# Lightweight Saltwater Rod?



## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

I have two 8 weights I use for saltwater and a 5 weight I use for fresh, the standard beginner weights. I've been thinking about trying to lighten up in both arenas and try a 2 or 3 weight for bream, sac au lait, and small bass and a 6 or 7 for the salt. I can't make up my mind to go with the 6 or the 7. Is the 7 weight going to be much different than the 8? Would the 6 be enough if I found an upper slot/small bull red on the end of the line? I can handle bigger fish fine on fairly lightweight conventional gear, but I don't know quite how that translates to fly gear. I also read in Chico's book about using a lighter rod for delicate presentations of smaller flies at a distance, but I'm rarely in that situation. Thanks for the help.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

You really just should pick your rod based upon the prevalent fish you expect the day you are fishing. If you are targeting smaller slot fish then a 6wt is fine. And yes you can land upper slots and small bulls on a saltwater 6wt. But if you are likley to be finding upper slots and smaller bulls then do the resource a favor and use your 8 wt.

I would much rather be overgunned than undergunned, especially when the water temps get up there.

As for a recommendation - Since you already have two 8wts I would not bother with a 7 wt. I would drop down to a 6wt. Years ago the "experts" rule of thumb was to build an arsenal of even or odd weight rods. In other words a 4, 6, 8, 10 or a 3, 5, 7, 9. I still think thats a pretty solid approach. Unless of course you are flush with cash then build an arsenal of a 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16..... oh and backups....


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

ifsteve said:


> You really just should pick your rod based upon the prevalent fish you expect the day you are fishing. If you are targeting smaller slot fish then a 6wt is fine. And yes you can land upper slots and small bulls on a saltwater 6wt. But if you are likley to be finding upper slots and smaller bulls then do the resource a favor and use your 8 wt.
> 
> I would much rather be overgunned than undergunned, especially when the water temps get up there.
> 
> As for a recommendation - Since you already have two 8wts I would not bother with a 7 wt. I would drop down to a 6wt. Years ago the "experts" rule of thumb was to build an arsenal of even or odd weight rods. In other words a 4, 6, 8, 10 or a 3, 5, 7, 9. I still think thats a pretty solid approach. Unless of course you are flush with cash then build an arsenal of a 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16..... oh and backups....


Lol, when I win the lottery I'll get a meridian in every weight 6-12 and an assortment of tibor and nautilus reels to pair then with. Until then I guess I'm looking at maybe a mangrove 6 weight. Thanks for the advice.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Just keep in mind going to lower wt rods will limit what you are able to do in the wind and the patterns you can turn over. I love my 6wt but it won't punch an equivalent fly into the wind like my 8wt will. Depending on the fly pattern a 3-4 wt rod could struggle with some of the bass flies.


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## Vertigo (Jun 3, 2012)

I'd go with a 6 wt, particularly if you do a lot of blind casting. A lighter rig can make a big difference after a long day of waving it around. A 6 wt will handle a slot red without much problem. I actually use an overlined 5 wt for most of my exploring this time of year. If it's windy or you get into a school of big reds, you can always switch to your 8 wt.


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## BayStYat (Sep 12, 2012)

4wt I built. No issues throwing a crab.

Rod is a 7'9" fast action.


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

el9surf said:


> Just keep in mind going to lower wt rods will limit what you are able to do in the wind and the patterns you can turn over. I love my 6wt but it won't punch an equivalent fly into the wind like my 8wt will. Depending on the fly pattern a 3-4 wt rod could struggle with some of the bass flies.


I kinda figured that might be the case. I'm not a fan of tying knots while fishing. I'll do it if i have to, but i'd much rather have a few rods rigged with different flies/baits ready to go. so a light fly on the 6 weight and 2 other patterns on the 8 weights. I also figured I could use a 6 weight for bigger bass flies. Thanks for the tip.


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

BayStYat said:


> 4wt I built. No issues throwing a crab.
> 
> Rod is a 7'9" fast action.


