My first two fly rod builds turned out very well; Winston Air 8-6 and Sage X 904. Now I'm going to build a good small stream rod, 7ft 6in, and have a question. Here goes: which rod action is preferred for a small stream, fast, medium or slow? I'll be fishing Tennessee, NC and North Georgia where there is plenty of vegetation on stream side and the possible need to get a cast under a limb. Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance

I assume you are going to primarily be making short casts with a light rod. If so, I suggest a moderate action, hard to load a fast action with short casts.

Old timers, even older than I, preferred faster rods for dry flies and slower rods for streamers and nymphs. Many of these guys were highly skilled fly-fishers.

A fast action rod will do anything a moderate or slow action rod will, but moderate or slow action rods cannot do what a fast action rod can.

Loading a rod is matter of having the right line on it. Fast action rods load very easily, if you're using the correct line for the distances you're fishing.

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Thanks guys, that's 2 to 1 in favor of a fast action. I've kind of got my eye on the Winston Air, as they make a 7-6 model. I'll give them a call and ask about line recommendations in order to load the rod on short casts. I'm really enjoying the 8-6 4 wt Air I've got now - nice tight loops and I'm not having to really push the line speed all that much.

I've been fishing small streams in new England for 60 years with fiber glass rods 7-6 , 3w my go to a Cortland rod I got in 1972 I have rewrapped this rod three times over the years
I have found over the years trying and building many rods, fishing small streams your not casting neer as far, much more close in, lots of over head obstructions , as in trees, cliffs on the sides
some strches are like fishing in a tunnel. you need to be creative with your casting and you can do that with a softer rod. if the day has a real strong wind problem I will pull out a faster rod.
Of corse this is all relative how small or big are your streams.

Curt

I'd also look at one of the new fast action glass blanks for small stream work. Some out there are beautiful small stream rods that roll cast and side arm cast beautifully.

Soft and fast are not mutually exclusive. Fast rods can be soft, slow rods can be stiff. Don't confuse action with power. Not the same thing.

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Started with fly rods with a cheap Martin fiberglass and about to build a Lamiglas 843 for small streams in NC. I like the extra durability and slower reaction of fiberglass especially with the shorter fly rods. If I was looking for a 7'6" rod I would take a hard look at the Orvis Super Fine,CTS and Lamiglas.Then there are the some specialty fiberglass blank makers that are highly regarded like Steffen Bros,James Green, Mike McFarland and a few from Japan.

I'm another fan of Fiberglass for small stream work, CTS, Mike McFarland, Steffen Brothers, James Green, Kabuto, and Epic. All of these blank makers have a 7-6 (or something close) in 3 and 4wts. To try and tell you which one is the best, real tough, they are all good.

I have built more CTS Quartz 7-6, 3 and 4wt blanks than any of the other ones I listed above, so my first nod would be them. McFarland has several offerings that are pretty sweet, in either E or S Glass, Steffen, his 7-3 3/4wt is a pretty snappy stick, Greens, his stuff is E Glass, much deeper flexing, but very slow and smooth, Kabuto, his 7-6 4wt is very popular, progressive taper, Epic has the 376, its similar to a CTS.

Also for my next fiberglass fly rod build which will probably be a 7'6" 4wt I am going to demo some rods from Cameron's TFM Loaner program. He has the Orvis,Epic and Lamiglas available. 2 weeks to test them out is great way to know what is best for the caster and situations.

When building a fly rod for someone I would like to first consider the amount of experience and ability the user has, even before the angling venue and target species. Then economics intrudes.