The Best Creekin' Rod

[briansII]

We're talking, small, intimate creeks. Something you can step over, or 99.9% of the time, never get deeper than your knees.

Would it be Sage's TXL. Maybe the SPL. Winston's WT. How about Scott's original G series. Orvis Superfine.

.....ok, you glass and grass guys can chime in too.

Interested to read your choices.

My choice is a tough one. I have a TXL ought weight. Very fun rod. Amazed at how light it is everytime I pick it up. Also have a Winston(pre WT)7'6", 2wt that is just about perfect for small creeks. What do I use most for small creeks, A Winston, 8'9" BxII 3wt. Over gunned. Maybe, but I just like the way it casts. I also use a T&T Horizon 2wt, but it's more like a fast 3wt. I mostly fish dry attractors, but I will fish a nymph once in a great while. I throw streamers at bigger prey hugging the bottom of deep pools. Heresy I know, but i'm a knuckle dragger.

briansII

[RichardCullip]

I love my Sage TXL 00wt for small creekin' I've got a couple of creeks that I can actually lay out a nice cast (25-30ft) in without snagging bushes behind me and the Sage TXL 00wt is a joy to cast under these conditions. I also like how it roll casts. I don't really enjoy crawling thru tight brush where I have to get creative with dapplin'; bow-and-arrow casts and other casts that might not have names so I try to find creeks where I can actually use roll casts and/or have room for a backcast. Under those conditions, I love my Sage TXL 00wt.

[rayfound]

I don't have experience with a ton of rods...

I have generally used my 7'6" Gremlin 3wt. Its pretty * good as a creekin' rod... well, until I busted the tip-top off last time out.

Before that I had a 6'6" cheapo 3/4 weight... Too short, too broomstickly.

Occasionally I use my TFO finesse 8'9" 3wt. Its OK, the action is nice, but truthfully, I'm not in love with this rod. Its too long for serious ninja fishing.

I've used Creek's SLT (I think) 0-Weight. Nice creeking rod... I enjoyed playing fish with it, but I didn't fall in love (Sorry Mike) with it as a whole.

Then I used Justin's TXL 00-wt, 7'10". Its perfect in * near every way, and I am not on a mission to get myself one. The delicate presentation. The reach (7'10" is an almost ideal length IMO), how light and fine the line itself is.

As far as I am concerned, that's the best creekin rod: TXL 00.

Unlike Richard... I DO like crawling through brush, dapping, slinging, bow and arrow casting... There's nothing better.

[dna]

ha! an 8'9" for the creeks...you sound like midger...

I love my TXL 00, but sometimes it gets a little noodly for my tastes only in regard to the hookset. What I mean is that the rod bends so much that you have to really be on it for those fast creeky takes--especially when you are throwing distance presentations (my fav thing to do). That is my only gripe; the rod is just tremendous in creek situations.

Winston WT 2 wt. 7' would prob be my fav if I had one. Feels as delicate as the TXL's but has a little more say-so when you need it. Plus the casting action is better imo.

Dying to try some 1 or 2wt boo rods...anyone wanna let me try? hehe

[darrin terry]

Lamiglas 7 foot 2pc 3wt - hands down. Love the slower action and you can almost sense a fish moving before he knows he's gonna.

Second choice for me is the Batson 6 foot 6 inch 2pc 2wt. Fun little rod. I can't bomb out 70-90 foot casts, but I rarely see the need on tiny little creeks.

On creeks as small as you describe, never needed that kind of cast. Sometimes a longer rod is fun to dap such creeks with though.

[castaway]

My Hardy 5' "Aln" of cource! however, it is limited. Being that it is so light, such slow action, and so soft.... I think the 7' Lami is right up there also...

some of the small water I fish requires LONG casts so as not to spook the fish, or pulling small streamers on the creeks. For those applications I use a slower action 7'9" 3wt.

I think the western sierra guys north of Bakersfield who like to visit national parks might relate to the LONNNGGG

I have never fished the slt or txl... I think a 7' boo might be the perfect small stream rod.

[Justin]

I started out with A 7'6" SLT 3wt and I really love that rod, I can boom casts with it and it is nice and small.
I did upgrade to the TXL 00wt and I'm totally convinced (well I have yet to fish the 000wt) it is the perfect creek rod. I'll wait to hear what Sasha has to say about the 000wt, which I am actually looking into
But my 2c as of now would be the TXL 00wt!!

Justin

[RiverRat]

I absolutely love my Lamiglas 6'6" Blue Ridge 3wt that feels more like a 2wt teamed with Cortland 2wt Sylk line. It's a hybrid. The butt is graphite, the mid section is a graphite/glass bend, and the tip is glass.and mix that is so smoooooth. Beautifull glossy solid black blank. 40 ft no problem. Roll cast no problem. Float like a butterfly sting like a bee...that's it. They were a pet project of one of Lami's rod designers and you can't get them any longer.


shane


If you can't deciede you can always buy every brand all like BriansII has attempted to do.

[midger]

Depends on my mood, as I have no "best" creekin' rod. I do generally use longer rods with about 7'9" being the shortest, but 8'9" and longer often being used on any given day. It also depends on the wind on the day I'm fishing. The TXL 000 are nice but a bear in any wind--tough throwing those two fly, weighted nymph combos with it.

