Intro and a fishing equipment question - (Long-winded)

Hello all,

Been lurking awhile and I see there are a few legitimate anglers in the
crowd and a few with lot's of experience they're willing to share - so I'll
wade on in and ask for some advice.

First a little background so you'll know I'm a true novice but not exactly a
newbie. Over the years, we have been fortunate to live in some of the most
beautiful parts of the country and enjoyed many fishing and camping trips to
places others may only ever read about. I was introduced to fly-fishing
back in the 70's while we were living in Montana. Since we enjoyed the
hiking, I got myself a 4 piece pack rod back that has the action of a 2x4 -
but luck prevailed and quite a few native cutthroats ended up in the creel.
Where we fished was typically densely covered streams in the mountains and
using any method I could to get the fly - somewhere - in the water was used.

Obviously I learned a lot of bad habits which were only compounded by trying
to use spin casting skills on a fly rod. Luck continued on our trips into
Nebraska waters and eventually on up to Alaska over the next few years. If
you've ever fished the Russian river, you know that it generates its own
wind and you darn near need a brick tied to the end of the tippet to get the
line out in some places. Again, the same 4 piece rod was used but here, the
stiff action was a plus but my skills were no match for the challenges
offered. I often reverted back to a spinning outfit so I could concentrate
more on fishing instead of trying to get my fly line untangled from a nearby
tree.

I now look back at those wonderful adventures (which I tell many a tall tale
about today) and finally realized after all these years that the most
enjoyable fishing I ever did was with that simple 4 piece fly rod. After we
moved back east, I gave that rod to my brother-in-law since he enjoyed
hiking into places and fishing. That was 20 years ago and he still has that
pack rod although it is rarely used these days. My brother is also an avid
fisherman but has never tried fly fishing. After hearing all of my tall
tales (they get better every time I tell them...) he is now interested and
wanted to borrow that 4 piece rod to try. That rekindled my brother-in-laws
fondness for stalking some brooks again and my own interest went kinda wild
too. Sort of like a slippery slope.......and just before Christmas
too......

Well Santa was extremely good and he found some excellent deals on a few St.
Croix and Diamondback rods along with a few Hardy and Orvis reels. Went
with 9' rods 6wt and 5/6 Hardy reels for those rods as gifts and one for me
too. I did say slippery slope didn't I? So after Christmas I went looking
for some line and found three (6'6", 7' and an 8'), 4wt rods that really
feel nice. Since they were priced so I couldn't refuse them - I picked up
all three with the intent of returning two after I've tried them.

Now I don't need all three of these rods and that is my dilemma. One is a
Diamondglass 7', (real slow action), the others are both St. Croix (Avids)
graphite's with one being 6'6" and the other an 8'. The wiggle test alone
has almost eliminated the 8' rod based on my past experiences of stream
fishing where a long rod could be a real pain and it being a relatively fast
rod may be a problem due to my lack of skills right now.

I picked up some 333 Cortland line (WF4F) just to use for testing these rods
and will save the good stuff for when the ice is fluid again. So I'll be
out in the back yard tomorrow flogging the snow testing these rods which
should get the neighbors talking....

I would be interested in hearing what others think about the 4wt
Diamondglass rods and the 6'6" Avid rod. I like the feel of each with the
St. Croix obviously being faster (moderately fast) and the Diamondglass
feeling like a silk scarf in the hand. Can't wait to see how they feel with
some line going thru the tip. I've matched a Cortland Embassy 40 to the
Diamondglass and an Orvis CFO III to the St. Croix 7'.

When the wife asks why I need two 4wt rods, I'll be standing on thin ice
here so it's my full intent to hand her one of the rods and tell her I've
been testing them both to insure (pick one) will be perfect for her when she
wants to join in on the fun..... Now how can she deny me on that one I
ask....;-)

Thank you for your input and a Happy New Year,

Bob S.