3 Wt's are Fun

My friends all fish 5 or 6 wt rods. Generally they use 8 1/2 or 9 footers and i guess if you are on big water, chasing big fish or are throwing 60' of line this makes sense. But this seems like a lot or rod for a 6-12" and once in a while even up to a 16" fish which is where I spend much of my time. Lately i am more focused on small water; typically this means a 3wt either my 8.4 for open water where casting is easy although not generally not more than 25 or 30'. I also have a 3 wt 5' (shortie) J.P. Ross that i love for small, tight "cripple creek water". People say you can't cast a 5' rod but like anything it just takes a bit of time. 

I call anything where tree branches & bushes scratch both my cheeks as I move up stream a cripple creek. At the head or tail of most any pool you can simply step over a few rocks and move from one bank to the far side. Generally there is nothing more than an 8 or 9" fish in these waters but a good day brings a 11-12" and i have caught em up to 16 in these waters. In here you can go a whole day without ever seeing another person. I think this has more meaning to someone like me who works with 50 folks a day and literally passed through 10s of thousands every day. I enjoy going a whole day with out a word or the necessities of polite conversation and while a 7" rainbow or brookie might not be worth mentioning at the club (or in print) it sure has made for good memories. Besides with all the snakes, bears, deer, beaver, otters, bats, not to mention the chipmunks, and frogs i have had more than my fair share of heart racing excitement.

One reason to choose a lighter weight rod is that a 8" fish on a 3 wt = a 15" on a 5 wt or a 18" on a 6 wt and if it is all relative than i guess i am doing ok. Also most places i fish do not have a trail or even a rough fisherman's path, i spend entire days bushwhacking through some rough ground and a bigger rod either gets in the way, breaks or needs to be broken down (which i only do at the end of the day and not even then sometimes). Lastly i love to be able to "clear" a tangle in the tip while holding the butt and I just can't do that on a 7' or 9' rod.

It is true you can't cast far with a 5' rod, but far is a relative thing. When most pools are a 6' to 15' across far can be the leader or the leader + a few feet of line. It is more a game of flipping than casting and stealth trumps a smooth stroke. I am most successful when i  stay out of the trees.

Ok so what can't it do? Well you can forget about hi-sticking (nymphing) unless you are atop a rock overhanging the water and if you manage to shimmy up a large erratic without your rod or reel or some jingling object from your vest clanking against the rock and spoiling the pool you’re a better man than me. What else? Well when you do hit the 30' pool you can't roll cast to the tongue (that is even if you could chain saw a path over head for the cast to unroll in).

Aside from these i think i will stick with my shortie for small water and pack the 5 wt just in case i find big open water.