Last weekend, I joined my TU chapter camping near a Tennessee tail water. Unfortunately, due to some confusion and misunderstanding about float trip booking and generation schedule, I’d shown up with pretty much only big water hatch matching rods without a real opportunity to use them. Smaller water was available, and when I lamented around the first night’s campfire that I’d left all my small stream rods behind, a member I’d never met offered to lend me a rod - insisted on it almost. Showed up at my tent in the morning with two rods, a graphite he described as his fav, and a 7’6” Blue Halo 3wt. I’d never fished one, and took him up on it, but said I didn’t need a reel, knowing I had a 4wt “close-in” rigged reel (4’ furled leader, with maybe 3’ of 5X). Also, I didn’t want to be responsible for someone else’s gear more than necessary.
The drive to the chosen stream went past a photogenic waterfall; we had a bit of rain.
With the 4wt rig, I liked the way the rod performed with dries (all I tried) at small stream distances; it gave me the control and time to get the fly where I wanted with the right amount of slack. Not sure I’d have liked it as a 3wt unless there was a good deal more room.
Still, didn’t like bouncing around a stream with someone else’s rod, so when we moved to another more sizable stretch, I switched to my Diamondglass 8’6” 4wt, which managed to mostly stay under the rhododendrons.
When I returned the BH, I said I liked it with the 4wt, and the owner seemed a little taken aback that I’d used a “wrong” weight line (he’s not been fly fishing long, but said he liked the slow action of the BH).
The next day was on even smaller, previously unknown water - although in some ways, more open - and I went with the Diamondglass. I tend to think of the rod as deserving of a spring creek (which I don’t have handy), and tend to fish it in areas that come as close to that around here as I find, which aren’t many. But the rod is more versatile, being precise on some small, quick pockets, and reaching over any current when it could stay out of the overhead cover (same leader). On the way out the next day, we hit an open section of the tail water, and I got to use ithe rod for the purposes I’d brought it - emergers and dry flies - and it even handled a size 4 cicada as well as could be expected. Enjoyed the open space, and it was good in normal wind. Unfortunately, no hookups then, as we’d ended up in relatively warm water to avoid the rising water below the dam.
So both rods are keepers - except I won’t keeping, or acquiring that Blue Halo. Like many here, I have more rods than I can regularly use, and two of my favorite rods are 7’6” 3 or 4 wt. But it’s nice to know that another option is out there if disaster happens.