[Pocono]

I second the move to glass.

What I didn't say in my post on fishing in Japan is that better than my 7'6" Sage ZXL 3 wt., for small stream fishing, is my 7'6" Diamondglass 3 wt. - by a wide margin in my opinion. The only reason that it didn't make the trip is that it's a 2-piece rod; too long for my luggage, and since it was going, literally, around the world (NYC-Paris-Tokyo-NYC), I took the 4-piece rod. But I'm sending my Japanese guide (new fishing buddy) a Diamondglass 7'6" 3 wt. as a thank you for organizing the trip; so, as you can see, I think that glass is the right rod choice for small stream applications / small trout.

[todd r]

sage, I'll never buy anything else.

[flyflingerandy]

You really like the Diamondglass 3wt? I would love to go fish in Japan, and will before I pass on, but it will probably be with plastic. I might even take a 6'9" 1wt TFO Finesse...or a 6'6" 2wt, or my 7'6" 2wt LST (best rod I have fished by the way). I urge you to give it a shot!

[Troutwhisperer]

Hey everybody

Thanks again and by all of your suggestions i have decided to buy a sage launch.

[flyflingerandy]

I recommend the 8'6" 3wt Launch, but I hope you plan to catch a whole lot of gills on it!

[Pocono]

I do. I like the Diamondglass 7'6" 3 wt.

I'm certainly not adverse to trying other rods, but if I can enjoy fishing tiny trout "Yamame" in Japan with a Sage ZXL 7'6" 3 wt., then I'm not sure what I'm going to gain by going to a lower wt. rod. But, I am an experimenter at heart; so maybe someday I'll venture below a 3 wt.

[mojo]

Originally Posted by Pocono

I do. I like the Diamondglass 7'6" 3 wt.

I'm certainly not adverse to trying other rods, but if I can enjoy fishing tiny trout "Yamame" in Japan with a Sage ZXL 7'6" 3 wt., then I'm not sure what I'm going to gain by going to a lower wt. rod. But, I am an experimenter at heart; so maybe someday I'll venture below a 3 wt.

Poc- how bout one of Steffan's 6' 1-2w's.That'll be a nice little rod.

[Pocono]

I've heard a lot of good things about the Steffen rods; and I like a slilghtly faster glass, so his S-glass rods might fill the bill for me.

I plan to cast a few of the new glass rods at the upcominmg New Jersey Fly Fishing Show in February. Steffen, McFarland, Johnson and other glass manufacturers attend that show. I'm also curious to get my hands on one of Tom Morgan's new glass rods. I've heard that the old Winston glass rods were excellent. The Steffen will be one of the rods at the top of my list for the show.

But, my new rod for small stream fishing just arrived yesterday. It's a Phillipson 6'6" 4 wt. registered Midge rod (casts a 3 or a 4 wt. line). I absolutely can't wait to get to the stream with this one!

[OldMan]

If you like faster glass rods. Don't forget to try the Scott F rods.

[brianh]

I know this is an old poll, but I figured I'd throw in my $0.02 for the Cabela's Clear Creek 1wt. I bought one earlier this year to add some 'sport' to fishing the small bluegill that inhabit our local lakes and creeks. It is a great rod! At first I had to re-learn my casting techniqes (before this rod the smallest I'd used was a 4wt). Because this is, by nature, a soft rod you can't horse it or try to make it hurry it up. It requires an unhurried, steady rhythm.

I use mine with the Orvis WF 1W line. For a leader I just tie on about 6' of Trilene 4lb and for a tippet I use 2lb flurocarbon bulk line. Nothing fancy, but the 'gill don't seem to mind.

To date I've caught everything from 4" bluegill to 13" rainbows. I'm telling you - a 13" rainbow on that rod is a hoot!

One of the challenges with a rod this small is properly balancing it with a reel. In this weight range your choices are very limited. Most "1 - 3wt" reels are just too heavy. I settled on the Orvis BBS-I and it's a good combo.

(Unfortunately I think Cabela's has killed off the Clear Creek line for '09.)