For many freshwater anglers, the 5-weight fly rod is their go-to choice. Whether targeting Trout, Bass, or panfish, its versatility is unparalleled. Fortunately, there are many excellent 5-weight rods available today, with features that suit nearly any freshwater angling foray. Today, we’ll take a look at several of the very best 5 weights of 2024, to help you pick the right tool for your fishing.
Even If you’ve only been interested in fly fishing for a short time, you have probably heard praise for the venerable 9ft 5wt. The 905 has been touted as the go-to, do-everything utilitarian trout rod since its inception. It’s the best-selling configuration in nearly every trout and freshwater-oriented series.
However, as most reading this know, fly rods come in different sizes to serve the many fishing scenarios, anglers may face. A rod over nine feet offers many advantages, from high sticking and better line management to roll casting larger nymphs and streamers. Unfortunately, rod makers don’t always dedicate as much time designing 10ft tapers as the nine in the same series. However, we recently got to demo the 10ft 5wt Hardy Ultralite, and the results floored us. Read on to see why this could be the rod that’ll convince you to leave the 9fter in the truck.
The R8 Core is Sage’s latest all-water flagship series, which replaces the successful X series after over a half-decade on the market. The buzz around this rod has been HUGE, even by Sage’s standards. There are good reasons for this: Sage has constantly pushed the envelope regarding rod design and graphite technology. The R8 may be hotter than sliced bread but has Sage reinvented the wheel?
The Air 2 is being touted as the best all-purpose 5wt in the company’s illustrious history and a challenger to the top trout rods on the market. Winston is known for making rods with a soulful touch that are perfectly tuned for technical dry fly fishing. However, due to their delicate nature, they often lack the backbone needed for dedicated nymphing and streamer fishing. If you are in the market for a new 5wt, read on to see if the Air 2 is the ultimate multi-purpose trout fishing tool.
Mid-priced fly rods have almost become an afterthought in the fly fishing industry. Fly rod manufacturers prioritize promoting their premium flagship series or are eager to tap into the beginner market with affordable combos. Sage is looking to reverse this trend.
The Ultralite replaces the Zephrus as Hardy’s high-end, freshwater rod series. Here at Trident, we were big fans of the Zephrus and its predecessor, the Zenith. Both series represented two of the finest all-purpose 5wts in the industry during their time. It is always difficult….
2020 marks the return of Greys to the United States. For those of us who have been at this long enough, you’ll remember when Greys left us some 6 (or so) years ago to become a European only brand. Like an Alfa Spider, Greys faded out of the mainstream and into the fond memory of enthusiasts. And now, they’re back.
Winston launched two new rods this year – the Kairos and the Nimbus – and both entered the market, well… softly. After a huge announcement, I really didn’t hear much about them for a while. They didn’t go to iCast, so I didn’t have the chance to cast them there and honestly it’s taken me months to get my hands on one. I was almost frothing at the mouth.