I have a feeling you're a much better caster than I am.  nice work


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

Vertigo said:


> I'd go with a 6 wt, particularly if you do a lot of blind casting. A lighter rig can make a big difference after a long day of waving it around. A 6 wt will handle a slot red without much problem. I actually use an overlined 5 wt for most of my exploring this time of year. If it's windy or you get into a school of big reds, you can always switch to your 8 wt.


Thanks, Vertigo. That sounds like a plan.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

BayStYat said:


> 4wt I built. No issues throwing a crab.
> 
> Rod is a 7'9" fast action.


Nice fish....

Bay, but your short 4wt is more like a 9ft 5-6wt.

Hey PT, like the others above, I'd go with a 6wt since a 7wt would be too close to your 8's. Also get the saltwater version of the 6wt. On the bream, a 3wt would be a hoot, and the 4wt would be too close to your 5wt. Odd numbers like ifsteve said. I've caught plenty of bass on a bream bug or popper. So forget throwing a big bass bug on the 3wt. It would also make a good finesse trout (rainbows, brookies) rod.


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## jonrconner (May 20, 2015)

I'd go with a legitimate SW 6wt that is happy casting something equivalent to a Wulff Bermuda Triangle, i.e. a line that's really heavier that a regulation six.
For fresh I wouldn't go below a four, a 2 or 3 just won't work in any wind and won't throw a fly with any air resistance, they're strictly small stream rods.
BTW what lines are using on your eights, just for comparison sake?
JC


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

I use a short reddington predator 6wt for most of my bass fishing, it has a lot of backbone and can get a big fly out. The shorter rod is helpful when you have less space to cast. You can catch bass on a lighter rod but I like having some lifting power since most of the fish I catch are in or near some sort of structure or vegetation.


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

Backwater said:


> Nice fish....
> 
> Bay, but your short 4wt is more like a 9ft 5-6wt.
> 
> Hey PT, like the others above, I'd go with a 6wt since a 7wt would be too close to your 8's. Also get the saltwater version of the 6wt. On the bream, a 3wt would be a hoot, and the 4wt would be too close to your 5wt. Odd numbers like ifsteve said. I've caught plenty of bass on a bream bug or popper. So forget throwing a big bass bug on the 3wt. It would also make a good finesse trout (rainbows, brookies) rod.


Thanks, Ted.


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

jonrconner said:


> I'd go with a legitimate SW 6wt that is happy casting something equivalent to a Wulff Bermuda Triangle, i.e. a line that's really heavier that a regulation six.
> For fresh I wouldn't go below a four, a 2 or 3 just won't work in any wind and won't throw a fly with any air resistance, they're strictly small stream rods.
> BTW what lines are using on your eights, just for comparison sake?
> JC


I've got a St. Croix rio santo that's rated as a moderate fast action that I've used with a cabelas cheap sw wf8f and sa headstart wf7f (heavier than a typical 7). I've also got a st. Croix Legend Elite which had a much faster action that I didn't like with the standard wf8f I have so I got a sa mastery redfish on both 8 and 9 to try (i haven't tried them yet). Most of my casts are fairly short so I need to be able to load the rod with minimal line.


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## jonrconner (May 20, 2015)

Those lines are a half size up and front heavy so you might find that you like them for the purpose you describe.
I recommend finding a taper that suits your style and using it across all the weights that you use so that you're not constantly having to adjust your casting stroke to different head lengths and profiles. 
JC


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

el9surf said:


> Just keep in mind going to lower wt rods will limit what you are able to do in the wind and the patterns you can turn over. I love my 6wt but it won't punch an equivalent fly into the wind like my 8wt will. Depending on the fly pattern a 3-4 wt rod could struggle with some of the bass flies.


Spot on - the size of the fly does dictate what line should be matched to it. Wind is also a huge factor. I love fishing for reds with my 6 wt, but if the time the wind is up, I go with the 8. On the 6, I typically throw smaller, lighter flies than the 8. Seaducers, shrimp patterns. The 8 can turn over nearly anything in the wind and I am usually throwing something with some weight on it to get it down to the zone quick.


