Looking for Small Creek FLY ROD

[bucky86]

I'm officially addicted.

I currently have a 9' 5wt.

Looking for a 3wt for small creek fishing, and most of the fishing I do will be creeks/smaller rivers with smaller trout.

What are your thoughts on the

376-4 PULSE

386-4 PULSE (Do i go a bit longer?)
or the

382-4 LITTLE ONE (big price difference) Explain for a simpleton the major difference between these rods.

 

[rsagebrush]

It would be hard to beat an Orvis superfine in graphite for that, some of my favorites. Also a Campenella UDA, I have a 7'7" 6pce 3 wt that is superb.

There is a pretty big list out there for what your looking for though.

 

[comeonavs]

I fish small streams with 3wts for the great majority of my fishing. Just my opinion as someone who hasn't cast the Pulse or the little ONE but my opinion would be none of the above.

In a short light rod I prefer more of a med-fast profile as opposed to a fast profile as sage advertises the Pulse. If looking new Sage Approach in the 7' model seems to fit the bill better. My true advice would be find a 7'10" TXL or TXL-f used. They were the rod the Little One replaced and they were Med Fast where the Little ONE is "Fast". I have a 9' 3wt ONE and love it on big open water but hate it on small streams, its to fast for in close limited distance work.

Also to make sure were on the same page small stream to me means stream maybe 25-30' wide at its widest, usually a lot of foliage on the banks. Lots of seams and pockets maybe 5-10' wide that your fishing and avg depth of 1-3' deep.

My favorites for this are my

376-4 ZXL (medium action)
7'10" TXL in both 3 and 4 wt
7'10" TXL-f in a 1wt


So the suggestion above of a Orvis Superfine is a great recommendation as well.


For me fast rods work better where casting 25+ feet of floating line

 

[dean_mt]

Solid advice above. The Superfine is classic, small stream rod.

The Sage Circa is reportedly a very nice, full-flex, light line rod. And are yet another discontinued rod to be found on closeout. This is not a recommendation as I have never cast one, just another suggestion to look into.

 

[bucky86]

Thanks for the advice! I see you're in Broomfield? I will be moving to Boulder in the next 2 years, so this rod would ideally for me to sneak out and fish Boulder Creek. Would the 7' be the best for this?

My fiancé are going to be visitingthis summer and ill be bringing my fly rod with me for "research"

---------- Post added at 03:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:46 PM ----------

I fish small streams with 3wts for the great majority of my fishing. Just my opinion as someone who hasn't cast the Pulse or the little ONE but my opinion would be none of the above.

In a short light rod I prefer more of a med-fast profile as opposed to a fast profile as sage advertises the Pulse. If looking new Sage Approach in the 7' model seems to fit the bill better. My true advice would be find a 7'10" TXL or TXL-f used. They were the rod the Little One replaced and they were Med Fast where the Little ONE is "Fast". I have a 9' 3wt ONE and love it on big open water but hate it on small streams, its to fast for in close limited distance work.

Also to make sure were on the same page small stream to me means stream maybe 25-30' wide at its widest, usually a lot of foliage on the banks. Lots of seams and pockets maybe 5-10' wide that your fishing and avg depth of 1-3' deep.

My favorites for this are my

376-4 ZXL (medium action)
7'10" TXL in both 3 and 4 wt
7'10" TXL-f in a 1wt


So the suggestion above of a Orvis Superfine is a great recommendation as well.


For me fast rods work better where casting 25+ feet of floating line

Thanks for the advice! I see you're in Broomfield? I will be moving to Boulder in the next 2 years, so this rod would ideally for me to sneak out and fish Boulder Creek. Would the 7' be the best for this?

My fiancé are going to be visitingthis summer and ill be bringing my fly rod with me for "research"

 

[moosejuice]

My vote is either the Orvis Superfine Carbon or Douglas Upstream. Check the Douglas out, they are really making some fantastic rods.

 

[triggw]

In a short light rod I prefer more of a med-fast profile as opposed to a fast profile as sage advertises the Pulse. If looking new Sage Approach in the 7' model seems to fit the bill better.

I would agree to avoid a fast action rod for this application. But the Orvis Superfine is the opposite end of the spectrum. Unless you just like the sloooow action, I would personally look for something in the middle.

Then you get to the question of length. There's a concept of the very short "small creek rod" (i.e. 7' Sage Approach). But you give up a lot of reach with a short rod, and reach is everything on the creeks I fish in Colorado. You'll have to consider the situation where you fish, but unless you're really trying to cast under a bunch of cover a lot of the time, IMO anything under 8 feet is too short.

