"Scott Seidman" wrote in message
. 1.4...
"Bob S" wrote in news:L5etf.47091$XJ5.8529
@twister.nyroc.rr.com:

I would be interested in hearing what others think about the 4wt
Diamondglass rods and the 6'6" Avid rod.

All depends on the kind of fishing you plan to do. By my own standards,
If
you can't cross a stream in less than about a five or six steps, and the
canopy isn't that of a rain forest, I like a longer rod, and generally
won't go below about 7'9" for such purposes, with 8'6" often better.

Casting can get a hair tough sometimes, depending on the cover, but not
impossible. What you'll find with experience is that there's a trade off.
You'll always be dealing with avoiding streamside brush, and that a short
rod can help with that. The flip side is that line control is very
important to achieve a drag free drift with dry flies and a dead drift
with
nymphs, and a long rod makes these things much easier.

--
Scott
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Scott,

Thanks for the advice and while I'm only a novice fly fisherman, I do have
some experience with using both short and long rods in tight situations.
It's been my nature to stay away from places where you find a lot of
fisherman flailing the waters and that usually means trekking on in to the
tougher spots - where not everyone will bother to go. While I've been to
some of those picture perfect waters you see - those spots are not the norm.
Mountain streams, deep, fast and narrow with the eventual pool or beaver
dam, and lots of tree's seem more in line with what I usually found in the
past as un-crowded places to fish.

Here on the east coast it's even more crowded but I do know of a few spots
that I want to try - and they're anything but open. So while a longer rod
would still work, I'll feel more comfortable with a shorter, slower action
rod for those situations. Based on my somewhat inconclusive testing with
the rods today, both fast and a slow rod, I'm still as lousy as ever.... But
lots of practice and some good coaching will help solve that little problem
and I'll be able to catch a tree along with the best of ya....

Thank you and a Happy New Year,

Bob S.