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Post 11 Aug 2022, 15:19 • #26 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
Fishing conditions and opportunies have expanded since the fiberglass era, but at that time, the meat and potatoes fly rod, the more so for warmwater species, was an 8' 7 or 8 weight, or its approximate letter-designation equivalent. It's still good to have one, even though the rods mentioned might be just as suitable, if not quite as versatile, for a lot of today's warmwater fishing.


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Post 11 Aug 2022, 20:43 • #27 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
I agree .1 rod for all situations is impractical.I showed off the Heddon as vintage 5 weights are not common but I have at least 3.The Battenkill drag is another cool feature as I seem to hook unintended species and am under gunned.I usually employ an 8 weight for top water bass .I will ) also bring a 5 or 6 weight or a 3 weight for panfish as they are in the same water.Then there are carp bowfin and some times gar and pike .Fun to take different rods on a whim but all I use I have fished before or yard cast a lot.I still don't catch even a tenth of the fish on flies as I did on casting and spinning gear.Tying up some bugs for a specific BOW and being to throw them where I want them is as good as it gets.


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Post 11 Aug 2022, 21:05 • #28 
Guide
Joined: 03/21/22
Posts: 172
Location: US-PA
Hersh….that is a sweet combo you have my friend! Looks like a nice combo for the ponds and small streams.


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Post 11 Aug 2022, 22:28 • #29 
Sport
Joined: 07/31/22
Posts: 31
Location: North Alabama
the hersh wrote:
I agree .1 rod for all situations is impractical.I showed off the Heddon as vintage 5 weights are not common but I have at least 3.The Battenkill drag is another cool feature as I seem to hook unintended species and am under gunned.I usually employ an 8 weight for top water bass .I will ) also bring a 5 or 6 weight or a 3 weight for panfish as they are in the same water.Then there are carp bowfin and some times gar and pike .Fun to take different rods on a whim but all I use I have fished before or yard cast a lot.I still don't catch even a tenth of the fish on flies as I did on casting and spinning gear.Tying up some bugs for a specific BOW and being to throw them where I want them is as good as it gets.


Ya, this rod will be my main rod for small to medium size rivers, but when I go out in my canoe I will also be carrying an 8 weight for the larger flies. It looks like there are plenty of options out there, and I’m really in no hurry, it’s just something I’m considering. It seems that I should probably just try some different lines on my Wonderglass. I was listening to a podcast with Cameron on it today and he was talking about trying a bunch of different lines on one rod to see what is best for that specific rod.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 08:28 • #30 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
Good idea if you have a lot of lines.Decent lines cost more than a lot of these rods are worth or at least what I paid.I guess I have been very lucky as I find a lot of rods in good condition.The previous generation must have fly fished more .Their descendants treat them as curiosities at best .I never bought any as investments as even minty wonderods and Heddons etc might be worth a 100 or so.I have bought several fly reels guys were using for ice fishing .They now make similar reels just for that purpose Have bought rods with mono tied to the tip so these old rods are tough .They are cheap enough to buy am when you see them and you may love a rod others despise .Everyone casts a little different and fishes different waters.All I really care is if it gets a fly to a fish smoothly and if it a pretty rod all the better


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 20:33 • #31 
Guide
Joined: 04/17/12
Posts: 204
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Not sure how you fish but I like to use top water bugs and poppers for warm water when they have any chance at success. I've found that I can pick the bass sized bugs off the water and cast them better with a longer rod. For a lighter rod I've had good success on bass the past few weeks with an 8'6" Steffen 5/6 and size 6 Tapply deer hair bugs. The Tapply bugs cast better than most bass bugs. Like El Duderino said, it is a lighter action rod and even a 10 inch bass is an interesting catch and I do like it for bluegill too. I also have an 8'6" Graywolf Troutsmith rated at 5 wt but I find that it throws a 6 wt line beautifully and this would be an excellent choice for a light warm water rod as well. It's very light weight rod but a faster and stronger action than the Steffen if you need to put the butt to them or throw slightly more wind resistant flies. It reminds me of a graphite rod. Shane, the designer and builder, said the Troutsmith is similar to the McFarland GTX only lighter.


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Post 12 Aug 2022, 21:33 • #32 
Sport
Joined: 07/31/22
Posts: 31
Location: North Alabama
Thanks Speck. That’s exactly what I’m looking for in a rod, mainly something for poppers and top water bugs. I haven’t even considered the Trout Smiths rods until now, I just figured they would be too soft for what I was wanting to do. I will definitely keep these in mind. They are at the top of my budget, but they are great looking rods.


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Post 14 Aug 2022, 13:40 • #33 
Guide
Joined: 04/17/12
Posts: 204
Location: Blacksburg, VA
I believe that only the 8'6" Troutsmith rods have the faster action and the shorter ones are softer, though I could be mistaken I don't think there's that much info on the site about them so here's a little bit. It is the fastest action of any of the 20 or so rods that I own. It is exactly what I was looking for as a wind rod. If you are interested in them you might want to talk to Shane about what he has to offer. I think there's a lot to like about them, at least the 5 weight that I have. If the 6 and 4 weight are similar then they would be quite nice rods as well. I will say that the 2 things that I wasn't crazy about were the sock and the tube. The tube was about 3 inches longer than needed which for a 4 piece pack rod that size is important to me. The sock has the end of the cloth folded to the interior of the sock to make the seam and the rod components catch on it every time I take the rod out of its case. I have an older (~25 years!) SA 6 wt BBT line that it can throw like it was made for it and it works well with a 5 wt DT.


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