1wt rod, am I crazy?

[colotrout]

I typically fish with two sets of 3wt rods: A very nice semi-fast action 8'6" 5X Elkhorn and a 7'6" 3wt A3 Scott.

Last weekend, I caught a couple of 14" trouts and loved how these guys loaded my Elkhorn.

My conclusion: I want to get a 1wt rod! Am I crazy?

I am aware that overworking a fish is bad and frankly, I probably would save the 1wt for small creeks (e.g., Roaring River here in CO).

Input is appreciated!

 

[Ard]

CO.

Like you have already said it depends on what you are gonna use it for. The little almost weightless rods are sort of neat. You will need a Hardy Flyweight for it....... also nearly weightless.

Ard

 

[FrankB2]

Take a look at any of Sasha's threads. I think a 1wt would be the heaviest
rod he uses. The lightest fly rod I've fished is a 7' 4wt (bamboo), but used
to do lots of ultralight spincasting. They came in plenty quick with UL spinning
gear, but I used a short rod (5 feet usually).

 

[Pocono]

I've never fished anything below a 3 wt. and I fish small freestone creeks for native Brookies most of the time (6-10" fish). A light 7'6" 3 wt. gets the job done for me. To me, "playing" a small fish isn't really what fishing is all about. And, as you said, it may be better to land a small fish as quickly as possible, to avoid damaging it in the angling.

As an example, I took a Sage ZXL 7'6" 3 wt. 4 piece rod to Japan about 18 months ago and fished with NAFFF member Neversink for some very tiny trout (Yamame and Iwana) in the small, steep gradient mountain streams just west of Nikko. It was, for me, the ideal stick for those environs and when I ever hooked into an 18" rainbow at the exit of one of the big dams (the streams in those mountains are so steep that they have to dam them every 1/2 mile or so in order to control flood damage) I was glad that I was fishing a rod with some backbone to it.

Certainly your choice and if a 2 wt., 1 wt, or 0-000 wt. rod is going to make your fishing more enjoyable, then I'd say go out and purchase one; or a least find one to try out. For me, a glass 3 wt., like Diamondback's Diamondglass model gives me all the feel and angling thrill that I need for hooking and landing small trout.

 

[MrEsox]

in short a 1wt rod is, if youve looked around, short. most will be in that 7ft range. that short rod and very light weight most of the time ends up with next to NO castability. oh you can get some ok distance out of it, but heavier rods give you more. if your looking at just floating a fly down with little to no casting a 1wt would be great and fun. but if your like me and need to get the fly out a ways its hard to do. i should also say that i mainly use it for pan fish and not trout. when i was in an area with trout all around i didnt have it. my place in the world now has very few trout. so small pan fish are all over so i looked into a 1wt. my 5wt was over kill on it. i still like the rod and use it all the time, but i just dont get the castability out of it that i do my 5wt or the distance of my 9wt and the big flies i use with it.

 

[raindogt]

Hey Colo--

I'd say cast one for a bit and see if you like the feel. As was mentioned before, if you haven't cast a rod like that before-- you'll learn quickly that 60 foot casts are nearly an impossibility (at least for me)-- I can get 30'( if even that...) max out of mine.

I just picked up a 3 wt. on the cheap and from casting in my yard, I have a feeling the 1 wt. will not see much use from here on out.... Very specialized tool....

also, My 1 wt. was a panfish stick--- and the occasional 10" Lm bass....

 

[mojo]

Most one weights and smaller are useless when any wind stronger than a phart comes along. Be aware of that.
I'd say go for it and get one. Here's a website dedicated to those smaller endowed rods
Ultralight Fly Fishing, The Forum for those who fish ultralight fly rods from 000wt to 3wt. - Message Board Yuku

 

[rickf]

I have a dozen fly rods, but my 1wt is by far the most fun to fish with.
I have a Orvis Superfine 1wt that is 7'6" long and the 4pc only weighs 1.5oz!! The rod is a beautiful Olive color and although it's high modulus graphite, it flexes all the way like bamboo does.
I use a 2.7oz Sage 3100 ultralight large arbor reel with Gen 3 WF1F line. When you go UL, you will never go back! I must say that I love catchin' small fish in small streams though. When I target carp, I use my 8wt.

