The Sixes- 2021 Edition

I don't think I have ever written about my 6-weight rods before. Which means that it's high time that I do, don'tcha think? I don't have nearly as many 6-weights as I do 4- and 5-weights, but the ones I have are just as sweet. What am I waiting for?!?!

Only five 6-weights...

First up is one of the sweetest glass rods ever made. It's a 7'6" Vince Cummings River Rat. The River Rat came in a few different lengths and line ratings, but this is the only variation I have ever waggled. My former boss at Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop, Mike Alwin, has a River Rat that he built from a blank, but he never actually showed it to me, despite years of my nagging and whining. Last year I found this one for sale, so I snapped it up as fast as I could. I guess I showed him, huh?

River Rat

I just recently acquired this 4-piece 7'6" 6-weight Berkley Parametric. I haven't actually even had a chance to put a reel on it and take it out in the yard for a test spin. That is the problem with acquiring fly rods in Minnesota in January...

It still has its emblem!

My third 6-weight is a powerful Sage 679SFL glass rod. This is pretty much a perfect bass rod. I used to have its cousin, the 686SFL, which was a total powerhouse. In fact, it was too powerful for me. It felt like a 7- or 8-weight rod instead of a 6. I know it's crazy that I sold one of my Sage glass rods, which some people would say borders on lunacy, but I like the 679 much better.

Next up is the glass rod that I have owned the longest, if I do my math correctly. It's an 8' Berkley Parametric 6-weight that I acquired, along with a couple of other glass rods, a long time ago. You can find Parametrics around quite often, but finding one with a spigot ferrule, like this one, is sort of rare. I don't think this one had ever been cast before I got it. Parametrics are not for everyone, but I love mine!

Berkley Parametric 8-footer

I don't know this to be 100% fact, but I fully believe that the first generation of yellow Scott Pow-R Ply glass rods were built on blanks supplied to them from Lamiglas. Which pretty much means that my vintage yellow Lamiglas Galaxy 5-piece 8' 6-weight pack rod is also a Scott, am I right? It sure looks a lot like my yellow Scott 5-weight. And they feel very similar while casting, too, although the Lamiglas doesn't feel quite as weird when not casting. Whatever the case, it's sweet!

Lamiglas Galaxy 8-footer

Well, that was a short and sweet list of 6-weight rods, huh? Since I don't have very many 6-weight rods. I don't need as many 6-weight reels, either. In fact I only have two. First up is my beloved Lamson LP-2 that I have had for eons. Second is a lovely Nautilus FWX 5/6. Talk about a reel that purrs, the Nautilus is like a full-grown panther getting its belly rubbed! It is smooth!

Not sure if I will write about my 3- or 7-weights... Not very many of either, so we'll have to see. 5-weights are up next. Look for it in the next week or two.

The Fours - 2021 Edition

My quiver of 4-weight rods has evolved over the past few months. I think the evolution has made my arsenal even better and more awesome, but that is probably a subjective thought. You might look at the rods I have and think they are all junk. You can have that opinion, you just can't espouse it here on my blog. I'm the blogmaster here; if you have differing opinions, get your own blog. :)

The Quiver

Most of my rods are 4- and 5-weight rods, since most of my fishing is for trout and panfish. In this post I will write about my 4-weight rods, beginning with the shortest in length and moving up to the longest. Let's get this out of the way right from the get-go: They are all sweet rods! Woot!

The Quiver, Version 2...

One of my shortest 4-weight is my recently acquired Phillipson Registered Epoxite Midge EF66. This rod waggles like few others. It is slow, possibly too slow for most people. But it casts beautifully. Love it.

The other 6'6" rod in my quiver is a sweet little Winston glass rod that I lucked into last winter. It actually might cast better with a 5-weight line, but it is labeled as a 4-weight, so we will leave it in this category.

Winston 6'6" 4wt

I have two 7' 4-weights. First up is my green Steffen S-glass. Most Steffen glass rods are a beautiful dark burgundy. This was one of their early green ones. Like all Steffen rods, it casts beautifully.

Steffen 7-Footer

The other 7-footer is my Vince Cummings Superlite, which I have written about before. It is so light in the hand I hardly notice it is there. But it can cast pretty much any sized trout fly all day long. It rocks.

Vince Cummings Superlite

Scientific Angler sold some awesome glass rods back in the late 70s that were built on Fisher blanks. Their System 4 is a 7'2" 4-weight that is the cream of the crop. A great rod!

