I plan on getting into FF this year and bottom line is I want to have fun. Most likely I'll be targeting sunfish.

If you don't target sunfish feel free to tell me what has been fun for you, might try that out someday too.

That's easy, any rod that has a fish attached to it.


Actually, it depends on how I'm fishing:

My favorite sunfish/trout/small water rod is the TFO Finesse 8'9" 3wt. I fish this rod a lot.

If I'm going to be casting into the wind or will need to make long casts, I like the TFO Axiom. This rod throws the tightest loops of any rod I've cast.

An 8 wt TFO BVK rod with a TFO BVK reel became my favorite Lake Texoma rod the first time I fished it. The BVK rods have a comfortable, easy to cast action and the light weight of the rod and reel combination is easy to cast all day long. The BVK rods and reels are really good general purpose setups.

To answer your original question, I think you'll find that 2's, 3's, and 4's are the most popular sunfish rods. 2 wt's work well in the small urban streams that many folks on this board fish. I think a 4 wt works real well on ponds and from a kayak; it will handle larger flies and more distance that a 2 wt. Personally, I've found the 3 wt to be a good solid workhorse size for most of the places I fish. But if this will be your first fly rod, I think you'd find either a 4 wt or 5 wt will easier to learn to cast and fish.

Note: the smaller the line wt, equals the smaller the largest fly that the rod will easily cast, and the more challenging it will be to cast when the wind is blowing. Just a couple of things to keep in mind if this is your first fly rod.

Good luck shopping for a rod!

Cabela's three forks 6wt with Redington Drift reel. Nothing fancy, but tons of fun. I can spend the whole day chasing gills at my local pond. Check my log in the sig for some pics.

sunfish? The folks above me have nailed it down. A three weight. Actually a two weight might be even more fun. But wait until you are quite comfortable with a three before going to a two. When you get on the extreme ends of the rod weight bell curve the casting becomes more...specialized for lack of a better word.

Get that three weight and have a blast!

TFO finesse 2wt is definitely my favorite, that or my G.Loomis Whisper creek 4wt. Both are pretty short rods that do wonders for creek and small water fishing.

For gills, I like my Winston LT 4wt 8'3" w an Evolution reel.

Most of the time fishing gills, you get some bass and catfish as well which is why I haven't gone to a lighter rod.

I posted a thread in the sunfish section yesterday. I had my 6wt w me, which was great for the bass, cats and the bigger gills.

TFO 3wt.

I purchase one of Cabela's 3 wt 5'9" and have had a blast with small bass and sunfish with it. A bit difficult to cast with anything biggern a size 10 hook, but a real hoot. [url=http://s1078.photobucket.com/albums/w484/zeddzu/?action=view&current=3wtcgr.jpg][/url]

TFO PRO 8' 2wt with BVK I Reel and a Cortland Clear Creek WF3F line. I find myself using this rod combo for just about everything. White Bass, LM, Trout, and Panfish. Havn't landed the Koi in my local pond, but I have hooked into him. he is about 28" and guessing about 15 pounds or so.

I've got an 8 foot 4 weight St. Croix Triumph I love using for sunfish. I've occasionally caught bass on it which are a blast as well!!

2 weight without a doubt. Probably because I have caught the most fish on it (bluegill and bass).

2wt is a good sweet spot for UL fly rods and you have a ton of options. I generally fish shorter rods for the tight spots i see on mant of the creeks I fish.
TFO is a good affordable way to get into this

Les

My first was an Okuma 5 wt, and have to say I have a blast with it. First fish caught was a small sunfish while practicing my casting at a local pond. Then caught a bass and I was hooked. I have used it for everything from sunfish to bass to trout.

Where are you located? I have a 5wt you can try out to get a feel for what a 5wt feels like.

Couple of ponds that are close that you could throw it at and catch some bass and sunfish.

Thanks tmds3 but I'm in Georgetown, about 20 min. N. of Austin.

I did experiment with FF around 1990. I had a 4wt and a 6wt.

So my experience is basically nil.

I think the whole reason for this post is I'm totally bored fishing. I've been doing it often and steadily since I was 5. I've caught freshwater fish up to 72#s and can catch 30# fish pretty easily. Catching the biggest little fish isn't doing anything for me either. Lately I've had plenty of time to go fishing but I haven't been going.

I figured a 2wt or lower might make it fun again. Though catching a 30# carp on an UL ugly stik could be possible it wouldn't really interest me. So I hope I'm not going the wrong way with my approach to making fishing fun again.

What do you all think, ever been in my shoes?