 

[Jackster]

My 2 weight is collecting dust, it's just too limiting. It took a while for me to realize the limitations of real light lined fly rods but, as mojo said, any wind is a problem. I find that throwing any kind of meat, lead or indicators with them is just too much of a challenge and no joy at all.
Since rod manufacturers seem to create marketing crazes and the last big one was too-lightweight rods, I waited patiently for them to get back to building short rods with some muscle to them. The wait is over, I built my own... a 6', 5 weight for tossing junk and throwing tight loops in rhodo infested jungles.
Now if only the weather would cooperate and let me use the danged thing!

 

[colotrout]

Whoa! What great feedback!

Thank you all!

Yes, you all make great points.

Pocono, your fishing in Japan sounds fantastic! Did you report on this before? I want to know more!

Esox, you are right. I like light rods but most seem to come too short for my taste.

Raindog, I didn't even know that you'd ever need to cast 60ft... 60ft, really??

mojo, wind is my enemy. Have you guys heard of a guy who apparently would cast off of a boat going 20 knots? I think I heard about him on the Rosenbauer (Orvis) podcast... And thanks for the link!

Happy fishing and thanks again for all your responses!

 

[Sasha]

I typically fish with two sets of 3wt rods: A very nice semi-fast action 8'6" 5X Elkhorn and a 7'6" 3wt A3 Scott.

Last weekend, I caught a couple of 14" trouts and loved how these guys loaded my Elkhorn.

My conclusion: I want to get a 1wt rod! Am I crazy?

I am aware that overworking a fish is bad and frankly, I probably would save the 1wt for small creeks (e.g., Roaring River here in CO).

Input is appreciated!

You are not crazy. The lighter lined rods can be extremely fun. There are a lot of misconceptions out there and plenty of people that will give you a hard time about fishing one. The bottom line is that those rods are not for everyone, some enjoy them some do not.

Contrary to what someone said I do also fish heavier rods. Yes the majority of my fishing is done on lighter gear. However I really do not enjoy throwing a weighted triple nymph rig on my 0wt all of the time. I see that someone else also gave out the link to the ultralight fly fishing forum. I would hop on over there as well. There is also a pretty good discussion about the rods here http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/f...95-does-anyone-use-ultralight-fly-tackle.html

As far as the phart comment….. well that is not really an accurate statement but YMMV. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a PM.

 

[pdq 5oh]

I got a couple 2 wt rods to use on small creeks for brookies. I've also used them for some bigger trout and the bluegills in my pond. I've used a 4 wt for the same things as well. I didn't feel the 2 wt was alot different. The 2 wt rods are 6' & 7' long. The 4 wt is 8'. All three rods are med/med fast. I feel on the creeks I got the 2 wt rods for a 7' rod is about ideal. The 8' rod is better than the 6' rod, IMO. My bottom line, I like the 2 wt rods but don't really see the need given how well the 8' 4 wt worked on the same creeks. The only thing is the 7' rod was more manageable on creeks with lots of stream-side brush. So, to me the biggest difference was length.

 

[fly_guy12955]

Traded for an Orvis 1wt, 7 1/2ft Superfine. Sweeet feeling rod,,,and I know I'm gonna have a blast on panfish.

Trout rod ? umm,,,if I knew I'd not hook anything bigger than 12 inches ,,yes. But backbone is not there for it to handle anything much larger. It is indeed a 'special situation' rod. Distance doesn't matter much to me,,,I stalk fish..that's as much a part of why I fish as using a rod at all.

Lots of fun in special situations.

Mike

 

[eastfly66]

I typically fish with two sets of 3wt rods: A very nice semi-fast action 8'6" 5X Elkhorn and a 7'6" 3wt A3 Scott.

Last weekend, I caught a couple of 14" trouts and loved how these guys loaded my Elkhorn.

My conclusion: I want to get a 1wt rod! Am I crazy?

