Fly Rod Usage By Weight

Where should different fly rods be used? Obviously in small becks shorter rods will be better and are less likely to cause casting problems. Below is a guide to typical fly rod usage by weight.

Usage By Line Weight

Weight Typical Usage
#2/3/4 Stream / brooks for Brook & Brownies & Grayling
#5 Small rivers, brooks & streams for Brownies & Grayling
#6 Rivers and small lakes when fly fishing for Brown & Rainbow Trout
#7 Used for Lakes, boats & reservoir for Rainbow Trout, Larger Brownies & Blue Trout, Small River Grilse Fishing
#8 Reservoir & boats, plus saltwater fly fishing for Rainbows, Larger Brownies & Blues, Salmon Grilse Fishing & saltwater species
#9 larger rivers and reservoirs fly fishing for large trout, largemouth bass, pike, steelhead & salmon
#10/11/12 Large rivers & saltwater, Salmon & Saltwater species

check our glossary to understand terms used to describe fly rods.

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