7 feet fly rod

[amateurforever]

Hi,

first of all I'd like to thank all you guys for all the help. I do not have the chance to try many rods, so every time I start a thread here and receive a huge amount of information. It's just great....

The new rod I'm going to buy is a 7 ft for the small streams. I have come to two candidates:

Orvis clearwater 7' 4 weight (the new series),
Sage vantage 7' 3 weight (I know they're on clearance),

I will use it for dry fly (sometimes longer casts, like 40 ft) with occasionally small streamers.

Any comment would be appreciated.

[stl_geoff]

I recently picked up the 3wt vantage and its a delightful rod. Im very happy with it. I havent fished with a Clearwater in a long time and the one I can use is an old 6wt so my opinion on them isnt equal. i do think you'd be happy with the vantage though. Also look at St Croix Avids, they have a 7' 3wt and I also have one of those I like quiet well.

[amateurforever]

Hi and thanks for the comment,

I have a 9wt Vantage and really like it. I use it for pike and while it's a medium-fast action, I can throw 2/0 flies for something like 60 ft. But just like you mentioned, the different weights of the same series could have very different characteristics.

I had avid series in the mind as well, but excluded it for some reasons. There are two 7 ft rods, 3 and 4 wt, but both come in two pieces, which is not something pleasant. On the other hand there's a 6'6'' 4 wt, but I feel like it's too short. And then I do not think it would have enough backbone for longer casts and some streamers.

There are some other excluded options too: St. Croix Imperial 7 ft 3 wt, but I read it's a fast action, which I do not like that much for a short rod. I had the chance to take a look at a Sage Flight 7 ft 3 wt as well (I could only examine the rod, but did not cast it) and to me it looked too stiff and a little heavy.

Cheers

Originally Posted by stl_geoff

I recently picked up the 3wt vantage and its a delightful rod. Im very happy with it. I havent fished with a Clearwater in a long time and the one I can use is an old 6wt so my opinion on them isnt equal. i do think you'd be happy with the vantage though. Also look at St Croix Avids, they have a 7' 3wt and I also have one of those I like quiet well.

[chased]

You may want to check out the Redington CT rods. There is a 7'6" 3wt that is a treat to cast. It is a little slower than most graphite rods of current times. In my eyes it would make a great small stream rod at a very hard to beat price. Cabela's has them for 50% off making them only $75, a true bargain.


-Chase

[noreaster]

I have two 7 footers. A Sage RPL Graphite III its 7'3" and a St. Croix Imperial of the same length.
I love them both. The sage is a 5 wt. and the St.C a 4 wt.

On a side note, the Sage (2 piece) had a tip recently replaced. You can see the new honeycombed updated graphite was used, the action is super fast now. Looking forward to casting it in the spring.

I really enjoy the 7 footers in where I am using them. Streams and small rivers with canopy make these a good choice.

[Rip Tide]

When it come to a small stream rod, you can't beat fiberglass


http://midcurrent.com/2012/10/02/cab...lass-fly-rods/
The Fiberglass Manifesto: First Look - Cabela's CGt Series
Cabela's CGT Fiberglass Fly Rods

[amateurforever]

Thank you guys for the comments, but actually apart from the first comment no one has talked about the rods I asked about.

Still waiting...

[rockriver]

I like my Fenwick 705 from the early 70's. I recently tried it with Rio Gold
WF4F since I had my Medalist set up for my Z-Axis 4 wt. It seemed to like it okay so I'll try it again in the spring.

[Rip Tide]

Originally Posted by amateurforever

Thank you guys for the comments, but actually apart from the first comment no one has talked about the rods I asked about.

Still waiting...

Maybe there's a reason for that....
You did say "Any comment would be appreciated"

[comeonavs]

I had the Vantage but sold it. Rod was fine but I had 5 different 3wts so some had to go. You mentioned the Avid, I had one of those too and it is much more medium action than the Vantage, therefore IMHO made it a better pure dry fly rod.

I dont know what your budget is but I got a 7'6" ZXL on a good deal and is is super sweet