{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Recommendation for Fly Rod?

If you are primarily fishing the South Fork of the Shenandoah River and you are going for smallmouth bass I would suggest a 7 weight for that.  Probably a tip flex.  There are tons of good rods out there and the real question is "what are you willing to pay?"  If you want a descent starter rod I would suggest you look at the Clear Water series by Orvis.  They are very good rods for the price.  Cheaper rods just won't cast like those and you will quickly learn the difference.

For the smaller streams I fish a 3 or 4 weight for trout.  For the trout in the Shenandoah National Park and other areas, like the Rapidan, It is nice to have a light, short rod.  I have a 7' trout rod for those.  It works good on those kinds of rivers.

If you are wanting to slide into the striper action around here, do a little salt water fishing, and be slightly more versatile then you may want to go up to an 8 weight.  That will work fine for smallmouth.  I have switched over to this for smallies because I am throwing really big flies these days.  It also works great for salt water, such as the outer banks, and also for the stripers that I get into around here (also the snakehead I caught this past spring). 

As far as line, stick with floating.  I use a floating line on my eight weight but I also have sink tips that I will add to the system.  This makes it versatile without having to change spools or reels (helpful if you kayak fish). 

The best advise is to go into the stores and try out the different rods.  Go to stores where you will talk to people who know their stuff about the rods.  Cheaper isn't always better and remember, some of the other more expensive rods are backed by companies by 25 year warranties, no matter what.  It is nice when you break a tip off of a rod because they will take care of it and it won't cost you.

Just my two cents, I am sure that there are many other different opinions.

On Thursday, October 25, 2012 7:24:07 PM UTC-4, paul daddio wrote:

I'm a novice looking to buy a rod and am looking for recommendations on specs (length, weight). I primarily like to fish rivers (e.g., South fork of Shenandoah, Potomac), but also like small streams (e.g., Big Hunting Creek in the Catoctin Mountains). Would sincerely appreciate any help!

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