Current ones I use: Batson 7'9" 3 weight, PacBay 7'9" 3 weight, Sage SLT 8'9" 3 wt, TFO Finesse 8'9", TXL 000 7'10". I've tried the shorter rods 6 foot to 7 foot, and just don't care for the line control they give me that well as I do lots of roll casting, 2-3 nymph with weight fishing. Short rods don't excel at that IMO--at least not with my fishing style, and the desire/need to throw small to medium streamers and those multiple flies.

[rayfound]

Yeah, I'm with Midger on the length thing... I kinda feel you should fish the longest rod that you can get away with on a given stream. Ninja fishing is primarily a line control game. The best rod at that is going to be the longest you can manage in the conditions you're facing.... for me in tight brushy streams, around 8' is the max I think.

For a while I was interested in the 6'6" and shorter rods, but ultimately I've decided the shorter rods give up too much in terms of line control (Primarily high-sticking over obstacles) to realize any benefit of the shorter rod.... what I mean is the thought with a shorter rod is that you will be able to CAST more in tight spots... and while true, it really (IMO) means that because the rod is shorter, you have to get EVEN CLOSER to the water you want to fish to be able to get a good drift - as your ability to hold line out of the currents is severely diminished.

[briansII]

Yeah, I'm with Midger on the length thing... I kinda feel you should fish the longest rod that you can get away with on a given stream. Ninja fishing is primarily a line control game. The best rod at that is going to be the longest you can manage in the conditions you're facing.... for me in tight brushy streams, around 8' is the max I think.

For a while I was interested in the 6'6" and shorter rods, but ultimately I've decided the shorter rods give up too much in terms of line control (Primarily high-sticking over obstacles) to realize any benefit of the shorter rod.... what I mean is the thought with a shorter rod is that you will be able to CAST more in tight spots... and while true, it really (IMO) means that because the rod is shorter, you have to get EVEN CLOSER to the water you want to fish to be able to get a good drift - as your ability to hold line out of the currents is severely diminished.

I'm with both of you. I will use the longest rod I can get away with. I use my 10'6" switch rod on this creek.





For me, I like longer rods, because I feel I'm not giving up as much. I don't see a big advantage to using a shorter rod, other than not snagging junk as much when I bushwack. Having said that, I don't fish a lot of places that have a low canopy. I enjoy casting shorter rods. Just don't fish them much.

briansII

[rayfound]

I enjoy casting shorter rods.

Casting is overrated. Ask anyone... I rarely cast at all.

[darrin terry]

I think, in my case, part of the reason I like the shorter rods for creekin is my peronal history in fishing followed that path. I started fishing (as an adult, not the fishing I did as a kid) on Dinkey Creek. That was the largest moving water I ever wanted to fish. My favorites were the tiny creeks in heavily wooded canyons. Very shady, very quiet, very fishy. My favorite rod for those conditions? A 4'6" UglyStik with a cork grip matched to a Mitchell 310 reel with about 100 yards of 4lb test. Size 12-14 Gamakatsu single egg hooks (red) with Pautzke's Red Cap eggs or small spinners for the bigger/deeper pools.

When I made the move to flyfishing, my world view of trout fishing changed. Suddenly these long rods made fishing larger waters easier while at the same time made some of my favorite water very difficult to fish. Of course some of the difficulty went away as I grew accustomed to wielding the 9' rods, but I still found the length hampered my fishing far more often than it helped. On tiny creeks that were more open, less bushy, the longer rods get more play. But the 6'6" 2wt was almost perfect for me. Now, the 7' 3wt is my goto for those waters. Except the very bushiest which I'll go back to the 2wt again.

Like everything else, what suits one to a tee may not quite fit the next fisher. I've 11 rods, 9 are graphite, 1 is glass & the last is boo. Six of those rods are 9'0" - 2-4wts, 1-5wt, 2-6wts & 1-7wt. For the rest, I have 1-4wt @ 7'6", 1-3wt @ 7'0" (glass), 2-2wts @ 6'6", and 1- 3/4wt @ 5'6" (boo).

[Flyjunkie]

No questions... the Winston Boron II T 7' 9" 3wt. is my Small creek Rod of Choice...
Just as Light (if not lighter) then the Sage TXL series.. Boron is ragingly light weight.. I have ton's O' Fun with the Typical Small creek Dinks, but when the Very rare Big One takes, the 3wt. has the Kahunas to stop it from escape... and if the wind comes up, I'm still in the game...

Yeah it retails almost $700.. but it is such a dream to fish with... Me Loves, Me Loves it!!!

[RichardCullip]

No questions... the Winston Boron II T 7' 9" 3wt. is my Small creek Rod of Choice...
Just as Light (if not lighter) then the Sage TXL series.. Boron is ragingly light weight.. I have ton's O' Fun with the Typical Small creek Dinks, but when the Very rare Big One takes, the 3wt. has the Kahunas to stop it from escape... and if the wind comes up, I'm still in the game...

Yeah it retails almost $700.. but it is such a dream to fish with... Me Loves, Me Loves it!!!

I've got the 8' model (Winston Boron IIt 3wt) and I love it for slightly bigger streams than my small creekin'. I've used it with great fun on the Upper Kern, the Lower Owens and the Lower Kings. I love how it bends to the cork when you get a decent fish, or maybe even a double, on it.