I suppose there are alot of rods out there that could be used for bluegill. But what would be a exceptional rod as compared to a practical rod other than just price or looks? What makes a specific rod better than another?

Wow good question! The hardest part about answering is so much depends on the individual. What I might think is the perfect set up for me will not work for someone else. JMHO based on my experiences in the field it would be a 2,or 3 weight rod that is 6'-7' long. The reel is more about personal choice as to what looks to scale or visually pleasing to the eye as its only function is to hold the fly line in place. The fly line will most likely be WF floating because the targeted fish tends to live in water less than 6' deep. Once again this is more about what I think is the perfect set up for me. Other folks on this forum will have a different idea of what is the right set up, and the cool thing they will be right too. No one single formula for the right answer.

In my opinion the all-around best rod for you is the one you like to cast the most. Confidence goes a long way.

Then, it really depends a lot on where you'll do most of your fishing. If you're going to fish little brushy creeks with limited casting space, you'll probably enjoy that more with a shorter, lighter rod. For weedy ponds, you might want a rod with a little more backbone because pulling even small bluegill out of weeds might be more than you want to do with a 2-wt.

My favorite rod for fishing locally for bass and bluegill is my 9-ft 5-wt. It'll throw tiny dry flies and #6 streamers; I feel good casting it at different distances, and it has proven itself with a 5-lb bass. In the weedy summer I feel better casting the 8-wt because it just has more horsepower for yanking a fish out of the cabbage.

The only bad thing about fly fishing is that there's always something else you want to buy...

I know little of the technicalities involved that make one rod superior to another, but my 3 weight TFO signature is all I will ever want or need for bluegill.

"exceptional" is purely in the eye of the beholder. At least that is how I view it. Under certain angling circumstances in a certain angler's hand, that is the best answer I can give. Each of us has a set of comfortable perameters for casting and angling and we find the rod that fits in there.

Once you know what your permameters are then the technical details can be used to fill in the blanks. I for one usually love slower rods. But when the scene is big, open water (below the dam at Texoma, on a boat out in the open waters of a lake) I find that "fast" is best for my tastes.

I fish a 3wt TFO Professional for Bluegill. A couple of things I like:

1. At 7'6" it isn't too much to handle in either the car or in the field. I have a 9' 5wt that I love as an all around rod but that extra 1'6" makes it tough in tight conditions.

2. Hard to say if it's the length, the mid-flex action or a combination of the two but I find it really easy to make accurate roll casts - another advantage when bank fishing your favorite bream hole.

Another fringe benefit, my 8yo son can handle the shorter length and medium action - a good rod for the beginner. I'm glad he can use it because that's the excuse I used to buy it!

I have a TFO 3wt 8'6" that I like a lot. I also have a 9' 4wt Helios mid-flex that I really like fishing out of a tube or pontoon, because the extra length helps in casting when you are that close to the water. The 4 wt will not cast heavy bass flies, but if you stick with size 6 buggers and streamers that are not too wind resistant it does great and can handle the bass you are likely to encounter. I do not fish small streams, so I have not needed to have a shorter rod, but that may change this summer, as I am planning to go down to Kisatchie National Forest and fish the Kisatchie Bayou, which is Louisiana's only real rock bed stream.

Well, here goes my attempt at answering your question.

Research and Development and Marketing is a huge part of the rod business. The major manufacturers are constantly trying to build a rod that weighs nothing and will cast a country mile--and telegraph a strike to the fisherman that feels like something just tried to take his arm off. That's what we consumers want from our rod builders. So they spend a tremendous amount of money trying to figure out how to one-up the competition and turn around and spend even more money convincing us that they have. That, combined with brand recognition (we trust brands we are familiar with), we have rods that hit the upper level of what people are willing to spend on a fly rod--which by the way is the last element. Flyfisherman are willing to spend more money on a rod than a bass fisherman is willing to spend on a casting rod (however, that is quickly changing). But what about those entry-priced rods? Well, those are manufactured by folks who don't spend the money on R&D and marketing. They are content with staking out their share of the marketplace on the lower price/higher volume end of the market. Most of the components come from overseas (not always true--and not untrue for higher priced products). They still make good products at a price that more people can afford. The rods perform differently than the higher dollar ones due to all of the engineering that goes into it. But the bottom line is that it's still about business models. One company is willing to spend lots of money on R&D/marketing, the other is not. The products (generally) perform differently (not better--just differently).

With that said. Just go buy what you are comfortable with--something that feels good to you, both in the casting and in the pocket. They will all catch fish. Those little pea-brains that have us all so captivated are not nearly as particular about our equipment as we are. There have been lots of fish caught with fishing line and soup cans.

If you plan on only catching bluegill with it, then smaller would be more fun, kinda like catching fish on an ultralite spinning rod vs a more standard spinning rod. I have a 6' 2 wt TFO that i used primarily for brook trout and cutties in small creeks, beaver ponds and little mountain lakes. It should come in handy for bluegills and crappie.

If you plan on using it for more than gills, you should consider something bigger and stronger, like a 4 or 5 wt, for versatility.

Just my $.02

BHR