7 ft 4 weight biggest trout it could handle?

[JanBoy 0]

Hi guys, as the title suggests I am wondering what a 7ft #4 weight rod and line could handle? I fish a fishery most time although I bought this for a river and know its fine for rivers as its a small river rod however I am curious as to what you would say their limits are. I am just itching to try it out but as rivers are not so great at the moment I wanted to try it at the lake majority of the trout being 3-7 lb hard fighting.

 

Thanks in advanced.

[heavynets 0]

Rods are rated for the line they handle not the size of the fish. The rod can handle most anything if you play the fish mostly off the reel. The size you can land is more a function of tippet breaking strength and your skill. What you may have trouble with is turning or lifting a big fish.

[JanBoy 0]

Thanks I am just used to bigger rods but I wasn't sure what strain the smaller rods could cope with.

[mikechell 0]

As heavynets said, the rod is capable of landing a 30 pound fish, if you have enough backing, room and time to play it.

[Adam Saarinen 0]

30 pounds? Is that getting close to 15 kilos Mike? Not all types of fish that size then!

[vicrider 0]

Keep in mind one thing when using UL tackle on mega sized fish. If you are eating the fish no problem but if you're releasing them the lack of power in lighter weight rods means much longer playing times and a lot more stress on the fish. If the fish is released the mortality rate goes up with the amount of stress and time in playing the fish. If he's going to on the grille then no problem, have fun, use a reel you can get some decent backing on, and play the fish with the rod at a 45 degree angle, not a 90.

[JanBoy 0]

No problem thanks guys, Good point Vicrider didn't consider that!

[ditz2 0]

Your tippet strength is more of a limiting factor than the rod. Your personal ability is a consideration. The bigger fish can be fought more from the butt of the rod and the reel. If you high stick em then you can expect to break the rod on large fish. I have seen very large carp caught on 3wt......It did not take long either. Just got to know what you are doing. Would I target a 20# salmon on a 4wt? No .....but salmon and trout are 2 different animals.

[Gene L 0]

The size of the fly should determine the weight of the rod. But on the other hand, a six weight rod will cast a very small fly and a 4wt won't cast a large fly well.

 

I landed a really big trout on a five weight, but it just about wore the fish out and didn't do me any good either.

 

I caught another big fish on another 5wt Far and Fine two years ago, and he was in current and I had a very heavy tippet (accidetally, I forgot my tippet spools.) And a heavy fly, a Vladi Worm. Still, it was an larger-than-expected fish on a heavier-than-usual fly. I was pushing the limits. Played both of them off the reel. Again, a very tired fish I hope survived. It wouldn't have hurt my feelings if I'd lost the fish and he reproduced a lived a happy life.

 

While I like the idea of light-weight rods and have a couple, I think one should be prepared to cast a heavier fly. I enjoy casting size 20 dries on a 4wt to bream, lots of action but no bragging rights.

 

A five does it for me. And a six wouldn't hurt. I'm not skilled enough to land a big fish on a light rod with a small tippet.

[SilverCreek 0]

Use a heavy leader, and a reel that will hold a lot of backing and you can catch a big fish on a lake where you can follow the fish with a boat. Point the rod AT the fish and you take the rod OUT of the equation. Then the rod does not matter because it is the reel drag and amount of line vs the fish. Put a 20 lb weight on the ground, go on a bridge and you can "lift" 20 lbs with a 30 lb tippet by pointing the rod straight down and pulling up on the fly reel.

[Gene L 0]

That's hand fishing with a fly taking the rod out of the equasion. Fishing with a rod relies on the rod instead of a cable leader, with which you can't cast a fly.

[FlaFly 0]

I have to agree with Vic. If you are targeting big fish, get some beefier tackle. Down in Tampa Bay there are guys who come out every night on a bridge that is no longer in use for traffic. They bring rods that are about the diameter of a shovel handle, 100 pound mono for line, sinker the size of a goose egg, and they stay there all night hoping to catch a 50 pound drum. They may never actually catch one in their lifetime.

