7 foot Orvis Blank
Back in the days of BG (before graphite) a rod of either bamboo or fiberglass rarely exceeded 8 ft in length and was still referred to as a trout rod. At 8 ft rods of glass and bamboo, for the most part, begin to slow down, losing the crispness of the more popular shorter rods. The "oddball" length of 7 1/2 feet was a successful attempt by American rod makers of the early 20th century to squeeze out a few more inches of length and still have that "dry fly action" which was becoming all the rage.
7ft Glass Fenwick
My first quality rod was a 7ft Fenwick of 5/6wt and I caught a billion trout with it casting everything from heavy nymphs and streamers in the Spring to small dries on Summer evenings. I spent hours on brush choked sections of the Squannacook beating the overhanging foliage by keeping my casts short and low, and easy thing to do with a 7ft rod.
Then came graphite and before you knew it we were casting 9 foot fast rods that quickly morphed into 10 and 11ft rods. These sticks work great on big water BUT not so great on the close confines of smaller to mid size rivers. One only has to look into the trees that overhang the Swift to see the miles of leader material, strike indicators and countless flies stuck in the branches to know that something is wrong. First, it is not a stretch to say that the most popular fly rod length on the Swift (and the Squanncook for sure) is nine feet and that's the problem. Why is fly rod nation fishing a long rod on a smaller stream? Better line control?? Give me a break. Anything 8ft and smaller is easily enough length for a small stream. I haven't put a rod over 8ft on the Swift in a few years now, using either a 7ft or 8ft graphite or glass in the Winter and then bamboo from 6ft to 7.5ft during the nice months.
The EB = Wide open spaces and longer rods
Let's look at the math - You are fishing a river that is basically a 100 feet across with a 10 ft fly rod. Rod length equals 10% of that river width. The next day you are fishing a river that is about 50 feet across with a 7 foot rod. You now have a rod that covers about 14% of that river's width. Your line control should be better than the day before, right?? Plus you wouldn't have to climb and trees or bushes to retrieve your fly.
Rivers like the EB and most of the Millers and the Ware are wide open and allow you to use a longer rod. Rivers like the West and Middle Branches of the Westfield fish very well with a shorter rod. Arm yourself appropriately!!
Booking A Trip
There has been a definite uptick in guiding reservations this past week. If we can string together three days of dry, 60 degree weather I will be swamped with requests which is what I want. Remember - first come, first served with no down payment!!!!!
Ken
10 comments:
Good view on matching the rod to the river. Lee Wulff caught big salmon from big rivers with short rods although I think he was extreme.
TG
Not to pick nits, but from years experience swinging wets, a long rod (9-10 foot) gets more line off the water and allows for better mending all things considered. Now for Drys I think a light 8 foot rod gets it done better for repetitive casting. Also if you need to you can choke up on a rod to make it shorter.
Anonymous 6:04,
You are right.
Anonymous 6:19,
Who's talking about "more line off the water and better mending"? Not me! I'm talking about keeping your flies out of the trees but since you've changed the subject I will say (with 50 years of experience with swinging wets) that the rod should match the river (shorter rods for smaller water and longer rods for wider rivers.
Chocking up is for baseball bats, not flyrods. Never, NEVER grip a flyrod ABOVE the cork unless you want to break it.
Ken
Ken,
I have posted here before that I have one of those 7' Fenwicks. Bought back in the 70's from Herm's Sporting Goods in downtown Springfield, Pfleuger reel to go with it. I haven't used it any since I bought the Redington 8'6" which I love, but that old Fenwick will see some action this year. I am going to spend more time on small streams this year, and that rod is perfect for it.
Sam
Sam,
My old Fenwick (purchased at Spag's in Shrewsbury back in the 70's) is fairly indestructible. I took it out on an icy day in January instead of a graphite rod and it worked well.
Ken
My older 7.5-foot, 3wt Orvis Superfine is one of my favorite rods to cast, and makes me seek out smaller waters. Perfect for the Swift, especially down toward Cady Lane. 8.5-foot 4wt is my backup when salmon are in. 9ft 5wt for the EB and at certain spots on the Millers is the same rod I take to Montana to fish the Madison. But overall I'm trending away from the "fast" rods to softer, shorter, and just more fun rods to cast.
Hi Ken,
Just wanted to write to thank you for posting about Rick Taupier/Swift River Fly Rods, a while back. I found an old bamboo rod for $25.00 a few months ago and reached out to Rick to see if he'd be interested in looking it over to determine if it was worth putting any money into to refurbish and fix(it needed a reel seat, at the very least). Apparently I stumbled onto a pretty good deal, as after taking a quick look at the stick Rick informed me that it was a Heddon Black Beauty and was in really decent shape! Besides the missing reel seat, someone had re-lacquered the rod which needed to be sanded down a bit, and the ferrules needed a cleaning, but beyond that the rod was fishable. Rick had it for about a month, did everything that was needed, even re-scripting the standard Heddon information, as well as matching it with a period specific reel. It looks great, casts like a dream, and it didn't cost an arm and leg!
Again, just wanted to say thanks for the heads up about Rick and to give him a huge endorsement to your fellow readers. The trip to his place just to check out the showroom is worth the gas money!
PCG,
Funny that you should be writing about Rick. When I read your comment I was just getting home from buying a rod from Rick. It's a 9ft 3pc 2 tip Heddon Model 20 for a 6/7 line set up. I intend to use it for lake run browns and steelhead in the Fall and possibly shad this Spring. Heddon made the best of the factory rods and the Black Beauty is a real find.
John,
My Swift and Ware River rods rarely exceed 8 ft and have mostly been in the 7.5ft range. Like you said they are more fun to cast.
Ken
John,
Ken
Ran into Tom from Boston down on Cady lane. Unfortunately for us, the place was void of fish. Not a sign, didn't see a thing. Was still a nice day, and good to meet Tom. Tom, it was great meeting you. And ask Ken for his miller's river guide. Hope you found some fish when you moved back upriver.
Best
Joe
Same to you, Joe.
Regrettably, the rest of my afternoon went just like my morning. I didn't see a single rise, receive a single strike or land a single fish. I threw some small streamers, a scud, soft hackles and nymphs. Very tough day, indeed. But great weather. I was told by 2 other anglers that the Pipe "was packed" all day, and when I walked back to my car in late afternoon there were 7 anglers there. Two spincasters told me they were catching fish, and another fly fisher said he took one rainbow on a size 20 midge.
Best,
Tom from Boston
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