Seems the hi-jack is back on track wink Fact is, whether it's Sage, St. Croix, Winston, Scott, Orvis, or JC Penney, most all will do well for a average fly fisherman in both casting and catching fish. In the hands of someone that's a little above the average guy, the top dollar rods really shine. I fished St. Croix for years before a buddy handed me his Winston to fish for the day...that was an expensive mistake. After fishing it for a few hours I picked up my St. Croix and it felt like a club, and this coming from a guy that swore there wasn't a $500 fly rod worth that kind of money. I've got four of them now, and looking for a fifth. I'm not the greatest caster, but when I'm on my game, these rods make it oh so easy.

It is the line that really matters and as long as you can load the rod and transfer that energy to the line you're GTG, even with a WallyWorld special. Dan's pretty savvy, changing lines and line weights as the conditions change to get different performance out of his flyrod. As for your question, the main advantage of a longer fly rod is managing your line on the water, both in mending and keeping excess line out of contrary currents. The action of the rod is what determines feel, both in casting and fighting fish. I'm looking for a shorter 3 wt myself as the places where I'd use it all of the casts are within 25' and it's a little brushy on some of my favorite streams and creeks. I'm with Art in that I prefer a slower action that flexes all the way to the handle as it makes me a more relaxed caster and I dig the slower pace. It's also more fun fighting the little guys and it ups the fun factor. I've also got two fast action rods (Winston BIIx) and it's amazing how much line they can throw with so little effort. But I like fishing the slower WT model better. Hope that answers your question.