The Trout Rod selection made simpler. Choosing a trout fly rod, for the beginner and expert alike can be overwhelming. There is a seem...
The Trout Rod selection made simpler. Choosing a trout fly rod, for the beginner and expert alike can be overwhelming. There is a seemingly endless supply of them, with various credentials, claims, and everyone has their favorite. Trying to keep this simple we will focus on four trout rods in our Big Y Fly Co showroom. The four rods are in order of cost Redington Vapen, Big Y Nano, Redington Classic Trout, and Drift Products Rogue.
Before we dissect them, a little bit about fly rod specs in general. Fly Rod weight is basically the overall capability of the rod, it also in general corresponds to the weight of the fly line that works best with the rod. The length of the fly rod is pretty self-explanatory but also good to know. Where it gets tricky is the action. In general rod actions run from fast action to slow action, with moderate and moderate-fast in between for good measure. As you can see from the graphic below, courtesy of Redington, fast action means a more rigid rod with only the tip bending, and as you go down the chart more and more of the rod bends for a slower action throughout the casting process. The advantages of faster action, is further casts, ability to land bigger fish, and ability to throw the line into a stiff wind with authority. They require a honed technique that even a novice caster can master in one or two outings, and shortly be throwing the tightest loops. A 5 weight fast action will also fish larger and be more versatile than other actions.
Moderate Fast action is often called the sweet spot, with still a lot of punch to cast far and into the wind, yet slightly slower for easier more delicate presentations and a little more protection of delicate tippets when fighting that monster fish. This action is probably easier to learn on and more forgiving for the novice.
Moderate actions were once the norm for trout anglers, they slow everything down even more and allow for some delicate presentations with the cost of distance and some frustrating windy afternoons having the fly come right back at you instead of landing right above that slurping trout. Slow actions are more so of everything written above and are probably really only suitable for small creeks, but suited extremely well for small creeks at that.
For trout fishing the 5 weight rod is the most popular, well suited for small to large streams, with 9’ being the most common length for the same reasons. However going down to 2 weight for small creeks and up to 6 weight or even 7 weight for large rivers prone to windy afternoons, and fighting large trout in fast water is very common. In general though most trout rods are 3 weight to 6 weight in the 8 to 9 foot range.
Redington Vapen is Redington’s award winning premium trout rod with some very nice features. A fast action rod, it is the fastest action of all the rods mentioned here. Whether you love or hate the looks of the golf grip, it is definitely a joy to fish, and frankly a very nice touch.
Big Y Nano Fly Rod is also a fast action rod using extremely high modulus IM 12, impregnated with silica nano that makes there rods extremely strong. The lightest weight rod of the four mentioned here, it is perfectly balanced and built with high end guides, handles, and reel seat.
Redington Classic Trout is a true classic trout rod, great for smaller streams, casting dry flies, and delicate casts. A moderate to even moderate slow action that brings a timeless dimension to your fly fishing day.
Drift Products Rogue Fly Rod- A very versatile moderate fast action rod, in 5 weight only. This rod can handle all aspects of trout fly fishing, if you are only going to buy one fly rod for trout fishing this is probably it.