System 4

I have a few 7'6" 4-weights, and they are all superb. First up is a Sage SFL476, one of the mystical glass rods that Sage made back in the early 80s. Probably the fastest 4-weight I own, it can do everything.

Sage SFL476 and trout

My black Scott F754/3 is my go-to rod. All Scott glass rods are awesome, and this is no exception.

Scott F764/3

 

My Winston Stalker 7'6" glass rod is special to me. It belonged to one of my favorite customers at the fly shop I used to work at, and I was lucky to be able to acquire it when he died. It is both regal and utilitarian. Awesome!

7'6" Winston

I just got this awesome Scott F794/4, which is a 7'10" beaut. I suspect it will become one of my favorites in no time. Have I mentioned that all Scott glass rods are awesome?

There are a couple of 8-footers in my quiver. First up is a Diamondback Diamondglass rod. These rods developed a cult following amongst glass rod aficionados. This is understandable, as they rock!

Diamondglass 8-footer

Vladan Milenkovic is a musician in Boston, but he also made amazing fiberglass rods for a while. His Unstructured Glass rods are amazing, and somehow I was lucky enough to stumble onto this one a couple of years ago. It is a 4-piece model that Vlad built for the loaner program on The Fiberglass Manifesto website. I don't think it ever got loaned out, though. If it ever was loaned out it didn't get much use. It is an extraordinary casting tool! And beautiful as well!

Unstructured Glass 8-Footer

My last 4-weight is an 8'6" prototype model from the Bozeman Rod Company, which no longer sells rods. The guy who built the rods for Bozeman, Dusty Smith, now sells his rods through his own company, the Livingston Rod Company. He has a reputation as an expert rod craftsman. This is a sweet rod that can cast a mile. I love it!

Bozeman Rod Company 8'6"

So, those are my current 4-weight rods. 

My reels that go with these 4-weight rods have also changed over the past year. I am very happy with the options I now have. No matter how light or heavy the rod is, I can always find a reel that will balance it out nicely. My 4-weight reels start with: a lovely green Orvis CFO III Disc, an older Orvis Battenkill 3/4 Click & Pawl, a Ross Evolution 1.5, and a Ross Gunnison 1. All of them purr like kittens, and I haven't had any issues with any of them. Woot!

End of 2020 Celebration

Happy 2021! I know 2020 was a bad year for some people, so it's good to move on to something new. Unlike a lot of people, my 2020 wasn't much different than any other year, and in fact there were some pretty good parts of it. 

One good thing that happened in 2020 was the tweaking of my rod and reel arsenal. I am always looking to try out new gear to see what I like. I don't know how many different rods and reels I have tried out over the past few years, trying to find the ones that especially speak to me, but it has been a lot. 2020 saw the accumulation of some great new stuff, and the moving on of some stuff that I couldn't find a connection with. I think I am finally to the point where I feel confident with pretty much every piece of fly fishing equipment I own. Although I have had that same thought before...

I have acquired some awesome new (actually lightly used) rods this year. The rod that gets me the most excited is my new Scott F794/4 glass rod. For one thing, it's a Scott, and every Scott glass rod I have ever cast has been super sweet. Secondly, it's a perfect size for pretty much all the trout fishing I do up here in the Upper Midwest: 7'10" 4-weight. Thirdly, it's a 4-piece pack rod, so it will work great when I hike in to more remote streams, like I plan to do on our Trout Trip 2021, which is planned for this upcoming May. This Scott rod is sure to be one of my favorites!

Scott F794/4, Yay!

Vince Cummings rods have an aura about them. Vince was a rod builder from back in the day. His fiberglass rods are hard to find. They are excellent casting tools, so nobody wants to get rid of theirs. Somehow I was lucky enough to obtain two of them this past year: a 7'6" River Rat, and a 7' 4wt Superlite. Both rods are as sweet as can be. I used the Superlite this fall while chasing trout in Southeast Minnesota. It handled small nypmhs and dries easily, and it had plenty of muscle for the size 6 and 8 BH Wooly Buggers I was throwing too. What a rod!

Vince Cummings Superlite 7' 4wt

First fish I ever caught on the Superlite.

After making a mental list of all the rods and reels I acquired in 2020, I have decided that there are too many to continue writing about in a single post, so look for them in future posts. I will be redoing my lists of 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-weight rods in the near future. I will point out the new acquisitions in those posts. For now, have a very Happy New Year, and a wonderful 2021 filled with all the gear you desire!