Rod of choice for dry fly fishing
My journey as an advocate of Scott Fly Rods began 20 years ago. Living in Boulder, Colorado at the time where Scott was immensely popular, it seemed like a good choice. After all, they were manufactured in Montrose, Colorado. Back then I did not have the budget to buy them new, so my first purchase was a Scott STS in a 4wt. loved that rod from the beginning. Back then as I remember it, nymph fishing was my go-to and I fished my home waters of South Boulder Creek regularly. The Big Thompson was number two and only a bit further. What I did not realize at the time, was that the STS was a heavy rod, especially by today’s standards. But, it was a Scott that I could afford to buy used and picked up more on eBay. Eventually, I had in addition to my 4wt, a 6wt, an 8wt and a 10wt. All purchased for $300-400. Years later when I lived in Florida, I realized what an excellent salt water rod the STS was and my 6wt and my 8wt were in regular use.
There was a time after my four years in Florida, that I was really struggling financially. I had moved back to Colorado and was in no position to buy expensive gear. I did fish a lot however. When you have all the gear, it is a reasonably inexpensive hobby. I ended up leaving Colorado for a really good job in Utah and once I had a chance to get my finances back to a reasonable state, I decided to begin to upgrade my fly rod quiver. My reels were all Galvans, some OBs, a Torque, etc. Galvans are great reels and they last forever and the company Galvan is always there to provide a tune-up or unfreeze a stuck spool.
The first G2 came into my life via a family member. My niece’s husband, an avid fly fisher had a G2 in a 5wt. He had bought it used and got a great deal on it. Well, tips break occasionally and he was faced with a big repair cost and decided he wanted to be rid of it. So he basically gave it to me. I took it to my shop who always has treated me well and when the rod came back it was only $50 plus shipping. I offered to send it back to him in Texas but he had already made other plans.
A 5wt G2 is a sweet rod. I began fishing with it and it was so much lighter than my 4wt STS and I could cast further too as long as I didn’t try to overload it. I had read all the reviews at the time, like this one from Vail Valley Anglers. There was another one that has since been taken down, calling the 3wt 8’8″ G2 the “The best dry fly trout rod of all time”. Which got me thinking, I loved the 5wt, but I liked it for nymphing and small streamers. The 5wt G2 s a beast at throwing buggers and leeches. So when I just happened to come across a 3wt 8’8″ G2 on eBay, I was all over it and I was not to be outbid. Oddly enough, the seller was in Utah and I met him in Utah county and picked it up in person. I wanted to fish it right away and kept driving south to Provo Canyon. I was a cold January day so I headed up toward the Dry Creek dam and parked in the lot below. I was hoping for a midge hatch, but that was not the case. Either way, knew was fishing my new toy, which was actually new by the way. Still had plastic on the cork! The G2 had already been out of production for 5 years when I bought this one. The guy I bought it from was a guide and he got it as a freebie and never fished it. Bonus for me!
For a reel, I had an older Galvan OB3 that I used on my STS 4wt for many years. I had since replaced it with a newer model, but it was usable and hey, it had that great Galvan drag! Anyway, I rigged the new rod, took the plastic off the cork and was prepared to nymph fish until there were signs of a midge hatch.
On the first run, I rigged up a really small thing-a-ma-bob, a two nymphs – a black zebra midge in a 22 and a size 18 copper john using 6X tippet. I like to rig midges first and if they aren’t working go with a sow bug or small scud which work great just below the dam, especially in winter and early spring. About three casts in, I had an eat and at first I thought it might be a snag. This s typical of a brown eat. Sometimes, it takes a second or two for them to realize they have been hooked. As it happened, it turned out to be a big brown, 18″s in fact. My first thought was, I will never land this fish in current on 6X tippet! Well, in fact I did land that fish! And I quickly realized that a G2 in a 3wt offers substantial tippet protection! Right then and there I knew I made an excellent purchase!
So this article is less about fishing and more about the gear. But I felt compelled to throw in the story from above and how I fell in love with the 3wt G2 from the start. Since that day, my 3wt G2 has become my go-to fly rod for dry fly fishing, period! The caveat is bigger foam bugs, and/or wind. And, it doesn’t matter what size trout I’m targeting, or just happen to encounter(see below). But in order for the 3wt G2 to reach the pinnacle of dry fly goodness, I needed to upgrade the old Galvan to a new Galvan Torque T3(another eBay purchase). It has the perfect size and weight for this rod and drag is just silky smooth. Since then, I added the 6wt and the 4wt G2s to my quiver, selling off my STS 6wt and 8wt in the process. Instead of the 8wt STS, I now own 7wt and 9wt Scott Meridians, but will save their reviews for another story.
At this stage in the post you may be thinking, this guy must be biased. He has nothing bad to say about his G2s. Well, that would be true when it comes to the 3 and 4wt models. The 4wt is right behind the 3wt when it comes to dry fly fishing. I bought the 9′ 4wt and it is by far the most versatile rod I own. On a day of wading when I only want to carry one rod, the 4wt is my go-to. It is my favorite nymphing rod by far, especially for baetis/caddis nymphs. I still go with 5wt when I fish salmon fly/stonefly nymphs and need extra weight to get down. The 4wt is also my favorite rod for swinging soft hackles. Next to dry fly fishing, swinging soft hackles is my next in line favorite. The 4wt also tosses leeches and buggers with ease.
