On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 02:36:20 -0400, (tmon) wrote:

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a 6'6'' rod. Has anyone tried the
Diamondback Americana or the Cortland CL? Any other recommendations?
I'll be using the rod in tight small stream situations. Probably just
20'-30' upstream presentations but some flexibility would be good too.

Why are you thinking of getting one, and where and for what are you
thinking of fishing? Unless you can say with certainty that 12-18" of
rod length will _absolutely_ mean a physical clearance difference, 6'6"
rods are, IMO, more for the angler than the locale. And a locale giving
you non-clearance-related trouble (stream size, bank
obstructions/plants/trees/whatevers, winding/bending of the stream,
etc.) with a 7'6"-8'6" will give you the same trouble with a 6'6", but
using the 6'6" will introduce its own set of limitations and/or
difficulties. For example, accurately and smoothly casting to 20 ft.
with one-two weight gear is obviously possible, but it takes some
practice. I've fished the same streams with rods from a 6' to 8'6"
(with all other conditions being equal), and consider the 6-foot-range,
1-2 wt. rods in a non-clearance-issue situation more a interesting
diversion than a "right tool for the job" type of thing.

HTH,
R