Odd or even number rods?

[Pocono]

Nick_k posted a thread on 7 wt. rods and atilla's post got me thinking about the rods that I use most of the time.

For me, it's the odd number rods:

3 wt. - have 4
5 wt. - have 5
7 wt. - have 1
9 wt. - have 3
11 wt. - have 1

On the other side; the even side, I have:

4 wt. - have 1
6 wt. - have 1
8 wt. - have 1

I think a lot of it stems from the fact that my first rod was; as is common, a 5 wt. From there I went down, since my favorite fishing is for native Brookies up in headwaters; so 3 wts.. made sense. I don't drop below 3 wts.; at least not so far ,although I've been eying some local streams that aren't much more than 5 ft. across and a 1 wt. has crossed my mind........... Then I started fishing Smallies and a 7 wt. seemed like the right tool for the size fish I was after. Then along came Stripers and Bones and with them the 9 wts. were added. I fished Tarpon once, and that's where the 11 wt. comes from, but most of the time it gathers dust.

The 4 wt. is a special rod that Terry Johnson made up for me as an 8'0". The 6 wt. is a Sage One that I made myself last Winter at a rod building class and the 8 wt. is a Redington CPX that I just couldn't pass up for the price (and I'm glad I didn't; what a sweet rod!).

But, all in all, I could easily do all of the fishing that I've done and probably that I ever will do with just the odd number rods.

What's your experience?

Pocono

 

[moucheur2003]

My first was a 6. Then I got an 8, then a 4, and there I stood for a while. Now I have everything from a 3 to a heavy 9 that does better with a 10 line, and multiples in many of them, but my favorites are still 6 and 4.

Leaving aside my own collecting history, I think a 6 is more useful than a 7, and a 4 more useful than a 3, so you'd need a 3-5-7 combo to do what a 4-6 combo can do, and you'd probably use the 5 most of the time anyway.

 

[cletus]

I own 3-8wts, I fish my 4wts whenever I can, and a 5 and 6wt equally after that. I could do my trout fishing with two 4wts, a 5wt, and a 6wt, but to answer your question, I would go with evens if I had to

 

[williamhj]

I use even number rods on even number days, isn't that how it's supposed to work?

Actually I fish odd and even, just depends on the fishing I'm doing that day and which one I feel like fishing.

 

[littledavid123]

A F&F 5wt, wanted it for small brush choked dreams and casting drys
Helios 9' 5wt, first rod and love it for streamers
Orvis 9' 3" (1985 model) 7wt for chasing big browns at nite and currently bass and bay fishing in Texas.

Don't see myself ever needing to buy another rod, unless I wanted a second of each of these 3 to have as a spare. Could be kicked out of the fly fishing guild for only fishing 3 rods, but when on the river with one it feels like I'm fishing with an old friend. I do have some other rods but they are collector boo rods and not anything I care to fish with.

Dave

 

[wt bash]

I'm pretty much an even number guy. 3-4wts 2.5-6wt (one's a 5-6 I like it better with a DT 6) 1-8wt and my switch rated 7/8 but it likes about 60' of DT10F so I have no idea what that is anymore! Odd numbers=bad juju for me. 2's company 3's a crowd, or something to that effect.

 

[fly_guy12955]

2wt, 3wt, 4wt and 5wt. Never had a bigger fly rod. But I'm thinking on an 8wt to fish New River with. I want to hook a big Musky that I know are there on a fly rod. I fear I'd be taking a swith to a bear fight with a 5wt. I have caught two on spinning rods and I think an 8wt would put in about in the correct rod zone for Musky..or perhaps a big stripe'er. Them Stripe'ers can put you on an enormous battle. Since this rod would be used as a workhorse, I might go toward a good, but not pricey rod,,maybe something in a TFO or St Croix. A seven weight might handle the fish but I think the 8wt would toss big ol' feathery creatures farther.

 

[Liphookedau]

I have like many others both odds & evens in numbers as well as Weights,my collection Started with a 6-7 wt,since then I have accumulated,a 2wt,a 3wt,a 4wt,2 5wts,a 5-6wt,3 6wts,3 extra 6-7wts,a 7wt,a 9wt with a 4wt,a 6wt,a7wt & an 8wt to be finished,I think??? as it's possible I could have missed a couple??
Brian.

 

[noreaster]

I like my 4's and 5 wt's. The 5wt is a 7'6" Sage so it kinda feels like a lighter weight. Also like my St.Croix Imperial 4wt. It too is 7'6". I have a 3wt, 10' Allen Myth. It feels like it could handle some larger flies, fish and water. Looking forward to trying it out on some large steelheads. Also have the Myth in a 3wt. 6'6". Have yet to wet a line with them. Also have the CT Redington in 8'. Nice rod, haven't tried it yet either. Ohhh, so much fishing, so little time.