My 3wt small creek rod is an Orvis Hydros at 8' 4", which I find to be very handy and a nice all around compromise. Orvis has a Recon in that configuration. My only experience with Recon is in 6 wt (which I really like), so I can't tell you much about the rod, but it's in the same price range as the Pulse, and I would sure check it out.

 

[bucky86]

I would agree to avoid a fast action rod for this application. But the Orvis Superfine is the opposite end of the spectrum. Unless you just like the sloooow action, I would personally look for something in the middle.

Then you get to the question of length. There's a concept of the very short "small creek rod" (i.e. 7' Sage Approach). But you give up a lot of reach with a short rod, and reach is everything on the creeks I fish in Colorado. You'll have to consider the situation where you fish, but unless you're really trying to cast under a bunch of cover a lot of the time, IMO anything under 8 feet is too short.

My 3wt small creek rod is an Orvis Hydros at 8' 4", which I find to be very handy and a nice all around compromise. Orvis has a Recon in that configuration. My only experience with Recon is in 6 wt (which I really like), so I can't tell you much about the rod, but it's in the same price range as the Pulse, and I would sure check it out.

They make an 8' 6" Sage Approach...would that be best?

 

[comeonavs]

Bucky

When are definitely singing from the same sheet of music here. I fish both South Boulder and Boulder Creek regularly. As well as Big Thompson and Glacier in Rocky Mt Park for 99% of my fishing.

When I fish SBC I take my 7'10" TXL's. When I fish Boulder Creek its a bit smaller so I take my 376-4 ZXL. Big T in Rocky mt park I take all of the above as well as a 389-4 Circa and 490-4 Z-axis. All depends on time of year up there and what I am casting and weather.

To answer your question though , no I don't think 8'6" is to long at all and honestly if you're going to have one 3wt thats what I would get.


With regard to the Circa since it was mentioned, I love mine but for me it is a dry fly only specialty rod. It basically gets worked like a rented mule in August / September when its dry fly nirvana around here.


If I was starting from scratch around here and getting one rod I would probably get the 486-4 Radian. Its fast enough to battle the wind and throw double nymphs but enough feel and delicacy to fish size 20 dries and midges...but its expensive.

Also yes the 8'6" Approach would be a good swiss army knife around here. I had its predecessor a few years back and it was a great rod. My buddy who has one rod has the 9' 4wt version of that and he fishes it everywhere.

 

[sweetandsalt]

If you want a deeper flexing rod the Douglas Upstream is hard to beat (Superfine and Circa fans should really try these). For a more progressive medium action check out G.Loomis Whisper Creek and med. fast, Streamdance GLX. I have not cast a Little ONE but for a quicker small rod, that is where I would look.

 

[bucky86]

Bucky

When are definitely singing from the same sheet of music here. I fish both South Boulder and Boulder Creek regularly. As well as Big Thompson and Glacier in Rocky Mt Park for 99% of my fishing.

When I fish SBC I take my 7'10" TXL's. When I fish Boulder Creek its a bit smaller so I take my 376-4 ZXL. Big T in Rocky mt park I take all of the above as well as a 389-4 Circa and 490-4 Z-axis. All depends on time of year up there and what I am casting and weather.

To answer your question though , no I don't think 8'6" is to long at all and honestly if you're going to have one 3wt thats what I would get.


With regard to the Circa since it was mentioned, I love mine but for me it is a dry fly only specialty rod. It basically gets worked like a rented mule in August / September when its dry fly nirvana around here.


If I was starting from scratch around here and getting one rod I would probably get the 486-4 Radian. Its fast enough to battle the wind and throw double nymphs but enough feel and delicacy to fish size 20 dries and midges...but its expensive.

Also yes the 8'6" Approach would be a good swiss army knife around here. I had its predecessor a few years back and it was a great rod. My buddy who has one rod has the 9' 4wt version of that and he fishes it everywhere.

Thank you. I'm seriously considering pulling the trigger on the Approach in the 8'6". The price makes it a no-brainer almost.

