I like to fish smaller streams and so far all of them have canopies above and they dare me to cast anything but side arm. I was looking at 6ft6in rods with moderate to slow actions. I tried to fish a small stream with an 8ft6in rod and did it mostly with just the leader. Its been about 40 yrs since I last fished a stream so going in I just to re-learn everything. I fished the "Holy waters" of the s. branch of the ausable river(mich)and caught 2 brookies on wet/dry combo. wet scored first in the am and the dry in the afternoon. I think I'm leaning towards a shorter rod than I have as I mentioned above. thanks for the input so far. looking forward to reading the responses if I can figure out how to access them. did I mention I am not at all kompewter savy lol . that makes my my wife nuts

Really tight situations require a roll cast. The trade-off for a short fly rod is a big drop in the ability to roll cast. Personally, I would gladly trade the loss of 12 inches of rod length for the ability to roll cast 4 or 5 feet farther.

Don't know if you can but wading in to get away from the trees might be an option

Bill - willierods.com

Use a 4 1/2 foot spinning rods, and you will be able to make all of the necessary casts that you need.

Use a bubble float and a fly at the end of the leader and you will be good to go.

Lots of options for fishing besides a conventional fly rod.



Be safe

I built several 3/4 wt 7' fly rods on Tiger Eye blanks for the small streams of the Smokey Mountains and North Georgia. Of course, Tiger Eyes are no longer available, but the rods work great and everyone loves them. If you are on a small stream, you don't normally need to roll cast very far, so the 7' rods work fine. If it really gets tight you can always use a bow and arrow cast if you can avoid digging the fly into your finger (learned by experience). I haven't found a blank I like as well as the Tiger Eyes, but there are a number of 7' blanks out there. The 6'6" blanks may also work, but I have always had trouble casting and mending with them.

lots of good advice guys. I'll do my best to apply it. Has anybody used matrix rod blanks.MHX blanks are on the short list for a first time build and if I decide to build up a 6ft6" rod w a slow response to possibly mid/fast for a better roll cast on small streams. If there are any blanks not on the radar(catalogues) let me know. Just one observational question and it has to do with the vast difference in fly line price anywhere from as little as 8$ to 100$. When I'm casting no more than 30/40ft for me it is hard to figure out what is the better choice. in between I'm guessing. the learning curve has been daunting after a 40 yr absence.

as to line wgts, is it possible to go lower in line wgt and still make a good cast. I'm guessing that it would take a bit of practice

Matrix flyrod blanks are an extremely good buy. They perform as well as many higher priced blanks. As far as fly line is concerned you do not need a high priced one for what you want to do. Most flylines in the $35-$50 range will work very well, stay away from the really cheap stuff because the line coating will start to flake off within a year.

Try the SP600 from Batson or the equivant from Amtak (the number escapes me). While classified as a spinning rod, the blank has no idea what you are using it for. I fish a small trout stream in the southern part of Michigan. Most of it is tighter even than the south branch of the Au Sable. Trying to overhand cast Any rod over 6' is next to impossible most of the time. However; a 5' ultralight built into a fly rod works out perfect. Most of your casts will still be roll casts and in tight quarters but most good trout water around me is anyway. You will have to experiment with line size a little since most of your casts will be much shorter than normal but it will allow you the opportunity to fly fish waters that you can't normally.

Good Luck,
Vic

Phil Ewanicki: If I understand you correctly a 6ft6in rod doesn't roll cast as well as say a 7ft6in rod. Does the stiffness or action play a part in the roll cast? I've been practicing the roll cast in the back yard with mixed results. The fly, more often than not falls in a heap. I have orvis' book and read it over and still have so so result. In a stream where it gets a bit close is one action and length of rod better in that situation. thanks in advance

Robert,
As with many things, you could likely get better with your casting, if you could spend some on the water time with a person who has the knowledge and experience that you wish to learn.

Often, a person with experience can make a couple of key observations and suggest a couple of changes that will make great improvements for you.

Be safe

Roll casts like spey casting are anchored casts which means the line has the be in the water with most of the line in front of you and a loop of line slack behind you to perform the cast. In the water it's night and day compared to your yard, 80-90% more efficient.