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Still water fly rods Heavier rods help handle the bigger trout more efficiently. Graphite is, of course, the rod material of choice. And the more you pay, the more you get. However, it's hard to imagine a rod being worth what some are priced at today. I guess if you have the cash, there's way worse places to spend it than on an expensive fly rod. But don't think you have to spend a bundle to obtain a decent fly rod. In fact, my first fly rod was one of those spinning-fly rod combo jobs. It sure didn't handle anything like today's modern graphite rods, but it racked up more than a few fish in it's day. And yesterday's top end, high modulus graphite rods are now today's run of the mill yawners. A guy can get an IM6 rod today for peanuts. But it wasn't so long ago that IM6 graphite was the latest wonder material. Excellent graphite rods are now available at very affordable prices. As for rod line weights for lake fishing, I like rods that run a bit heavier than what many anglers are used to using. On rivers and such, it's normal to see folks using 4 or 5 weight rods. Lake fishers are better off with 6 to 8 weight rods. In fact, one of the best lake fishermen I know prefers to throw a 9 weight Sage. He likes to get his fish in fast. "Easier to release when you land 'em fast". I agree. More than once I've seen fish played to exhaustion on light tackle, only to go belly up when released. If you plan to release your fish, and most of us do, try to bring them in quickly. If the fish is nice, snap a quick photo and send it on it's way. If you play a Trout too long, he's as good as dead. Especially in warm, summertime, water. As for rod lengths, I like a 9 or 9.5 foot rod. In recent years the catalogs begun advertising "Float Tubing Rods" that will go as long as 12 feet. My advice is to stay away from such lengthy sticks. Experience with longer rods has always led me to a tired casting arm at days end. Why? Well, for one thing longer rods just plain weigh more. They also create additional leverage torque to your hand and wrist as your arm tries to suddenly stop the rod at the 2 o'clock mark during your backcast. You may not notice much difference in the morning at cast number 10 or 20, but when you've hit cast 210 or 220 near day's end, believe me you'll notice. In all my float tubing experience I've never seen the need to use a rod longer than 9.5 feet. Unnecessary fatigue will only detract from your enjoyment of the day. Same goes for shore bound wade fishermen. If you want to lengthen your cast, work on your technique before you buy an extra long rod.

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