I am aware that overworking a fish is bad and frankly, I probably would save the 1wt for small creeks (e.g., Roaring River here in CO).

Input is appreciated!

I use a Elkhorn Traveler II 7.5' 2 wt. on a tail water where 0 and 000 are common. The only limitations are in my presentation and selection of the fly (usually a 22 to 32). The rod does it's job fine with a long leader 7-8X.

If you have your heart set on a 1 wt. or less. I highly recommend a custom built Sage TXL-F by Dan Trela Custom Rods. He specializes in these rods and fishes them even on his trips to Montana. PM me if you need the contact info. and you will not beat his price or quality.

2 wt. is as low as I go , I cant deal with the wind , but those guys do it and do it well !

Good Luck

BTW, one of those furled leaders from Cut throat make a world of difference with that little Elkhorn and getting those long fine leaders to roll out if you go with a 2 wt. . I would think any small light rod with long leaders would benefit.

 

[james w 3 3]

BTW, one of those furled leaders from Cut throat make a world of difference with that little Elkhorn and getting those long fine leaders to roll out if you go with a 2 wt. . I would think any small light rod with long leaders would benefit.

X2 on the furled leader making a BIG difference. I fish a Zen furled on my Echo Carbon 2wt with Orvis Superfine 2wt line. On the small creeks this combo rocks, and unless the wind really kicks up, at these close ranges it's no big deal at all.

Go for it, ultralight opens up some additional fun opportunities.

 

[stl_geoff]

Go for it!!

I have a few 2 and 3wts, i'd really like to pickup or a build a 00 or something nuts like that.

 

[brookfieldangler]

If your catching 10 to 14" rainbows with regularity, then I would totally say you're crazy! If you are nailing the little 6" wilds out in the tiny mountain streams like the ones in the sierra's, then get it!!

I caught a 14" stocker on a very fast Batson RX7 2wt and struggled to empose any sort of control on that fish. A 1wt...lol...yeah that would have taken forever

 

[eastfly66]

If your catching 10 to 14" rainbows with regularity, then I would totally say you're crazy! If you are nailing the little 6" wilds out in the tiny mountain streams like the ones in the sierra's, then get it!!

I caught a 14" stocker on a very fast Batson RX7 2wt and struggled to empose any sort of control on that fish. A 1wt...lol...yeah that would have taken forever

I think I am going to respectfully disagree with you Brookfield. I will agree the play is a bit longer but I would attribute that to a 7x tippet more than a 2wt. The tailwater I fish this on and the 0 wt. gang is on a 12 to 14 bow is standard and 16-17" is not uncommon. Did you mean RX8 on the Batson ? I am thinking of building a RX7 2 wt. having just done a 4 & 5 wt. The 8' is better than the 8'6" in 4 wt. (tip is too soft @ 8'6") IMO
The TXLF is a mod/fast but I still don't know how they do it at "000" !:yikes:

 

[brookfieldangler]

Nope. It was a 7. IF662-4

I was also fishing streamers that day with an RX7 4wt as well. The 2wt had 5x tippet and the 4 had 3x. The ability to turn a decent fish was very limited with the 2. Maybe I like getting them in a little bit quicker than I really need so the battle seemed a bit longer than I would have liked.

 

[comeonavs]

Nope. It was a 7. IF662-4

I was also fishing streamers that day with an RX7 4wt as well. The 2wt had 5x tippet and the 4 had 3x. The ability to turn a decent fish was very limited with the 2. Maybe I like getting them in a little bit quicker than I really need so the battle seemed a bit longer than I would have liked.

I fished a Elkhorn Traveler 1wt for a few years and my wife bought me a TXL-f 1wt. I only use them in high mt streams on bluebird days. In my own personal experience I've landed a 13" trout in fast waters no problem and then the bottom pic is a 18" rainbow I landed on a 1wt with no problem.

Not saying a 1wt is something you want to target area known for bigger fish with, but it can certainly handle fish that are good sized fish.

Please forgive the fish on the rocks photo, I was not aware of the harm it causes and don't do it anymore

This guy was caught in fast deeper water.

A 14" caught on 1wt

The big one on a 1wt