Spent a few hours today on the Farmington River with the 6’6” 5 wt fiberglass rod that I just finished building. I’m happy to say that it was a chilly but successful inaugural trip for the rod, and my first fish of 2010.
![glassfish](https://finfollower.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/glassfish.jpg)
Air temps were in the 20’s and the wind gusts were brutal at times, but it was great to break in a new rod and see the end product of many hours of work in action.
It started out slow as I crossed over a snow covered bank and a small ice shelf to reach the river. The water was low and clear. Tied on a double nymph combo consisting of a hare’s ear and a caddis pupa and waded into the tail end of a large pool.
Early on the guides started icing, but I was able to clear them easily by hand. After 45 minutes of nymphing in a couple of nice runs I was still fishless, so I went back to the car and warmed up, returning with a cone head streamer. Made about a half a dozen casts across a deep pool and felt the unmistakable tug of a nice 12” brown. It wasn’t a wild fight – no tail dancing, thrashing or surface rolling, but the fish fought me steadily until it was in hand. After a couple of quick pictures it was safely back in the water and on its way.
Fiberglass has much more flex than graphite, and also gave a softer presentation, which was beneficial in a smaller pool. I never lost confidence in its ability to bring in the fish, despite the reduced stiffness.
I built the rod primarily for kayak fishing with dry files on lakes and small streams, but was happy to see that it did a solid job as both a nymph and streamer rod. Can’t wait to see how it performs with a bass and panfish.
![First Fish of 2010 Caught on Fiberglass Rod](https://finfollower.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ovpool.jpg)