Looking for the best fly rod for trout in 2022? We’ve put our heads together to bring you reviews of five leading contenders at various price points and choose a top pick for rivers, lakes, and budget-conscious anglers.
Read on to find out our selections, what you need to know in buying a fly rod for trout (brand, length, weight, action), and the questions you need to ask yourself before spending hundreds of dollars on a new rod.
These selections are borne out of hours spent on the water casting different rods and sharing views among the folk we fish with to hone in on what is truly the best fly rod for trout in each of these three categories.
In Summary: Our Top Trout Rods
The Orvis H3 (Helios) series ranks among the best fly rods ever built. If you spend a lot of time fly fishing on lakes, then the power of the 9' 6wt H3D can't be beat. This fly rod is a workhorse and is also one of our best picks as a bass fly rod.
Scott has ever made. It's lighter, recovers more quickly, and dampens better than just about any other fly rod on the market. That makes the Scott Centric the ideal trout fly rod for rivers and streams.
The Sage Foundation gets a spot on this list because it's such a great value. Of all the entry-level rods on the market, the Sage Foundation delivers insane value without breaking the bank. Perfect for tackling everything from spring creeks to small streams, the Foundation is a stellar medium-action rod.
Read on after our buyer’s guide section for detailed reviews of each of these rods and those that didn’t make our top three picks.
What to Look For in a Fly Rod for Trout
Now that you know what rods we recommend to anglers for trout, it’s time to break down the process a bit. These are the features we look for in a good fly rod, which inform the rankings in this list.
Where You Like to Fish
First off, you need to be honest with yourself in regard to where you fish. Most fly-fishing anglers spend time moving water. That means you need accurate, quality rods capable of a wide range of presentations.
If you fish mostly stillwater, though, then you’ll look for something completely different. A stiff, fast-action 4-piece rod that generates high line speed is powerful yet responsive and is the best tool for your trade.
Let’s break this down into even more detail.
See also:
- Best Fly Rods for Bass Fishing Reviewed
- Best Saltwater Fly Rods on the Market Ranked
- Overlining Your Fly Rod – Is It a Good Idea?
Rivers
The best fly rods for rivers are versatile sticks. You want something that can do a bit of everything. You need a powerful fly rod to cast through the wind. You also need something that’s capable of delicate presentations to warily rising trout.
Rods that throw dries, nymphs, and streamers with equal performance are the ultimate goal. For most trout fishing, that means a 9-foot, 4-piece, 5-weight rod is your best choice here. You might find that a rod in different line weights is better for certain situations, but in terms of something that does well for everything, it’s hard to beat a medium-fast 9-foot 5-weight rod such as the Scott Centric (at the high end), and the Sage Foundation (at the lower end).
Small Streams
Small streams are a much more specialized version of what you need while on a river. These waters demand a bit of finesse and certainly require more skill from the caster to get flies in front of fish. Often, you’ll be fishing for trout that aren’t more than 40 feet away, if that. A rod with a good backbone will help you quickly place casts in the right areas and muscle fish through pocket water to your net. Again, we are looking at the Scott Centric (at the high end) and the Sage Foundation (at the lower end)
Lakes
If you mostly fish lakes, look for rods in heavier line weights. A 6 or 7-weight fly rod is a good choice here. You want something that can throw streamers into a tough wind, is plenty stiff to handle long runs from big fish, and is versatile enough to throw a nymph, streamers, or dry flies. Also, bear in mind you’ll need a rod that can throw larger flies, cast long distances and comes from a family of fast action rods. Our best choices here are the Orvis H3D and the Sage X.
Detailed Reviews of Our Best Fly Rods for Trout
The Scott Centric is an award-winning rod already, which is saying something, since it had the unenviable job of following the much-loved Scott Radian. This rod, in a 5 weight, is one of the better fly rods you'll find. It's quick, with a soft tip, and the ability to deliver delicate presentations or big flies at a moment's notice.
- Phenomenal accuracy
- Great feel and Scott quality
- Game changer
The Sage X is one of the best fly rods for trout on the market. If you're stuck choosing a fly rod and don't have the Sage X on your list, add it. Yes, it costs a bit more, but it's a wonderful piece of fishing gear. It's a fast rod, with great recovery and ample power.
Whether you're throwing nymphs to deep runs, or fishing dries, the Sage X has what you need to be successful on the water.
- Strong all-round rod
- Good in wind
- Versatile
The G Loomis NRX is another great piece of fishing gear, and once again, it's a rod that we've seen perform best in a 5-weight. This fly rod is known for its superb performance at distance, in addition to its feel in close. If you're looking for a rod that can really do it all, you'd be hard-pressed to find one that checks more boxes than the NRX.
The only big knock against this fly rod is that it's no longer the company's flagship, and as such, may not be serviced as effectively under warranty.
- All-round performer
- Versatile
If you need to be price-conscious, then it's hard to overlook the Sage Foundation. This fly rod is light, durable, and comes with an excellent warranty. It does a lot of things well, but it doesn't excel at anything in particular. It's a jack-of-all-trades type of rod more than anything else.
- Superb rod for the price
- Sage quality, craftsmanship, and warranty/customer support
- Tops its category
This is a powerful rod designed to tame adverse conditions or present flies at a long distance. The Orvis H3D is a real workhorse that won't let you down when fishing stillwaters or big rivers even in high winds.
