Interesting couple of threads regarding 4 weight rods and (lack of) love. I thought this topic might merit its own thread.

I DO like my black glass 4 wt Scott. With it, I can do fairly delicate work and also handle decent-sized dry dropper rigs. I used it to catch all of the California Heritage Trout species back in 2020. On the other hand, I just did not bond with my Hardy Test glass rod - I was constantly throwing tailing loops with it.

I kind of feel like many 4 weights might fall into a gap - not quite substantial enough for big waters, but not really delicate like lighter creek rods. On the other hand, maybe a good one can do both?

Thoughts?

I mainly use a 4 wt every where. I only have 1 fiberglass thats a T L Johnson synergy
4 wt. But I mainly fish bamboo any more in a 4 wt. (also if you don't like 4 wt. you can send them all to me.)

Where the heck is this coming from? 4wts are GOTO trout weights, have been for years, and it isn’t going to change. I have seen a penchant for buying 2 and 3 wt graphite rods in recent years. But 95% of those are 4 and 5 wt rods. Just because it says 2 or 3 wt, doesn’t mean they fish best at those weights. Most rod ratings for modern rods seem to be set for the longest line it can cast. But that’s not necessarily the best line for fishing distances for that rod. I had a guy bring a 2wt graphite rod to me one time that was a pool cue of a 2wt. I brought him line after line but didn’t tell him what weights they were. After deciding which he liked best for accuracy, joy of casting, etc, I told him it was a 6wt line. Get over the line rating listed on the rod and cast it with different lines. Cast it at different distances, especially with 1-30 feet of fly line out of the rod tip because those are typical trout fishing distances. Go ahead and see how far you can cast it but don’t let that determine which rod you should buy. See what line is most accurate and casts most comfortably. When you do that, you’ll find that the rods that cast a 4wt line best are great trout rods.

4wts are great and I have more 4wts than any other rod.5pc. Scott,Barklay,Steffen and a 6pc.Lammy all fished with a 4........Aurelio
And a Fenwick 7’ hmg 4wt. Just a awesome rod that thinks it’s glass

Ummmm, who doesn't fish 4wts? My ********* 864 and Kabuto 8033 see a lot of action!

Five weight for me is the foundation of a rod lineup. I believe in skipping a size, next size up or down is too close for me to offer a significant justifiable difference. So a four will never be in my lineup.

Two of my favorite four weights in fiberglass. Also like a couple of bamboo and graphite rods in this line weight quite well that are true four weights.

Agree that some rods, especially common in graphite rods made within the past 15 years, don’t fill me with joy using a four weight line.

I like to fish as light as possible and practical and 4 weights are the go for me.
I have a pretty impressive collection of 4 weights in glass and some are great for nymphs and others great for dries. Others great all rounders. Some progressive and some parabolic .
All are wonderful in certain situations .
Michael

My gateway back into glass was an original Diamondglass 8’
4 wgt. I don’t fish it much as I have way more rods than time, but when I do, WOW! Then I feel guilty about leaving it in the tube so much.

My only 4 wts are dual line rated - a Steffen 3/4 and a Trout Smiths 4/5. The Steffen 3/4 is my closest to a true 4 wt, but I’m well stocked on glass 5, 6, and 7 wts. Like Whrlpool said, I always use fly size as the primary consideration when selecting a line weight, and I like to throw big flies, mostly to bass these days. I would say water conditions are a clear second and then fish size falls to third consideration in riverine fishing environments.

That said, I will probably add a true 4 wt in the 7’9 - 8’ range eventually when I can travel more often for trout fishing with smaller flies. McFarland and Kenney are two makers that are near the top of my list for potential 4 wt rods.

I often cast 4wt lines on 3 and 5wt rated rods, let alone 4wt rated rods. For the trout fishing I do the 4wt is king.

Trev I fish my GP Barklay with a SA mastery trout WF 4 and it will roll cast 40’ with ease maybe 50 in the hands of a good caster very powerful rod........Aurelio

What Crusty said sums it up........Aurelio