Salomone: Versatility with a 5-weight.
It's the rod every angler needs to start off with first
Michael Salomone/Courtesy photo
Walk down to the river and you’ll find most fly fishers are swinging a 5-weight fly rod.
The versatility of a 5-weight makes it the most user-friendly tool a fly-fisherman can possess. All across the United States, the 5-weight is what every angler should purchase first. The specifics for flex and length can be debated depending on species targeted and different types of water, but overall, a 5-weight will conquer the most fish for the average fly angler.
The standard length 5-weight most companies aim for is 9 feet. This carries the appropriate amount of line along the length of the rod, allowing the rod’s flexibility to distribute the weight of the fly line. After all, we aren’t casting lead and lures. This is fly fishing. We are casting the fly line to be more specific.
The most common breakdown for fly rods is two pieces. This creates one junction point and enhances casting action. Anglers who pay attention will notice the convenience of a four-piece rod. Modern day machining has eliminated the thought that multiple-piece rods are weaker. Packing a rod behind the seat of a truck is only achieved with a four-piece rod.
Traveling with any fly rod is more easily done with a four piece rod. I have a five-piece rod that breaks down into a tube only 16 inches in length. This is always my carry-on rod. If the airline misplaces my checked luggage with my big tube carrying multiple rods, at least I still have one rod to fish. Versatility with a 5-weight weight shines again.
Support Local Journalism
A 5-weight can also work lighter when conditions demand. Wade up to a pool with trout delicately sipping small midges off the glassy calm below the short riffle and a 5-weight can lay it down quietly. A 5-weight can present with a dainty touch when applied.
A 5-weight rod can handle pushing a little meat through the air, too. Small streamers require powerful casting strokes and the addition of hauling. My fist snook was caught on a 5-weight under the dock lights at the South Seas Plantation on Captiva Island, Florida over 20 years ago. At the time it was the only four-piece travel fly rod I had, so I fished it, versatility once again.
A 5-weight rod handles the conditions that come from freshwater as well as light saltwater use. Most are designed with hardware to withstand the environmental conditions present in freshwater. But with careful attention to rinsing after action in brackish or saltwater most 5-weights can handle the abuse.
A 5-weight is the rod I reach for when chasing largemouth bass and bluegills. Once again the versatility of a 5-weight shines as the rod can handle large deer hair bass bugs and can lighten up and present dry flies to bluegills for fun factor versatility.
The 5-weight rods come in a variety of flex indexes, meaning the rod can start to flex right above the cork handle for a full-flex rod. A mid-flex rod has the most action above the junction point in the middle of the rod. A tip-flex rod has the most flexibility only in the top quarter or third of the rod.
All of these designs have preferred applications. Full-flex rods desire a dry fly on the end of the line. Mid-flex rods work well casting dries with proficiency and for nymph fishing. Tip-flex rods have the backbone to apply power to the casting stroke. Tip-flex rods won’t buckle under the stress of a haul or light double haul.
To reemphasize the versatility of a 5-weight rod, a list of the fish I’ve caught on a five is quite extensive. All types of trout can be caught with a 5weight. My first steelhead was caught on a 5-weight. Peacock bass provide unbelievable 5-weight action. Carp are another freshwater beast that begs to flex a 5-weight. Snook, jacks and ladyfish have all fallen to a 5-weight. The buckets full of panfish I’ve caught on a 5-weight could supply a fish fry at the state fair.
Freshwater and light saltwater action with a 5-weight can be challenging but so rewarding. And every so often you get beat. That’s a loss I can handle. A 5-weight fly rod is the versatile choice all anglers need to start off with first.
