The quest for the perfect 7wt

I somehow developed an infatuation with seven-weight fly rods this past winter.

Not actually owning a 7wt fly rod didn't prevent this infatuation from forming. That would make sense. As one would expect, logic cannot be allowed to step in the way when it comes to fishing gear. Thus the search for a worthy 7wt began.

Note: I will henceforth refer to it as 7wt Fever.

My research began with targeting smallmouth and was expanded to include Atlantic salmon and then light saltwater angling.

And it was based on this maxim:
Choosing the rod for the size of flies you wish to cast, not the size of fish you wish to catch.

I'll break this down into the various species:

Smallmouth Bass
For smallmouth, my Redington Predator 6wt was great for casting size 4-8 flies, including weighted flies like Clousers and crawfish patterns. But it was severely lacking the backbone necessary for big, wind-resistant deer hair poppers and beefy flies like Barr's Meat Whistle and larger, heavier Clousers. And, while I can easily cast these flies on my 8wt, the fun of 1-3lb smallies is slightly diminished on the  big stick.

And fun is what matters, right?

Enter Doug from Smallmouth Fly Box (with a quote from Tim Holschlag of smallmouthflyangler.com):

If you are going to pick out a favorite rod you have to start with the perfect overall line weight for the species you are after.  The type of water you fish, wind conditions, fly sizes etc. are all factors when choosing a line weight, but many agree that the ideal line weight for smallmouth bass is a 7wt. 

First off, a 7wt is a nice weight to lug around all day, avoiding arm fatigue is always a good thing.  I can toss a large popper as well as a beefy streamer with this weight rod.  If paired with the right line a 7 weight can punch through wind, but if cast correctly it can quietly lay out a bug without a splash.  The 7 weight is the perfect balance between brute force and finesse....and it give you options to toss top water poppers or streamers. 

Smallmouth legend Tim Holschlag had this to say about the 7 weight: 

"What if a person wants to fish different types of water, but can only afford one good rod?  That's simple--get a 7-weight, 9 1/2', medium-stiff, medium-fast action good quality rod.  7-weights may be out of style right now, but they're still the best all-purpose smallmouth rods available.  Over the course of a year, I probably use a 7-weight more than any other type of rod." 

I agree with Tim completely, but I tend to deviate from his recommendation for medium-stiff and medium-fast action rods.  Who am I to contradict Tim Holschlag, a guy that fishes more in one year than I have fished in my lifetime.  Good thing all of this is personal preference! 

So mark one up for 7wt Fever for smallies.

Note - As mentioned in numerous previous posts, my go-to bass rig is now the Cabela's 7/8wt CGR, perfectly paired with Sage's 230gr Performance Bass (Bluegill) line spooled on a Hardy Ultralite 7000DD reel. If I do say so myself, it is the best combination of rod-reel-line I have ever pieced together. And it does support 7wt Fever, as it is officially listed as a 7/8-weight.

Atlantic salmon
Ask any number of New Brunswick fly anglers what rod weight to use for Atlantic salmon and the majority will swear up and down you need an eight or nine weight fly rod.

But applying my rod-for-fly-size maxim above, I decided an 8wt might be too much rod, and a 9wt could definitely be considered overkill* - especially with the cast-cast-step-cast-cast-step methodology used for fishing salmon pools. It's a lot of damn casting.

* - Two contrasting points here: One, the Main Southwest Miramichi is a big river, and the wind can definitely howl. So an 8wt could definitely be beneficial in those situations. Conversely, the typical salmon angler on the Miramichi is almost as old as the river itself, so one would think they would appreciate casting a lighter rod. Just something else to think about.

The fly-size factor was a non-issue: no Atlantic salmon fly is as heavy nor as wind-resistant as a smallmouth fly. For one, current New Brunswick salmon fishing regulations do not permit weighted flies. And the biggest salmon bomber is nowhere near the size of a deer hair popper.

Salmon flies, for the majority of patterns, can be easily cast with rods as light as 5wt.

As for fighting and landing the fish, the rod weight, should be a non-issue. Though a number of 15-20lb salmon are caught each week during the fishing season (except, of course, by me), the majority of salmon hooked are in fact 3-7lb juveniles called grilse.

And that doesn't take into consideration the conventional thinking for leader/tippet test used on the Miramichi is 8lb test, quite often used as a straight piece of 8lb-Maxima tied to the fly line (only us "fancy city boys" or "know-nuthin' youngsters" would ever use a knotless tapered leader...).

So I came to an extremely profound observation in my 7wt Fever study:
Eight-pound test is still eight-pound test, no matter what rod weight you are fishing.

Chalk another point for 7wt Fever.

Light Saltwater
The species (sea trout, snook, redfish, baby tarpon, bonefish) included in this portion of the study were more difficult to justify for 7wt Fever. For me, that is.

For one, as much as I love it, I don't saltwater fish enough to call myself a 'saltwater fly angler'....yet*. So I have to pay attention to guys like Austin Orr, Bjorn Stromness, Davin Ebanks, Captain Gordon & others for a lot of their knowledge and opinions.

* - More on this in the near-future. Some of you (Cameron, Dave, Dean, Scotty D, Tara...if you guys actually read this shit) already know what I'm talking about :)

Secondly, the oft-present sea breezes an angler encounters on the flats can definitely warrant the ubiquitous 8wt saltwater rod. As does the heavier, more wind-resistant fly patterns the angler might be throwing at any given time.