The weakest size in my G2 quiver is the 6wt. At this time I’m actually contemplating replacing it. G2s by design do not have a stiff backbone. A fast rod like a Centric or a Radian fill that niche. And, that is exactly what you need if you are throwing big, heavy articulated streamers. The fall before last, I was casting a double streamer rig on the Madison on the stretch between the lakes. I was using a heavy streamer Max sink tip line and a sex dungeon and another streamer behind and G2 just could not perform. It was painful! This past summer, I upgraded the sink tip line and in the same scenario on the South Fork, the rod just couldn’t deliver a decent cast without a ton of effort. This fall I switched it up. I put my OB6 reel with the new Streamer Max 6 line on my 7wt Meridian and I was in streamer casting heaven casting double articulated flies on the A section of the Green river. The Meridian is super stiff and it handled the rig with ease. Some people might want to cast a big foam bug rig from a boat especially using the G2 6wt. This is not me, I have yet to meet a dry fly so big and heavy that my 5wt G2 can’t handle it. My motto is to always use the lightest weight rod for the job.
Casting Accuracy – Impact – Tippet Protection
My most accurate dry fly casts are delivered by my 3wt G2. Why? Touch! During a hatch, whether fishing on the Henry’s Fork or the Flaming Gorge of the Green, the fish are gorging themselves on flies and there is no reason for them to leave their lane. They may move an inch or two from one side or the other, but you are looking at a 3-4″ lane if you want to get an eat. You are also competing with naturals and the timing or rhythm of the rises. This is a complex scenario. Casting accuracy is key and my 3wt G2 s by far my most accurate rod. My 4wt is a close second, but it doesn’t have as much feel, especially with flies below a 14.
Impact is the second reason that I reach for my 3wt. Especially in calm, gin clear water! A 3wt line creates less impact when it lands. Of course this is mitigated by a long 12′ leader, but less impact is better. You spook fewer fish.
Finally, tippet protection. I regularly fish my 3wt when targeting big fish, for the reasons stated above but especially when I need to use lightweight tippet. Of course you basically have to use lightweight tippet when fishing small flies like midges or pseudos. The fact is, your odds of landing an 18″ or larger trout using 6X on a 5wt or even 4wt go down drastically. The fish does a big head shake, or mounts a final quick run when they see the net, and snap! they are gone! The fact is, I loose relatively few large fish to a break off when fishing my 3wt G2.
Big Fish and the 3wt G2
A few stories to back up the above. Most recent first. I was fishing the Henry’s Fork from shore near Ashton last winter and began the day swinging leeches with my 4wt. Not much action, I think one small brown. In the heat of the day at 34 degrees, a midge hatch was coming off and there were some large heads coming up in the shallows. I tied on a size 28 midge dry fly on my 3wt with 6.5X tippet. I was carrying 8X and was prepared to go there but these heads were big, four in total. Three of those conditions in the section above were met. Shallow clear water, casting accuracy was key, small flies and light tippet. Because the fish were eating in water that was less than a foot deep, stayed 25′ below them so as not to spook them. Out of the 5 fish rising, I landed four, picking off one at a time. The smallest was 17″ and the largest was 20″.
Oldest next. About a year after I bought the 3wt G2, I was heading up into Montana and found an access point for the Beaverhead River. It was winter and there was snow on the ground. In a similar scenario, I rigged the 3wt G2 with 6X and a size 20 parachute Adams. Fish were rising to the midge hatch. I kept getting refusals and after trying a Griffiths Gnat with about the same result, I needed to go smaller but didn’t carry midges that were small enough. On a hunch, I put on a glass bead head RS2 emerger in grey. It was a size 22. After a couple of casts, I saw a big swirl and knew I had an eat. I set and had a battle on my hands. After ten minutes I brought a 22″ rainbow to hand.
Ok, now this one sounds like a fish tale, but it is absolutely true. About 5 years ago I had a business trade show in Missoula, Montana of all places. I knew I would be fishing and once again brought my Scott G2 3wt on the trip. One morning before the trade show started I was up early and fishing, wet wading the Clark Fork. I had rigged a Dry/Dropper rig and and had already landed fish on the dry, a size 12 purple haze. I was almost ready to head back to my hotel room, when I ended up on a beautiful seam and had to fish it. On the second or third cast my dropper, a Pat’s rubber legs got hung up on a snag. I pulled hard a few times and nothing. Then the snag began to move! I realized I had a huge fish on and my tippet was 5X. SO a big part of the strategy was to pressure the fish to stay inside the seam n the calmer water. Once out in the fast current, he would break off, take me downstream deep into my backing. My wrangling skills were good that day and I managed to keep him inside, but still it was about an 8min battle, but finally I succeeded in bringing him to hand. It was a monster bull trout! The first bull trout for me and the longest trout by far I had ever caught. Wanting to get a measurement, but not having a net or a tape. I held my rod to the side of the fish, the butt at the tip of the tale and the tip of his nose was right at the first guide. When I got home, I measured that distance and it taped out at 30″!!! Don’t know if I will ever land a bigger fish on my 3wt, but I am certainly open to the possibility!