It's the perfect rod for throwing tight loops into a gale, pulling a big fish away from structure, or sending a streamer to the far side of the river. We rate it as a good bass fishing fly rod too.
While it is a very accurate casting rod, it is not the right choice if your fishing typically requires finesse, delicacy, and some flex in the rod to protect thin tippets.
But for what it is designed for, this rod excels and is well worth the hefty price tag.
- Stillwater and big river king
- Powerful
- Pinpoint accuracy
Trout Fly Rod Buyers’ Guide:
In this section, we break down some more of the key considerations in choosing the right trout fly rod for you, including the type of flies you are casting, the typical length of cast, rod and line weight, line type, and rod length.
What Type of Flies You Fish
The best fly rod for trout will depend heavily on the types of flies you fish. Your fly rod has a big impact on how it presents certain flies.
Dry Fly
If you primarily throw dry flies, you’ll want a light, soft fly rod. The best rod weight for a dry fly is largely considered to be a 4 weight. A slower action rod is your best friend here.
Nymphs
Nymphing is a different experience than dry fly or streamer fishing. A medium-fast action rod that excels at roll casting will be your best rod here. You’ll also want something light since you’ll need to hold it high during dead drifts.
Also, pay attention to the accuracy of the rod. Nymphing requires a healthy dose of accuracy.
Streamers
Streamers don’t require the delicate presentation or accuracy that you need out of a rod for dries or a nymph. A streamer is a heavy, meaty fly that demands casts for long distances with power behind them. A great rod for streamer fishing is one that’s stiff with a high modulus graphite blank.
What Length of Cast Is Typical for You?
The distance you cast also plays into choosing the best fly rod for you. Most trout fishing happens with a range of 20-60 feet. You don’t need a rod that can throw 100 feet simply because that’s not where you’re likely to find trout.
Once you’ve determined what flies you’re using and your typical casting distance, it’s time to look at the key features of fly rods.
Material
Fly rods are built from tons of different materials. There isn’t one material that’s inherently the best, although most of the best fly rods for trout these days are built from graphite. They also happen to be 4-6 weight rods.
Graphite/Carbon Fiber
Graphite is the most popular material for fly rods. It provides a wide range of possibilities for rod actions, and you can find 0 – 10 weight rods built from graphite at nearly every fly shop in the world.
A graphite rod is typically lighter, more powerful, and more durable than other fly rods.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass rods have a very slow rod action and are built for those who enjoy slow casting. A fiberglass rod will cast off the tip exceptionally well and is capable of the most delicate presentations.
Bamboo
Most fly rods were built from bamboo before the advent of fiberglass. Bamboo rods are still a great choice for those who don’t have a price restriction. They’re also some of the prettiest rods ever built and give the best dry fly presentation possible on a fly rod.
Rod and Line Weight
For trout rods, we are talking about four-weight to six-weight rods as a general rule. Our preferred trout rod is a five-weight with a six-weight; the better choice if you mostly fish big rivers or still waters or live in a windy area. Always get a four-piece rod so you can travel with it easily.
In general, we will pair the rod with a line of the same weight. For some medium-fast rods that are used predominantly for fishing at close quarters, we might “overline” the rod by one line weight – i.e., putting a six-weight line on a five-weight rod. We do this to make it load more quickly for short, accurate casts, but it means compromising on distance casts. And whether you should do this or not always depends on the characteristics of the individual rod and the line. Test it out first before you do this!
See also: Choosing a fly rod weight for trout fishing
Line Type
Floating
Floating fly line is the most common type of line. It’s what we all use, and you can find it for sale anywhere. It’s designed to cast a nymph, dry fly, or streamer with ease. Whether you’re casting a fast-action or slow-action stick, everyone needs a floating fly line.
Intermediate
Intermediate lines are performance-focused. They’re built to sink your fly to a certain depth and a certain speed.
Sink Tip
Sink tip lines were primarily designed with streamer performance in mind. These are heavy casting lines that sink the tip deep, so you can get your streamers in front of trout.
Rod Action
Rod action is an important component of picking a great rod. Fast-action rods are the big thing right now, although there is a slight renaissance of slow-action rods, too.
Presentation vs Power
When it comes to fly rod actions, you have three choices – slow, medium, and fast. Medium action rods are the most versatile, fast action fly rods are the easiest to use, and slow action rods are built for specialized fishing situations. Generally, a medium-action rod gives you a great balance between power and presentation, while fast and slow rods fall on the opposite end, respectively.
Line Speed
Line speed is an important factor if you’re casting into the wind. A rod that generates high line speed will perform better in the wind or when using heavy flies.
Fast, Medium or Slow?
We touched on this above, but generally, you’ll want a fast or medium-action rod for most fly-fishing situations. A slow action rod is designed for dry fly fishing to wary trout.
Rod Length
The most versatile fly rods are 9 feet long. You may find that a shorter or longer fly rod is better, based on the size of the water you most often fish.
Final Thoughts on Fly Rods for Trout
Picking the best fly rod for trout isn’t easy, but once you break things down, you can see you just need to find something that ticks off most of your boxes. Take the time to do your research, and you’ll come home with a rod that you’re very happy with.
