The Fives - 2023 Style

In my last post I wrote about my 4-weight rods and reels. This time let's talk about my 5-weight rods and reels, shall we? I don't have quite as many of these as I do 4's, but I would still say I have a good assortment, and they fill every niche that might pop up around here in the Great White North of Minnesota...

I have 5-weight rods that go from 6'6" at the shortest to 8'6" at the longest. Unlike my 4-weights, not all of my 5-weights are fiberglass. See if you can figure out which one isn't...

6'6" Cortland FR-2000. This is my shortest 5-weight rod. I got it several years ago, thinking I would use it to fish for carp or smallmouth bass or whatever happened to be swimming in the smallish warmwater creek that flows near my house. I did fish there once with this rod, but the lack of fish caught or seen that day made me not go back and try again. But I may at some point in time... Even if I don't, this is a fun rod to fish with, anywhere.

(I couldn't find a good pic of the short Cortland FR-2000, so here is a pic of a small bass that makes me happy)

7' Wright & McGill WaterSeal. This is an interesting rod. It is probably the most rare W&M rod you will ever find. And possibly the best casting. I have owned several W&M Featherlight rods over the years, including a tiny 5'6" yellow one that got me interested in glass rods in the first place. This WaterSeal was made from "3M Patented Fibers", and is nice and slow, but it has quite a bit of oomph built into it, too. I have owned it for a couple of years if not more, and I am still trying to figure out what I think about it. It's an interesting one, that's for sure!

7' Phillipson Registered Epoxite. At one point in time I owned three Registered Epoxites in various lengths, but this is the only one that incorporated a spigot ferrule into its design, making it the rarest of the bunch, as far as I can tell. Admittedly I have not had this out on the water very often. It's got a different feel than the other Phillipsons I have owned, I am sure because of the ferrule. I like it very much!

7'6" Cortland FR-2000. I like old Cortland rods. Especially FR-2000s and the old poop-colored Pro Crests. Every one that I have owned has been smooth and powerful. This is pretty much a perfect trout/bass/panfish rod.

7'10" Chris Barclay Progressive Series. This was from Mr. Barclay's original series of rods. I have heard a lot of people make the claim that this model was very slow, even using the term "sticky" on occasion. Maybe I got the oddball of the litter, but I have never found this rod to be slow at all. I think it has a lovely crisp action. But what do I know...

8' GlasTech. GlasTech rods are about as rare as a fiberglass fly rod could be. They were made by Dennis Franke in Mt. Horeb, WI, on blanks that were custom rolled by Mark Steffen. As far as I can recall, this is the only one I have ever seen listed for sale anywhere, although I have seen pics of others that weren't for sale, on Forums and such. This one is a little tip heavy in the hand, much like my beloved Scott glass rods. It can bomb a line, that's for sure! And it can present a fly nice and delicately at short distances. It is sweet!

8' Sage 580SFL. I have been lucky to have owned most of the fiberglass rods that Sage built, at one time or another, and this 580SFL is in the worst shape of all of them. Not that it is in terrible condition or anything, it just has a few cosmetic scuffs here and there. That enables me to not feel bad about fishing it! Like all the Sage glass that I have cast, it's a cannon. 

8' Scott PowR-Ply. This is another great rod, which I have written about several times. It rocks!

8'3" Larry Kenney 835. This mocha-colored rod is another great one. One of Larry's most popular tapers, it handles all casts with aplomb...

8'6" Sage 586LL. Hey, it's the only graphite rod I own nowadays! And it's the one I will never part with, as it has oodles of sentimental value. Plus, I have caught over a billion fish with it (estimated), so I don't want to get rid of its good juju.

Those are the rods. As far as my 5-weight reels go, they are very utilitarian, much like all my other reels. I have an assortment of different brands running from light in weight, to balance on my shorter rods, to a little heavier in weight, to balance on my longer rods, and a few others in between. Balance is the most important thing to me. Whether that makes sense or not, it is what works for me. Here are my reels:

From left to right, starting on the top row, and in order of weight from lightest to heaviest: Martin LM56, Ross Evolution #2, Lamson Velocity #2, Ross Gunnison Platinum #2, and the ol' trusty Lamson LP2. 

Come back in a couple of weeks to check out my lineup of 6-weight rods! I have a few nice ones!