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

jonrconner said:


> Those lines are a half size up and front heavy so you might find that you like them for the purpose you describe.
> I recommend finding a taper that suits your style and using it across all the weights that you use so that you're not constantly having to adjust your casting stroke to different head lengths and profiles.
> JC


Thanks, JC. I'll try to do that, but I think it'd be easier to find a line I like if they weren't so darn expensive.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

Go to my Texas Sheepshead report.... The shorter guy is using a home built 9' 5 wt.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

Any of you Texas guys I would love to try out some of your favorite 6 wts. On the water, from the skiff of course.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

jonconner & ifsteve, you guys have way more experience with lighter rods than I do. So with that, you don't think pt448 can throw a small bream bug 40-50ft on a long 3wt if there is a light breeze, if any? el9surf brings up a good point, kinda like what I was mentioning about BayStYay's 4wt. If you go shorter, say a 7'6" to 8ft - 3 wt, wouldn't that have more balls to throw a good 3wt line with authority and would feel more like a 4wt?

Ted


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## jonrconner (May 20, 2015)

I haven't had a three wt for a while, I just found them too willowy, my lightest rod that I use much is an 8.5" 4wt fast action. As you say, a short three, 7.5" with a line that didn't have much of a front taper, or one that was cut back a couple of feet, coupled with a short leader might be just the thing for panfish bugs.
JC


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

If you took your normal 9ft 6 wt blank and cut a foot or 14 inches off the tip you would likely need to go up a line weight or even two to load it properly now that it is shorter and more stout. It still might be labeled a 6wt, but that doesn't mean a 6wt line is going to make it perform.

The sage bass rods are a good example of this. Their 6wt rod used to be paired with a 230gr sage bass line. The predator series is built much the same way, needing heavier line to make the rod function.


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

Backwater said:


> jonconner & ifsteve, you guys have way more experience with lighter rods than I do. So with that, you don't think pt448 can throw a small bream bug 40-50ft on a long 3wt if there is a light breeze, if any? el9surf brings up a good point, kinda like what I was mentioning about BayStYay's 4wt. If you go shorter, say a 7'6" to 8ft - 3 wt, wouldn't that have more balls to throw a good 3wt line with authority and would feel more like a 4wt?
> 
> Ted


The 3 weights I've considered are about 7.5 ft. I'll probably hold off on the 3 wt for a while. I really enjoy fishing ultra light tackle for bream, but nowadays my daughter is usually with me and she still needs a little bit of help casting the tinker bell rod so I usually don't fish my own rod. She'll probably have it down this summer, but my son turns 2 in June and I'll be getting him arod for his birthday so I'll be helping him now. If I fish solo or with grownups is usually saltwater so I think I'll try the 6 first. I'll keep those ultralight fly rod suggestions in mind for the future though. Thanks guys.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

pt448 said:


> The 3 weights I've considered are about 7.5 ft. I'll probably hold off on the 3 wt for a while. I really enjoy fishing ultra light tackle for bream, but nowadays my daughter is usually with me and she still needs a little bit of help casting the tinker bell rod so I usually don't fish my own rod. She'll probably have it down this summer, but my son turns 2 in June and I'll be getting him arod for his birthday so I'll be helping him now. If I fish solo or with grownups is usually saltwater so I think I'll try the 6 first. I'll keep those ultralight fly rod suggestions in mind for the future though. Thanks guys.


2 huh? Wow, that would be cool to see a lil tike throwing a fly rod. Get him that TFO office trainer rod or Redington's Form Game Rod. He's have fun playing with either one of them and both are around $39. I guess you can put the head of an old 5wt on it eventually and he might be able to fish with it.  Otherwise, just get him a kids close face push button spin fisher, like I did with my kids.


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## pt448 (Mar 22, 2014)

Backwater said:


> 2 huh? Wow, tat would be cool to see a lil tike throwing a fly rod. Get him that TFO office trainer rod or Redington's Form Game Rod. He's have fun playing with either one of them and both are around $39. I guess you can put the head of an old 5wt on it eventually and he might be able to fish with it.  Otherwise, just get him a kids close face push button spin fisher, like I did with my kids.


Haha, yeah I'm gonna let him pick out whatever cartoon spin caster he wants like I did for my daughter. I do have that little Reddington and I'll cast out in the backyard with the kids. They'll grab the end off the line and pretend to be fish. Good times.


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