My birthday is coming up in a few weeks and birthdays are as good of an excuse as any to get a new rod.

I'm looking at a few different rods, but i'm leaning toward the 6' 2wt Full Flex 3.0 Orvis Superfine Trout Bum. Has anyone fished this rod (or maybe even just cast it)? I saw one report on the internet where a guy tried it out. He said he was using 3wt line to get this shorter rod to load properly. I'm wondering if this little rod will load up with 2wt line for short casts with just a few feet of line off of the tip.

I'm also looking at the 000 Sage TXL (so i can go lighter than my 1wt), but i love the superfine line. : )

I'd test cast them but none of the local shops have the 602 or the Triple Ought in stock to try.

I'd also welcome advice on alternatives to these 2 rods or which rod you guys think might round out my quiver better.

My "quiver":

South Bend 6'6" 4 wt (more like a 5 or 5.5 weight"
Superfine Trout Bum 7'6" 1wt (new 4 piece model)
Superfine One Ounce 7' 4wt (older 2 piece model, nice and slow)
Helios 9' 5wt (for all of my heavy fishing, windy days, long casts, etc)

thanks for the help,

jds

thanks for the reply J.

I go back and forth on whether i want a shorter rod for my home waters, or one of Sage's 00 or 000 TXL to challenge the small fish i usually target. I'm loving the 1wt, but i see situations where i could go just a little lighter. : )

On the on the hand, i just have this soft spot for the Superfine series and i love short rods in general. : )

i'm hoping to make it over to Sevierville TN pretty soon and hopefully i can do some hands on with the 602 Superfine then. I just get anxious and want to hear what my fellow UltraLight Enthusiasts think.

jds

i've been considering that too. i actually have a spool of 00 Quiet Taper line laying around.

is there an advantage to the 00 over the 000? My only reasoning so far is that i should go ahead and go for the lightest TXL.

If you're looking for a short 2wt, keep looking, unless you have a really fast stroke. I had the 602/4 One Ounce, but ended up selling it. It's a terrific (sweet) 4wt and not a bad 3wt if you like to cast a short rod fairly long, but a 2wt line won't load it until you get 25-30 ft of line out, and even then, it's pretty fast. Of course, you should cast it yourself to see if you like it. On the plus side, it breaks down into the smallest, lightest package I've ever seen, if that matters to you.
-CC

JDS, so long as you're looking at rods in that price range, you might take a look at Scott Fibertouch rods, the new Hardy Glass rods (cheaper by a good measure), Steffen Bros. glass rods, and McFarland glass rods (willing to wait a year or so?). In a really short rod, glass just seems to communicate better than graphite (notice I didn't say cast better--I'll leave that up to the fisherman to decide). It's also tougher, which may be an advantage with the thin tips required for 1-2wt lines.
-CC

I appreciate everyones help and input.

i'm definitely going to do some checking on those glass rods.

Sean,
Glass, well it's sweet soft and slow. I'll be sure and bring my 6'6" Lami for you to try; from it you'll have an idea of the feel of most glass rods.
Les