Quote:
Originally Posted by fallen1817
For pike/walleye, would I be too light with a 5/6?
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For the most part, it would be too light for pike. It is 5/6 is great for walleye, but they are side catch to pike, most of the time.
There are 3 key factors that determine what rod you should use.
The first is how big the fly you are casting. I have broken my 6wt rod casting a pike fly medium sized pike fly (I fully admit, it was likely ready to break anyway, and I just did not know it).
The second factor is the size of fish you catch. Steelhead and salmon do not eat very big flies, but they fight like demons. Most Alberta pike (i.e. under 5kg) can be fought with a 6wt rod. But that 100cm+/10kg+ pike is not meant for a 6wt.
The 3rd factor is environmental. If you have to fight the wind, a heavier rod makes a huge difference. Take almost all saltwater fishing. Sure, saltwater fish fight extremely hard, but the heavier rods are necessary to punch through the wind.
A 7/8wt is a workhorse rod, and probably the most practical rod you will own. It is the half-ton pick up truck of fly fishing. I would never get rid of this rod. If I had to run from my house in an apocalypse moment and I could only take one rod, it would definitely be my 8wt.
As professori said, it is still totally fun to catch 30cm fish on a 8wt rod, but you will find yourself getting frustrated trying to cast a big pike fly on a light rod.