I use light/ultralight to catch lots of fish, albeit small. At least I'm having fun and getting some action. In one bluegilling trip I can catch several dozen gills, maybe even take a few of the bigger ones home to fry for supper. I understand that there are lots of guys here who relish the idea of catching a big'un, but those guys gear up appropriately.

One last point... in any mechanical system, there needs to be a weak link, and that link should be expendable (i.e., cheap). You want the tippet or leader to break, not your fly line, certainly not your rod or reel. Don't think you can improve your chances by using a 50 pound fluorocarbon tippet on a 4 wt rod.

[ditz2 0]

SilverCreek is exactly correct about pointing the rod at the fish. As stated above it is not wise to use a tippet stronger than the fly line core. ......something all fly rodders should try. Set a 2# box of sugar on the floor and tie it to the end of your line after stringing up the rod and lift it off the floor. Careful, you might break your rod. If you are doing it with a 9wt or so use a 5# box. Many think they are putting a lot of pressure on a fish when in fact they are not. The problem of broken tippets are many times because of a knick in the tippet which greatly reduces the line strength. Even a 6# tippet will take a remarkable amount of pressure if it has not knicks or it comes up against a sharp edge of some sort.

[SilverCreek 0]

The point I was making is that many fly fishers wrongly believe that it is the rod that determines how large a fish one can land. Ultimately, it is the strength of the tippet. What the rod does is cast, and gives the angler the advantage of leverage. The rod flex can help protect a light tippet. However, none of that determines the maximum force that we can apply to the fish

 

When the tippet is actually stronger than the force a bent rod can place on the tippet, you can always point the rod at the fish. That is what we do when we get a snag so that we don't break the rod. Do not forget that it is the strength of the tippet that determines how much force we can ultimately place on a fish.

 

Lee Wulff was a proponent of fishing light rods for salmon. He once caught a salmon without even using a rod; so the fly rod does NOT determine the size of a fish that can be caught by a talented fly fisher.

 

I do not suggest using light rods for large fish because it is better for the fish to tame it quickly so it can be relatively fresh when released. But the question was how large a fish could be handled by the rod in question and not what is best for the fish.

 

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/oldflies/part343.php

 

"As a pioneer in the use of extra light tackle for salmon, by 1940 I had come down to a seven-foot, two-and-a-half ounce fly rod, and since then have rarely used anything heavier. In 1943, in order to demonstrate to the most confirmed doubter, I eliminated the rod entirely from my tackle. Casting some thirty-odd feet by hand, I hooked a ten-pound salmon and played it by holding the reel in my right hand, reeling with my left, until I could finally reach down and tail it with my own hand, ten minutes later. Witnesses were present and pictures were taken to prove that a salmon rod may be as light as one wishes, even to the point of none at all. This experiment was the basis of an article in Field and Stream."

 

 

http://royalwulff.com/products/lee-wulff-classic-bamboo-rod/

 

"Lee Wulff spent a lifetime pursuing larger fish on lighter tackle. He frequently used a one-piece, sixfoot bamboo rod–similar to this–to catch trout and salmon up to 26 lbs!"

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=oV_-N8R-9-gC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=Lee+wulff+light+rods+for+salmon&source=bl&ots=Eq3POYJW5P&sig=WkU1pKMpeviP3g1hPUgcySd2dBI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CE4Q6AEwCGoVChMI9eTz5o6IxgIVQgmsCh3r5QAP#v=onepage&q=Lee%20wulff%20light%20rods%20for%20salmon&f=false

[ditz2 0]

Lee Wulff also fished for and caught some huge tuna on light tackle. The term is also a relative term. His light tackle was 80# tackle where the tackle generally used for that fishing was 180# so 80# was light tackle. If I remember correctly Joan was also fishing with him on that trip.