That being said, I am of the opinion there are times where a 7wt would be an ideal choice for light saltwater fly fishing. Especially if the angler can cast. Which I can't, sometimes...

I'll give a half-point for 7wt Fever in light saltwater.

*          *          *

As the winter months waned, one, shortly followed by a second, 7wt rod fell off the rack at the shop and into the back of my truck (somehow).

However much I stumble through life trying to use critical thinking and not being susceptible to marketing propaganda, the lack of fishing and extreme cold of winter can really throw a wrench into the works. This is breakdown in sanity is often magnified by my addiction to appreciation of fly fishing gear, and a generous staff discount at the local fly shop.

The first rod was a Loop XACT 907-4. It had a medium-fast action and a really comfortable cork-mix handle. In fact, I think I may have bought the rod solely for the handle. I liked the feel of the handle. I mean, I really liked the feel of the handle. Enough to buy the damn rod without casting it.

But it turns out, I didn't like casting the rod. In my quiver post, I had this to say about the XACT:

I have a little twinge of buyer's remorse over this, as I don't necessarily love the medium-fast action on this rod & sometimes wish I would have went with a TFO TiCr, TiCrX or Axiom. But it is what it is, so I'll cope (for now).

Another minor issue was the stripping guide was of an extremely small diameter. I don't know why, but it bothered me...but it doesn't bother me on the CGR. Go figure.

Needless to say, I didn't end up coping for long, as the shop received an order of TFO's Axioms at the end of March. And the XACT was eventually sold to my uber-friendly British Smallmouth Fishing Client (more on that in a future post).

Once the Axiom came along, it was all over. Comfortable grip. Lightweight. Fast action. Big stripping guides. Heck, even the components matched up with my new Tibor Backcountry. On Instagram, I called the Axiom & Tibor Backcountry combo my "one rig to rule them all."

Matched up with an Airflo Ridgeline freshwater fly line, I felt I could cast this setup until the end of time. Salmon flies, weighted bass flies or deer hair poppers, it didn't matter. It truly was one rig to rule them all.

(Cue happy, running-through-flowery-meadow music...like Ray Stevens's 'Everything is Beautiful')

Until I had to make a shot at a tailing carp, less than thirty feet away.

(Cue 'Everything is Beautiful' suddenly stopping to that record-scratching noise)

Fifteen feet of fly line did not, would not, and could not load the Axiom. It was the only shot at a carp that day.

*          *          *

A few days later I was in the Charleston area on a flats skiff with a new 8wt Airflo saltwater line for the Axiom-Backcountry rig. I figure over-lining the rod would solve the rod-loading problem. I was wrong.

Now, if I was a smart man, I would have spent some time practicing short shots in the days leading up to this fishing trip. But nobody ever said I was a smart man.

I did manage to make some shots as the afternoon progressed. But even with the Axiom over-lined with the 8wt, making short shots was extremely difficult. The rod just didn't load...or, at least I couldn't find the sweet-spot of it loading with so little fly line out of the tip.

Perhaps this wasn't the one rig to rule them all.

Note: I am not absolving myself of the blame. I'll be the first to admit I am not a great caster, and I don't practice my casting enough. Especially short, quick shots typical of sight casting. And that day in particular, this rule was made abundantly clear to me.

*          *          *

The next night I went out for a quick fish with Captain Gordon outside of Morehead City, NC. The fish were not biting, and we each only took a few casts (it was a fun detour to make, and totally worth it, fish or not).

That night I decided to use the Backcountry on my Redington CPX 8wt. My lightsaber. I truly love this rod. It's fast, but not uber-fast like the Axiom. I could feel the line load the road. My casts were going where I wanted them. I felt my casting mojo return slightly.

I hoped the Axiom was jealous.

*          *          * 

Yesterday morning I clicked over to my Google Reader feeds for the first time in almost three weeks. Amongst the 150 unread posts, I discovered this gem written by Davin Ebanks as a guest post on Bjorn's blog.

I read it twice. Lightbulb moment. Especially this part:

Here’s the straight skinny: ultra-fast rods are the worst rods for bonefishing. I say this for both the expensive and inexpensive sticks. If you can’t feel a rod with less than 30 feet of line out the tip, you’ll miss most bonefish. Bonefishing happens between 30-50 feet. That’s pretty close, and they’re usually moving toward you. You have very little time to get the fly out and feed the fish. If you’ve got to make half-dozen false casts just to load the rod, that fish will be inside 30 feet by then and you’re done. Game over. Redo from start. What you really need is a rod that allows you to cast to that sweet spot in 1-2 false casts. You should not be struggling to feel the rod, and you should be able to accurately present the fly inside 30 feet.

That's a decent summation of what happened in Charleston, except I didn't make a half-dozen false casts. I just tried to force the line. And failed miserably.

Davin's post definitely shed new light into my quest for the perfect 7wt.

*          *          *

But it's a quest that is now on hold.

I'm in one of those "be happy with what I have" states of mind. The CGR is my go-to bass rig, which I love casting & fighting fish on. I have the Airflo 7wt freshwater lines for the Axiom once I make my return to Atlantic salmon fishing next year. The CPX 8wt and the Backcountry pair up nicely, which will be my go-to rod in Belize next month.

So I guess my case of 7wt Fever has subsided....for now. There is a Redington CPX 7wt back at the shop, after all...

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