Favorite Small Stream Bamboo Fly Rods

Here are four of my all time favorites:

Paul Young Midge 6’3”

Some small bamboo rods just have a presence and action that lends themselves to Brook Trout fishing. I’m not talking about just any fairy wand, but truly special rods. The first one is Paul Youngs Midge rod 6’3”. The first one I casted was around 1987 up in MI. It was the rod that really inspired me to get into small stream fishing. Since then I own two of them and continue to fish them readily. Parabolic rods lend themselves to wet fly fishing but I fish this rod with dry’s mostly. I find most of Paul Youngs rods great for larger stream situations and they have a lot of guts as far as casting distance goes. The Midge represents a softer side of PY tapers. It’s hard to find rod makers that really delve into small stream rods.

H.L. Leonard The Baby Catskill Model 36-3

With a beautiful swell in the butt section, this rod speaks volumes about olde world meets new casting styles. Casting this rod may just be like stepping back in time. A nice dry fly action in a tiny 6’ package. I fished this rod heavily one summer and really enjoyed it. Although being a 3wt. it had its limitations but nevertheless when a small stream just down the road why not grab a 3wt.

Chris Bogart’s Yellow Rose 7’ 2wt.

So when I take a trip to the Smokies this is my go to rod. Buttery smooth with enough umph to cast in a slight breeze, great for midging, and casting lil beetles. I typicallycast this rod with silk line, it eats it up.

Clint Bova Mad River Rod Co. Little Mecoche 6’9” 4wt.

I took a fishing trip across PA and a friend from Wilkes Barr loaned me his Little Mecoche 4wt. for a small stream walkabout. I wished I owned one. This all around is one of my favorite “small stream” rods. Although I used it on mid sized water and it casted and performed great as well. It loads in close and out far, buttery smooth, and I fought some large fish on it and it tamed the big uns. Its a beautiful rod to boot, I mean dreamy. A 6’9” just seems like it’s shorter than a 7’ but larger than a 6’3” so it’s got potential everywhere in the small stream network.


-Dave