TimberTodd said:
I purchased 7.5' 3wt that I used for targeting bluegill while in the nucanoe. I agree with Brandon, for streams I would prefer a longer rod. I believe Spydey was playing with a 2wt. I haven't seen him around in a while, but you might shoot him a pm. Spydey where are you!!
Ask and ye shall receive!!
hahahaha [lol]
It has been a while, hasn't it. Life, work, family, church, and fishing have kept me off of OFF.
Regarding the small stream rod.
I have a 7'6" 3wt which is a blast to use and then my piece de resistance is my TFO Lefty Kreh Finesse 6'9" 1wt. I love that rod for the small streams. I have caught fish up to 16" on it no problem. Although one 14" SRC gave me a good 5min fight on it once! What a fun fish to land.
There are other options you should consider too: Perhaps you don't need to go down in wt class but change the medium that you are using. A wise angler once told me that what I was looking for wasn't a lighter wt rod but something with soul. (Shout out to HHM!!!) You should consider glass and/or cane (bamboo) rods. They have some unique qualities to them that really make them special! A 3wt glass is an amazing fishing tool and cane is just something you have to experience ... good cane at least.
As for the graphite side of things, it really depends on the size of the stream that you are going to fish.
I use my 1wt on super small streams (e.g. high gradient mountain streams) up to medium sized streams (e.g. low gradient mountains streams to valley streams). It does just fine for what I need it to do. I use it mostly for dries, no nymphing. There isn't enough lifting power in it to throw a decent cast with an indicator, weight, and two bead headed nymphs.
A single nymph with an indicator would be just fine.
When using dries, I can mend just fine with it and high stick, and roll cast. It is funny, I can actually roll cast so much better with it than with my 5wt!! hahahahaha
I also have an Echo Ion 2/3 reel on it. It works out just fine for what I like.
The thing I love the most about the 1wt is the presentation that it does. So soft, so delicate, so on target! It really is a wonderful tool.
The only down side to it is distance, lifting power, and a big nymphing rig.
I also like to stick with odd numbers for my rod wt. I have a 1wt, 3wt, 5wt, and 7wt. The difference between a 2wt and a 3wt really isn't going to be that much, but the difference between a 1wt and a 3wt is noticeable.
Hopefully that helps you.
If you want to test out the 1wt sometime and cast it, just let me know. I am just over here in Beaverton.
Take care.
-Spydey