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3. fast action rods, Page 2

Since this thread has recently been revived, I guess I'll throw in my 2 cents again. My first few fly rods were fairly "soft" in action, and it bothered me the way they whipped around when I cast them, throwing waves into my line. I suppose I just have a pretty aggressive casting style, but when I got ahold of a faster-action graphite stick I just felt better, like I could cast with more accuracy and without throwing all of those sine waves into my line as it headed for its destination. I should mention that I generally do two types of fly fishing - dry flies and weighted streamers - and that the fast action rods seem to suit my casting style in these two types of fly fishing. Just my humble opinion, and as I like to say, "your results may differ"...to each their own! As I said above, now well over three years ago, our differing preferences help keep those fly rod manufacturers in business.

Jonathon

My casting style is probably very similar to yours as I'm much more comfortable w/ a fast action rod, fairly stiff. I own a 7' St. Croix Imperial for small brooks/streams that has medium action and a soft tip and if I haven't cast it in a while, its hard for me to the first few minutes to "soften" my casts a bit like you decribed as compared to my normal style w/ my 9' Z-Axis.

Hi,
Jmd,
You are absolutely correct. It is a matter of preference and what you get accustomed to in addition to how you fish. As you all know, I fish wets a lot, and the action imparted by a medium action rod is invaluable. Someday, I will purchase a 10' 4 or 5 weight for wets. I just haven't had the money to afford one. I know there are a few on the market. Someday, perhaps.

OH- I think I've said this before, no matter what action you like I suggest the longest rod you dare use for where you fish. It helps to keep line off the water, affording more line control.

Mark

Mark, I have to say that rod length is also a preference thing as well. I like short rods, perhaps because I like fishing smaller streams so much (like the Rifle and Pine Rivers around my new home here), though I do also have a tendency to use them on stillwaters as well, even larger ones (like Cooke Dam Pond). Perhaps I should get myself a longer stick for those larger waters, but as you say, it is a matter of finances. I have, however, begun my second job teaching introductory biology at a local community college, so maybe I'll have a little more "disposable income" in the not-too-distant future. I am a bit intrigued by the "Euro-nymphing" thing (Polish, Czech, French, whatever you want to call it)...

Trends come and go. I just read a fine piece in the American Angler on the rebirth of glass rods. The good rod makers are doing an excellent job of dressing up some fine, glass blanks, and compare them favorably to the feel of bamboo in the shorter lengths. As I have grown older, I like to apply a stroke with minimal effort, and achieve maximum results having the rod bend, and do the work. I use to be an aggressive double hauler in my early years; now it is just get the job done the most efficiently that I can. I have entertained the notion of getting one of those glass rods.

Sayfu, A well made glass rod would be a real boon to me, however I'm not sure they'd make them long enough for me

Jmd, You can not forget fishing wets singly or in teams . A long medium action rod is perfect for this. You'd be surprised how well they work especially the wingless variety.

Mark

Softhackle...NO, they do not make it for you. The real plus for the new glass rods come in the short lengths..wt. not a factor, delivers the fly with an easy stroke for small stream work, or modest distance casting anyway, and they cushion the lt. tippets used on small flies. Once you go beyond 8ft., and I tend to think 7.5', graphite has all the advantages.

Fast action rods are great and fun for hauling tight, river long loops and i fish them all the time. But sometimes there is just nothing better than getting on the river and doing work with a medium action rod. They're great for presentation of dries (even though fasts can do it too) and i love fighting fish on medium action rods and feeling that fish all the way through!

When I was a pup stomping around the Cumberland Valley, my all-purpose fly rod was a white fiberglass Shakespeare Wonderod. It started life as a 6 1/2 footer, but I eventually cut down the butt, replaced the aluminum ferrule with a hand-whittled solid glass dowel, and revamped all the fittings to make it a nifty 5 1/2 footer with a slip-ring seat and a Fenwick-style butt-wrap braid. It had a very fast taper, but being glass, it was soft, whippy, and damn near indestructible. At the end of the casting stroke, the tip would bounce around like a thing possessed.

In my youthful exuberance (and ignorance), I threw everything on it from size 26 dries on 1 lb. tippet to saltwater-size streamers, bass bugs, and even F4 Flatfish and Colorado spinners. It could toss long casts with a white 5-weight Air Cel that I fished until it turned pale brown and much of the coating cracked off. I caught loads of fish, big and small, in streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes, and I never felt that I was handicapped in any way. Fast rods, slow rods, stiff rods, soft rods, long rods, short rods, glass, cane, graphite--hell, it's all been gravy after everything that little white POS taught me about fly fishing. Today I wouldn't fish it on a bet, but I also wouldn't trade it for anything.

Great story, Gonzo. Proves you don't need fancy, expensive gear to catch lots of fish and have lots of fun with a fly rod. Just don't tell that to the Orvis crowd!

Jonathon

A double haul IS the most efficient way to cast - both long and short, fast action or slow action, it doesn't matter.
I double haul my BIIMX 9'4wt out to 70 feet (and sometimes beyond) and my 7'9" 4wt bamboo to 50 feet with the same motion, just different timing on the first and second haul. It is effortless.

Gutcutter...And that is exactly what I do. I did not want to infer that I quit double hauling. It is much more a rhythm though and more relaxed than aggressively double hauling trying to bend a stiff rod with a fair amount of line out. No, I double haul on every cast.

But you do need fancy, expensive gear to catch lots of fish and have lots of fun, Jonathon. At that time, I was just too young and ignorant to know that. :)

Lloyd,



Exactly! Tell my wife this all the time!..... Don't think she believes me.:(

Kurt

Sorry guys, but as a man who never seems to have a full-time job anymore, I'll always be an advocate of the less expensive stuff...unless, of course, someone gives me a high-dollar rod as a present for my birthday or Christmas - fat chance of that happening! Then again, if I ever have a rich girlfriend...

;oD

Jonathon

It was irony, Jon. I've known a few fly fishers who were impressed by price tags, but the fish don't seem to care.

Then again, Gonzo, casting does make a difference whether the fish care about the price tag or not. Yet, I'm able to do pretty well on the cheap stuff (and I do a lot of lake fishing involving long casts), so perhaps experience trumps expense...While I won't ever go for high-end rods, there are some mid-priced ones that make me wish I had a bit more "disposable income".

Jonathon

Mark..And I throw those big burly buggy dries against the bank all the time fishing out of a driftboat..but the biggest problem I have is I stay long with my leaders, and tippet using a standard 9-10 ft. leader. My leader needs to be shortened, and tippet shortened, not the action of my flyrod. I just cus, and put up with it unfortunately.