 

[deceiverbob]

You might want to take a look at St. Croix's Avid series. It has 3 wts from 6' to 7'-9" and 4 wts from 6'-6" to 9'. They are "moderate action" rods and are $300 or less. I have the 6'-6" 4 wt. I bought it as a creek rod for panfish and small bass. I don't really fish creeks much anymore, but once in while I'll give it a workout in the salt. A 14" redfish feels like a monster on it

 

[bluechipfish]

I'll probably get roasted BUT- https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Claw-Featherlight-Weight-Yellow/dp/B00019NAOS

This is what I used last summer for the headwater of the Roaring Fork. I have an 8'6 sage 5wt that's great for other stuff, but found my cheapo 6'6 eagle claw glass rod to be super awesome for the tight situations of the small water of the fork. It casts well and is accurate, and is cheap. Some of what I had to do to fish that water included light bouldering, and lots of tromping through brush. I'm usually a "gear snob" and wouldnt think a $25 rod would be any good, but I caught a ton of fish on that rod and had tons of fun doing it.

But, I also only have probably 60 trout fishing days EVER under my belt.. so maybe I'm wrong.

 

[triggw]

They make an 8' 6" Sage Approach...would that be best?

I agree that 8 1/2 isn't too long. I have an 8 1/2 ft 4 wt Sage SLT I love. I normally fish it on streams that are a little larger--Frying Pan--but it would work well in the park. I also think the Redington Hydrogen looks pretty interesting for this kind of application (although I haven't touched one), but they have nothing between 7 1/2 and 9. That seems to be a pretty consistent story for both Sage and Redington, except for the Approach and Pulse.

 

[huronfly]

No ones going to suggest fiberglass? IMO there is nothing better for small creeks. Delicacy, great feel, bends to the cork on a tiny fish, what more do you want?

My echo glass 6'9" 3 weight is a treat.

Edit: bluechipfish is on the money!

 

[tcorfey]

I grew up fishing small creeks back east and continue to this day throughout CA.

My small stream rods are:

6' Bamboo rod I made as a kid 3wt (mostly used for nostalgia)
6' Fiberglass Grainger blank I made as a kid 2wt (mostly used for nostalgia)
6' Fiberglass Redington Butterstick 2wt (small dries with no wind)
7.5' Orvis Midge Bamboo 5wt (excellant all-around rod)
7.5' Payne 100 Taper Bamboo 4wt (Dry flies and small hopper dropper)
7.5' Orvis Superfine Carbon 3wt (Good all-around rod wind can be an issue)
7.9' Sage Graphite VT2 3wt (Mostly for nymphing)
8' Targus Graphite Gary Borger Light Touch 5wt (Nymphing and large dries)

Not a big fan of longer rods in a small creek. Most casts are less than 30' and the longer rods just are not as versatile for that type of fishing in my opinion. The only exception would be on a meadow creek with few trees/bushes to deal with but even then I still prefer the shorter rod as I am usually on my knees and there is less rod waving around in the air to frighten the fish. I also have the GBLT in a 8.5' 5wt which I use on larger rivers. The 8' is the better rod on the smaller rivers.

The Orvis Midge, the Superfine Carbon, Sage VT2 or GBLT can fire off a longer cast at will if needed for a large pool or if the wind comes up while in a canyon or field. The Sage VT2 and GBLT are faster rods also, so I use those when doing a lot of nymphing.

I was forced to fish a small wooded creek with my 9' 4wt last year because I did not pack a shorter rod and the bigger stream I planned on fishing had too many people on it. Really annoying for me catching my tip on trees and bushes while walking/stalking or when trying to get the right cast in to a tight spot. The 9' worked as I caught lots of fish but I was worried about breaking the tip due to the length. I knew I had better rods for that application.

Regards,

Tim C.

 

[mcnerney]

Here is a good review on the Douglas Upstream by our sponsor Trident Fly Fishing

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfTq8_XwNrE[/ame]

 

[cletus]

A big thumbs up to the Sage TXL-F in the 3710 and the 4710! I also use a Winston TMF (8' rod), a CBarclay 723 glass rod, and just picked up Sage Circa 379 at a ridiculous close out price.

You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a lot of great small creek rods at various price points. In general, I have historically gone a little slower with my small creek rods. But the TXL-Fs (which you can still find on close out) have broadened my horizons. Some guys also go with longer rods (8'6" - 9') as they prefer the reach and the ability to flick/wrist-cast flies under low hanging branches.

Good luck!

 

[foulhook3160]

If you are looking for a medium fast small stream rod, I don't think you can do better than the Sage TXL, I have three of them and they are so sweet I don't look for any more small stream rods.
Foulhook

 

[lefever]

7ft Orvis Superfine Glass 3wt. Try to cast one before you buy. They also now make it in a 7ft 6in.