Newbie

[SethWolf]

I am just getting into fly fishing and was wondering what weight rod i should get. I plan to fish the Kern River and Deschutes Rivers. Any help is appreciated.

[3springs]

You should consider 9' - 5 wt.

[tmoniz]

I have several setups. I have used a 7 foot 3 and an 8 foot 4 on the Kern.
Never fished the Deschutes, but if I were going to I would use a 9 ft 5 or 6.

[feelinducky]

A 5 wt is a good all around rod for California. I've never fished the Deschutes.

[dwagoner]

I just scored on two rods from a guy in our local fly fish club, 3wt and 5wt, for most fishing youll hear 5wt but depending on where you fish and what size 5wt is pretty good. Only time you may want smaller is if you fish smaller creeks and streams where the fish dont get much more than say 2lbs or so,thats why i got both. I fish june lake and areas where there in smaller streams so everything ive been told the 3wt would be perfect for that. and if you fish for big fish you may wanna get bigger than 5wt.

Where do you fish and whats the size of alot of your catch?

[tmoniz]

Normally on the Owens, Rush Creek, and the Walker I use either the 3 wt or the 4.
If the wind kicks up I switch to an 8'6" 5wt DT.
I also have used the 4 wt on the Kern and at Piru.
It's hard to turn a good sized Trout with the 3 and 4.
Last big one I landed on the Owens sorta made me run and jump over things I didn't think my short ass could clear safely.
Better than a ride at Disney Land though.

[map]

I can tell you what I use in the Eastern Sierra with dry flies. My favorite is a 9 foot 2-piece G.Loomis GL3 in a 5 weight. (not the low cost GL2 version) The fly line is just as important as the fly rod, so I use the Orvis 6 weight HY-FLOAT Extra Fly Line. That setup will load up on the back cast and pause for a second to allow me to aim.

I have a bundle mediocre of fly rods stored under my boy’s bed that wont do that.