 

[Rip Tide]

I fish mostly "evens"
4wt.....4
6wt.....many...
8wt.....5
10wt....1

There's plenty of "odds" too, I just don't use them as often,.
5wt...3
7wt....3
9wt....2

This is a somewhat conservative count. I'm sure that there's others that I'm forgetting

 

[brookfieldangler]

I have an odd number of even rods and an even number of odd rods.

 

[Guest1]

I have a pretty fairly even number of both. I am missing an 11 wt. single hand rod having skipped from 10 to 12.

 

[jaybo41]

To get to the point, both. I started with a 590 and then got a 7 for Steelhead, then went down to 4's & 3's. For trout, I use the lightest wt line I can get away with given the the type of stream I'm fishing and conditions that day. Since I have found myself mostly fish spring creeks for smaller fish, I tend to stick to 3's and 4's.

My quiver is pretty much a 2 trick pony for steelhead, either a 6wt switch or a 7wt single hand rod. I need to expand on the larger sticks.

 

[mikel]

If we have learned anything reading all these threads about rod capabilities and manufacturer marketing, it is that a stated rod weight may have little to do with how a rod fishes. I have (too many) 4 very different 5wts. Two are Sages and fish like 6 wts. 1 is a Redington CT and fishes like a 4. I also have a couple of 3wts, 1 of which fishes like a 4.

I guess my point is that a guy should acquire rods that fit the water, fish and style that makes sense for him....not worrying so much about odd or even numbers and more about how each rod fits a need...

2 more cents, I guess...but I think it's counter productive to search for guidelines that don't fit with reality. -Mike

 

[Pocono]

If we have learned anything reading all these threads about rod capabilities and manufacturer marketing, it is that a stated rod weight may have little to do with how a rod fishes. I have (too many) 4 very different 5wts. Two are Sages and fish like 6 wts. 1 is a Redington CT and fishes like a 4. I also have a couple of 3wts, 1 of which fishes like a 4.

I guess my point is that a guy should acquire rods that fit the water, fish and style that makes sense for him....not worrying so much about odd or even numbers and more about how each rod fits a need...

2 more cents, I guess...but I think it's counter productive to search for guidelines that don't fit with reality. -Mike

I wasn't looking for guidelines, I was just interested in personal preferences, since the number of time that I fish an even numbered rod is very low.

I think that, like a lot of people, I started with a 9'0" 5 wt. (one with good backbone; a Sage Z-Axis; perhaps the reason why I never really felt that I needed a 6 wt. for streamers), then I went down to a shorter 3 wt. for smaller trout in tight, bushy situations, then up to a 7 wt. for Smallmouths. Stripers and Bones fit well, for me, with a 9 wt. And that's, essentially it. Just preference; in my case, reflected by the type of fishing that I was doing.

I agree with one of the posters who said that odd or even doesn't really matter; you should fish the rod that's right for the situation that you encounter. I also agree with you that some 5 wts. cast like 6 wts. etc.

So, no right or wrong here from my standpoint; I was just interested to see if anyone else ended up where I seem to have landed. And it looks, from the posts so far, like most people favor the exact opposite; the even number rods.

Pocono

 

[riverbilly]

When I head out for a day on the river I take a 5wt and an 8wt. I can catch anything on the river with the 5wt, but use the 8wt for big flies or windy days or in the spots where I need to pull bigger fish out of heavy cover quick.
Even though I use the 8wt a lot, I seem to catch my bigger fish on the 5wt.

A few weeks ago I did take out the 4wt and the 8wt. You can cover alot of ground with those two. Biggest bass of the day (or would have been) hit a little wooly I was using to bream fish on the 4wt.

So I guess I'm an odd even guy.

 

[mboyd]

Odds for fresh, evens for salt.
3 weight for small streams. A fast 5 and a softer 5 cover most scenarios for trout

The 8, 10, 12 combo for salt covers all I ever need.

Although I have others to fill in the gaps, I could live with the odd for fresh even for salt rule if it were made into law.

 

[Sage & Abel]

I use 3's, 4's, 5's, 6's, 7's and 8's. So there is no odd/even factor here at all. Never thought of it for that matter.

 

[standman]

It appears to be pretty much a split for me. Of the 24 rods I fished with last year, 13 were "odd" and 11 were "even". However, some of the "odd" were fished "even" and some of the "even" were fished "odd"; more the former than the latter.

 

[biggie_robs]

Interesting question! I seem to be more of an even kinda guy; I'm usually fishing a 4, but I take out the 2 a good bit for brookies and panfish, and have a 6 I like for billy bigmouths. Every now and then I'll wander to the one local urban pond that isn't infested with joggers and bring the 5'9" glass 3wt for some stunted bream, and even less often I'll try for some LMB in local (jogger-infested) waters with a fast-action 5wt--usually during or immediately after a rainstorm.

But for the most part I gravitate towards a couple of different 4wt rods, or my 2 or my 6. I hadn't really thought about the even/odd aspect before, but I had recognized my tendency towards 4 weights.

In the salt, which I fish irregularly, I use an 8 or a 10, but I've got a 9wt spey blank that's sitting second in the queue for a build that I'm looking forward to trying out.