Introduction

In the fishing world, an angler can become overwhelmed by the vast selection of rods and reels they can use. For this blog post, we will be focusing on the topic of rods and which rod an individual should choose for their fly fishing needs. Something that I will briefly mention here that does not apply to spin fishing, is that many times your reel is secondary to the rod. Let me clarify here so you do not think I am against having a nice fly reel. With fly fishing, reels many times serve simply as a line holder. When fighting a fish, many fly fishers will have their drag set up to where they are manually handling the drag duties themselves. Additionally, while casting, they are pulling out the line by hand, so all the reel is doing in that situation is spinning and throwing the line out. While fighting a fish, I for one only reel in when I am needing to get the line out of my way. When it comes to actually pulling the fish in, I am pulling the entire time with my hand, because it is giving me better control of the fight itself. I will discuss fighting a fish in a different post, but I wanted to make a special point to say that it is more important to have a nice quality fly rod, than having a nice quality fly reel. 

Length: 

When it comes to the length of your fly rod, it is no secret that a fly rod is substantially longer than your average fishing pole. With average lengths ranging from 7ft to over 10ft, picking the appropriate length for your fishing needs can be difficult. Furthermore, they are much more sensitive than that of your average fishing pole. When choosing the length of your fly rod, the three most important considerations are what type of fish will you be catching, what type of area will you be fishing and what type of flies do you plan on using. 

As a general guideline when trout fishing, any type of small wild water I will use my 7 foot 6-inch rod. Unless someone plans on Euro nymphing which is another topic for another time, I see no reason for a longer length in small tight conditions. With many small streams, there will be overhanging trees, holes that you can literally step across, and fish that will fit in the palm of your hand so I find an 8 foot+ to be unnecessary, but it's a personal preference really. When it comes to larger more wide-open water such as the water that many times receive trout stockings, then one would be expected to move on up into the 9-foot length (my rod preference). For this type of water, it is not uncommon to see an individual using longer lengths such as 9'6 and 10 footers These rules are not set in stone or in the official fly rules dictionary, but they are recommendations for what I believe will give you the best chances for success. Having said that, if you have been told or taught to use a 10-foot fly rod in small creeks and 7 weights in stocked trout water, do what you are comfortable with and what you feel puts you in the best position to succeed. 

Weight: 

Now we are on a topic that is slightly different from using normal rods. Whereas standard spin rods will be categorized on the basis of ultralight, medium-light, medium, heavy and etc, fly rods are based on a number. The weight classification begins with 0 which is the lightest rod at your disposable and the weight goes all the way up to 14. As general guidelines, I would suggest 0-4 for wild trout in smaller creeks and in many cases, a 4 may be excessive. For larger trout, anything in the 3-6 would be seen as acceptable and normal, however many will choose to go with a smaller rod to provide more of a challenge and finesse approach. 5-9 weights would be recommended for bass, steelhead, and throwing bigger streamers in general. Anything in the 10+ range will typically be geared more towards ocean fish and larger freshwater fish such as muskie and carp. The weight of your fly rod will naturally dictate the types of flies you are throwing and how far you are able to cast. For this reason, it is important to understand what your rod is capable of handling in addition to where you'll be fishing and what you'll be fishing for. 

There are other elements such as material, grips, flex, and action that will be involved in selecting your fly rod. However, for the introductory fly-fisher, they are not essential elements when picking your first fly rod for general use.  Many fly fishing purists will want to use a bamboo rod for nostalgia. Many others will opt to use fiberglass due to the challenge and experience of fighting fish. Me personally, I feel like that a basic graphite rod will do you well in nearly any situation and that would be my recommendation for someone picking their first rod. The ideal rod? It depends on who you are and what you're doing. As a suggestion from me, in the basic trout fishing world, an 8-foot, 4 weight graphite rod should suit you in almost any situation. 

Price: 

This is the final element I'm going to discuss and its one I do not feel like is mentioned enough and that is the price. Anybody who tells you that you cannot have success without a $500 setup is full of beans. Everybody's wallet is different and everybody's priorities are different. My first fly rod and reel I received was for my birthday (pictured up-top) when I was approximately 12-13 years old and purchased for less than $200 combined. To this day I am still using that rod for my small creek fishing and wouldn't trade it for anything. As you become more experienced in fly fishing, then you may want to move up so to speak and really upgrade your setup. But for the introductory fly-fisher, find an affordable rod that fits your needs. Do not invest hundreds into a hobby that you may not even be completely sure you want to pursue. Let it be known, I'm not saying to buy the cheapest rod on the market. Find a well-built budget rod/reel, most likely in the $150-$200 range and get out there and fish! Find out what you like and don't like. Then, if you so choose, make your next rod and reel purchase a truly special one.