bass. Large/bulky/heavy flies can be thrown with any line weight, but they can be cast best with a 7, 8, or even 9 weight. A 7 or 8 was the go-to of the glass era and still is. I tend to use knockabout 8 footers--a wheelhouse configuration--because so much of my bass and other panfishing is done from a boat or canoe. If going to 8 1/2' in fiberglass, you have to be a little more picky to find an adept model, but there are a lot of good ones.


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Post 15 Jan 2017, 11:19 • #42 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/27/14
Posts: 1501
Location: ON, Canada
I'm partial to 8ft rods for casting from a boat, but when wading the extra 6" really does help.

Mine:
Epic 686
FF807

On the dryer right now is a Lami s-glass 8ft 6/7, which I also have high hopes for in this category.


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Post 15 Jan 2017, 13:35 • #43 
Master Guide
Joined: 05/08/06
Posts: 796
Location: RenoNV/FranklinWV
81/2' 4pce TMR Unity with the Universe works pretty well around here on the South Branch of the Potomac. Another favorite is a Scott 'G' series 7 and 8 wt in 9 foot lengths.

For the light stuff I kind of like my TMR Streamer Special when I am in the trout and smallmouth zone.


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Post 16 Jan 2017, 09:13 • #44 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/05/14
Posts: 438
Location: US-OK
Wanigas 6wt for me, any excuse to fish this rod. It is one of my favorites.


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Post 16 Jan 2017, 14:05 • #45 
Sport
Joined: 12/15/16
Posts: 40
Location: US-PA
mikee wrote:
Wow guys, I forgot about this thread it has been a while. Thanks for the posts again. I have had many rods since this post just for Smallmouth fishing. I have tried some Fenwicks, Barclays, Scott and now my present rod I use is an Orvis Superfine Glass 6wt rod. This rod works really well for throwing some fat Bass bugs and streamers. I would not mind trying an Epic 686 once , just to compare it to the Orvis.

An Epic 686 is about the best all round smallie rod IMO in modern glass. In vintage for me it's a toss up between a Scientific Anglers system 7 and a Browning Silaflex 322985.


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Post 19 Jan 2017, 14:27 • #46 
Guide
Joined: 12/31/12
Posts: 326
Location: US-MA
That is a very nice center pin reel. What make and size is it? Does it work well for fly fishing?


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Post 19 Jan 2017, 17:08 • #47 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/24/14
Posts: 1896
Location: US-NC
I don't fish for smallies that often--I'd love to, but most of the wade-friendly rivers that hold smallies are a bit of a haul for me--but the places I've gone to have been pretty wide open and so, like Crusty and some others, I prefer a longer rod. So my favorite smallie rod is actually an old Scott Heliply 887/3. But if fishing glass, I grab my Steffen 7'9" 5/6, which is my heaviest weight glass rod at the moment.


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Post 19 Jan 2017, 19:04 • #48 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/15/06
Posts: 804
Location: Fayetteville, NC
I'm pretty addicted to smaller waters, so my choices of rods is driven by that. I had a Winston Trout 7'6" 6wt (1976 vintage glass) I used to love until it was destroyed in a move. Then came a Winston pre-IM6 8' 5wt that was one of the finest casting/fishing rods I've ever seen for just about any fish on small water, then a few Orvis Far & Fines, sometimes uplined to 6wt, as well as an Orvis Trout Bum uplined to 5wt. Currently, I'm predicting, based on a too brief casting session, that Chris Barclay's 75p is going to beat them all, once mine is made and in my greedy fingers. Something about a short parabolic rod seems to call out for small poppers and small water, although I'm sure, as usual, more smallmouth will fall to streamers than bugs.


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Post 19 Jan 2017, 20:06 • #49 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/27/14
Posts: 1501
Location: ON, Canada
bianpson wrote:
mikee wrote:
Wow guys, I forgot about this thread it has been a while. Thanks for the posts again. I have had many rods since this post just for Smallmouth fishing. I have tried some Fenwicks, Barclays, Scott and now my present rod I use is an Orvis Superfine Glass 6wt rod. This rod works really well for throwing some fat Bass bugs and streamers. I would not mind trying an Epic 686 once , just to compare it to the Orvis.

An Epic 686 is about the best all round smallie rod IMO in modern glass. In vintage for me it's a toss up between a Scientific Anglers system 7 and a Browning Silaflex 322985.

It's true - the 686 is about perfect for smallies for me.


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Post 20 Jan 2017, 11:28 • #50 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/10/13
Posts: 624
Location: US-MO
In my neck of the woods here in MO that Barclay 70LS that is just about done is going to be perfect for those small Ozark creeks that I can hike into and wade. I fished the prototype hard and it handled articulated streamers weighted and unweighted up to about 5" easily as well as size 2 poppers.

For larger water requiring a type 6 sinking line or even larger bugs I'm going with an 8wt or maybe 7wt Meridian once I make up my mind. (distinct advantage of working p/t in a fly shop).


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