I would like to get a 7 1/2' 4 wt rod to fish soft hackle wet flies with on small streams. I thought the Orvis Superfine 7 1/2' 4 wt full flex rod might be perfect, but I am hesitating because Orvis calls it the perfect "DRY FLY" rod. So I looked at a couple of how to books on fishing with wet flies and they seem to favor medium flex. Am I wrong to look for a full flex rod? Can anyone help to set me straight, or have any other rods to recommend? Thanks

Slow if fishing a gang of wet flies will be the predominant use. Otherwise, not so important; a more progressive or "medium" action will be more precise for fishing single flies, and, especially in fiberglass, still good in hooking/absorbing shock on hammering strikes. It would be more versatile for other uses as well.

First, I think some deciphering of terminology is worth while. Modern Orvis "full flex" rods are medium-fast rods unless you over line them. So you may be looking for a "fulflex" rod, but the action might be considered "medium" or even "medium-fast". I don't really understand it, but there is no standard for this terminology.

Whrlpool and giorgio gave you good background on what to consider. Longer is better than shorter (you will probably be roll casting in tight quarters anyway), and softer. If you want a general purpose rod, a medium action rod is better. The really slow rods can be a bit temperamental and I have to get "into the groove" when fishing them for presentation.

Now for my biased opinions.

Unless you are really fishing tiny creeks, I would go with at least 7' 9". I prefer medium action because I don't limit myself to wet fly fishing and I find the rods that are perfect for wet fly (slow) are pretty horrendous when nymphing and temperamental (as mentioned above) with dries.

Chris Barclay's original amber series are in the delicate dry fly, wet fly category. It is basically Japanese glass by an American builder. Good luck finding one of his 3 or 4wt's. But these would be perfect for smaller streams.
I have a McFarland (Tycoon tackle) rod in the for sale section (blatent plug) that would work well as a dryfly /wetfly rod that isn't too bad nymphing.
If you want to go shorter, I think Japanese glass would probably be good. My Dharma parabolic fits in that category.

I would like to try the James Green rods that NativeBrownie mentions. I have heard good things about these tapers.

There are also a few vintage rods that might work well. Cortland FR2000 8ft or 8'6" comes to mind, but it is a 6/7wt. It would be a nice rod for slightly larger streams.
The Fenwick FF84 (8'6") is the slowest of the Fenwicks and good middle ground.
For small streams, I would look at either Phillipson Royal/royal wand in 7' or maybe an FR2000 in 7'. which are effectively 5wt rods.

My favorite is an Orvis Henry's fork (early Orvis graphite) as an 8'6" 5wt. It is a good dryfly and wetfly rods and is long enough and sensitive enough for a day of indicator nymphing if that is what you need to do.

I will state what others have alluded to. The Orvis 7'6" superfine glass is not a good wetfly rod. Of course you could fish it with wets. but it is not the rod if you are buying a rod for this purpose.

Maybe Corlay can chime in. He's a dedicated wetfly and small stream angler.

Winston 8'0" 4wt (GREEN) Stalker or a Winston 8'0" 4wt Retro come immediately to mind.

Everyone's preference varies based upon experience and fishing style. For traditional Catskill-style wets, nymphs, and soft hackles, on smallish streams, you might consider a honey Lamiglas 7'6" e-glass. Yes, it is a good dryfly rod as well, but I enjoy it's slow action with wets too.

For larger water, I like an 8'6" #5 ********* Western s-glass. The "soft" tip gives it just the right action and play for my experience.

I fish soft hackles 90% of the time and the three I use, in order of most favorite, FF756, Orvis Madison 7 1/2' 3 7/8 oz (bamboo) and FF806, all with a DT5F.

Another vote for the older JamesGreen’s.... and Dusty’s 764 is right in there as well.

The best I've ever fished is cane, (8') Leonard Fairy Catskill No. 39, and a close second, also cane, is Heddon 8' 1-3/4f -
- the latter rod counts as a powerhouse 4/5-wt.

I have an opportunity to try a Diamondglass 8' five weight (the original rod with black glass). Based solely on waving the rod back and forth in the back yard, it seems like it is a medium slow rod. Can anyone who's fished this rod opine on its suitability for casting a brace of soft hackle flies?
Also, while reading other posts, I noted Chris Barclay's rods keep getting good reviews for use with soft hackle flies. However the models mentioned are always out of production. Does anyone have experience with one or more of his current offerings. Thanks again. Pete

I have the Orvis SFG 764, which the original poster asked about, and I've had very good experiences fishing soft hackle wets with it. I'm typically on a river that's 30 to 50 wide. Usually stick with a single fly rig for sport and nicer casting experience.

You are correct, there is no good, agreed upon, quantitative system for describing fly rods (or any other rod for that matter). Marketing managers don't want us to accurately compare products. They want us to believe their rod is the best based on their hyped up description. Sage doesn't sell a new rod lineup every year because their rods are described in standard, measurable terms. They convince us on a scale of 1-10 their newest rods are at least a 37!

The AFTMA line weight system was a good start, but then came graphite. When the modulus wars took off, overly stiff rods didn't load with the recommended lines. Now line companies sell overweight lines for over stiff rods.

We are left with forums like ours trying as best we can to make recommendations for each other.


Tom

I don't like the Common Cents system. It doesn't work for glass. Fishing rods are complex. Gauging a rod by how many pennies we can dangle off the tip is too simplistic.