I use my 3wt St Croix Avid , on small rivers that have smallies I use a St. Croix 6wt with a 7wt line , on large rivers like the Upper Potomac I use my St. Croix 8wt .
Where do you live in South FL? I just got back from a trip to Rolands in Clewiston fishing Gills and Bass. My mother in law lives in Okeechobee and I fish from there.
unHOOKum
Terry
Permalink Reply by Eric on August 24, 2009 at 7:02pm
Hey Charles,
I use a 6 wt 9' Temple Fork (I only have one rod). But I absolutely love it and I feel like you can use it in all kinds of situations. Especially with really nice size gills and even the occasional bass. I also use 6 wt Rio Gold fly line with it which I REALLY like. The combination is great for me. I can see how using a smaller weight would be fun as well.
Charles - I use a 4 weight only b/c that is the same rod I use for trout. It works really well for me. However, if I was going to purchase a rod specifically for bluegill, I might go with a 5 weight to help cast a little bit larger fly as well as be prepared for any bass I may encounter.
A 2 or 3 wt Temple Forks is an outstanding rod with an amazing feel to it and very reasonable priced and guaranteed for life. Size your flyline up 1 size for best casting results.
I just recently purchased a Cabela's "Wind River" series 4 weight rod(7'-6") with a "3 Rivers" reel....absolutely love it!....came with a weight forward line and a tapered leader....sure casts nice and landed a ton of gills with it already.....all released of course....
4 to 5 wt rods ,pushing 8 to 10 wt dbl taper floating line ,although i do have one 5 wt loaded with 11 wt. these weights in rods and line are what i use all the time,as i fish under timber i only use a roll cast and the heavy line allows for fast line speeds and tight loops.
keeping the fly low is a must under low cover,i have found that over loading these rods with heavy line ,keeps the loops tight and low.in open water i like a 4wt .