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Spin-Fly Rods for Spin Casting Anglers

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Four Spin-Fly Rods for the Spin Casting Angler

Trout anglers who primarily fish with spinning gear and are considering getting a spin-fly rod that can cast either lures or fly line with equal effectiveness might want to consider a rod in the 3wt class. These smaller spin-fly rods have a feel more similar to an ultralight spinning rod. Casting a 3wt fly rod also tends to be easier, requiring less effort and less expertise than casting a heavier rod. While these rods may not be the best option for fly casting on a large stream, they can still cast lures adequately on a large stream and therefore have a wide range of versatility.

Here I am going to review four spin-fly rods that are in the 3wt or ultra-light class.

1. 6'6" graphite 3wt spin-fly rod

2. 7' s-glass fiberglass 3wt spin-fly rod

3. 6'6" e-glass fiberglass 3wt spin-fly rod

4. 7' ultralight spin-fly rod (3wt)

The main criteria to evaluate these rods are: 1) fly casting ability, 2) lure casting ability, and 3) fish handling ability.

1. 6' 6" Graphite 3wt Spin-Fly Rod

This rod has been thoroughly reviewed in the video I created for it which can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/VmTxmBVnieg. Nonetheless, I can say the backbone is slightly stiffer and the tip is slightly more flexible than the average fly rod of this type. This gives the rod a wide range of versatility, helping to cast fly line reasonably far when maximizing your back cast and yet still handle those short casts and roll casts when you have just a small amount of fly line out. The flexible tip and its short length make it excel in small stream environments. It is also a very lightweight rod and that makes for a more enjoyable experience.

Regarding casting lures, it casts about the same distance as a 6' ultralight graphite spinning rod. When casting with just a lure or a lure with a lightweight fly trailing it, the accuracy is as good if not better than a similar ultralight spinning rod. However, one issue I have noted with both this rod and a similar 7'6" 4wt model is that when you add a heavy fly trailing a lure the extra flexibility of the tip can reduce accuracy. A #10 bead head woolly bugger (one of my favorite flies) is an example of a heavy fly.

In terms of fighting fish, the lightweight nature of the rod and its flexible tip make it highly sporting for catching lots of small brook trout. I've caught trout up to 14.5" on this rod and it does a lot of flexing which is probably good for providing a lot of shock absorption but I feel like I don't have as much leverage over the fish. In other words, a large fish will get a little more advantage in the fight. If you are targeting trout in the 12"-16" range with a 3wt rod I would recommend the S-Fiberglass model discussed below. Another issue with this rod is it helps to make an exaggerated hookset to overcome the softness of the flexible tip, at least when spin casting. When performing a strong hookset, I have had excellent success in landing nearly all of my fish.

2. 7' S-Glass Fiberglass 3wt Spin-Fly rod

S-Glass is the more modern version of fiberglass with a bit of silicon added to it. This increases stiffness and decreases weight. I never performed any metrics for casting fly line but this rod seems to cast fairly far for a fiberglass model. I sometime wonder if it was originally rated as a 3.5 weight fly rod blank. Unlike my 7'6" 4wt s-glass fiberglass rod, this 3wt does not exhibit much loss of power on those longer double haul casts. And when casting with a light load having only a small amount of fly line it handles that well too. The tip may not flex as readily as my lighter 6'6" graphite 3wt discussed above but with a little extra flexing in the fiberglass backbone, which is a trait of fiberglass, the short casts and roll casts work fine. I would say the main difference in how this rod performs verses my 3wt graphite is the rod is slightly heavier, but as all 3wts are really light rods to begin with this is not a negative.

When it comes to casting lures, I find this rod to behave more like a spinning rod than any other flyrod based blank I have used. Of particular importance is that the upper portion of the rod is a little stiffer than most other fly rods. When casting a lure there is the necessary flex which occurs throughout the length of the rod, as is typical of any fiberglass rod, but there is less flex at the tip. This translates into less wobble in the portion of rod that has the greatest impact on accuracy. When adding a heavy fly behind a lure I get noticeably better accuracy out of this rod. While I mostly fish with 1/16th to 1/10th oz lures this rod would probably handle a 1/8th oz lure with better accuracy as well.

When it comes to handling fish, this is the rod I prefer when larger trout are on the menu. It has hauled in a couple 15 inch brown trout, one in a strong current and one in a snag infested area, and has done an admirable job on both occasions. While there is a good flex throughout the rod giving the typical good shock absorption fiberglass rods are known for the rod does not collapse during the strain. It maintains a good amount of extension and allows the angler to apply leverage and steer the fish as much as their leader will permit, up to the 6 pound limit that a 3 weight rod is designed to handle. Conversely, when I give a strong hookset with this rod on a small trout they tend to go flying out of the water. It does not feel unsporting to catch small trout on this rod but if I had a choice, I would generally prefer the previously mentioned 6'6" graphite 3wt rod or my e-glass rod discussed next when targeting a stream full of small brook trout.

3. 6'6" E-Glass Fiberglass Spin-Fly Rod

E-glass is the old version of fiberglass that was originally used before graphite became popular. The resins and manufacturing processes used nowadays are improved but the rod still ends up with a noticeably soft action. You could call it a noodle rod. My custom rod maker tells me it has an action similar to that of bamboo. Note bamboo rods are favored for presenting a dry fly with a delicate touch and they tend to cost over $2,000. I fish mostly dry wulff flies in the #12-#16 range with this rod and it does cast nicely. Most of my usage has been on small, brushy streams. I assure you, no one will ever think about having to overload this rod to get a better performance when casting with a light load. For fly casting in a small brushy stream this would be my first rod of choice. While it won't win any distance casting competitions, I have found that with the help of a double haul maneuver the rod will cast reasonably far on a long line. For long casts it will have less accuracy than a stiffer rod.

When it comes to spin-casting, there is no competition: This is my top choice for fishing small, brushy streams. The big advantage this rod has over my others is its ease at performing the underhand flip cast with light, 1/16th to 1/10th oz lures. The underhand flip cast is when you keep the rod in front of you and "bounce" your lure and any trailing flies forward, propelling them almost as far as a traditional casting stroke but without having to swing your rod behind you because the brush might not allow that. When fishing such small streams this feature becomes the top priority. Some anglers might choose a short 5' spinning rod for fishing such small streams. There are two problems with a 5' rod here. First, you cannot easily cast fly line on such a short rod. Second, I have found the 5' length to be troublesome when attaching one or two flies behind my lure. A 5' rod will not perform the underhand flip cast as well as a 6'6" e-glass fiberglass rod. When casting heavier lures such as 1/8th oz or more, I have not observed as much decrease in casting distance as I would expect. However, a 1/8th oz lure will cause the rod to wobble during the casting stroke and that will cause a loss of accuracy. There have been times when I had to switch from a 1/8th oz lure down to a 1/16th oz to achieve the needed accuracy for certain brushy scenarios.

In either fly mode or spin-casting mode the rod does a good job of fighting small to medium sized fish. I have caught trout up to 14" on this rod and I never had any reason to doubt this rods capability during the fight. I wouldn't want to use this rod when targeting anything larger than 14" but for anything smaller, including those little 6" brook trout that can be so common, this rod handles them well. The one concern I would have about handling fish would be it has weak hook setting abilities. This is not apparent when catching fish on dry flies as the rod tends to swing in a large arch during hook setting in those scenarios. However, when spin-casting and your lure and trailing flies are on a tight line it is not safe to set the hook with a mere flick of the wrist. You need to jerk your arm back, like loading a bow and arrow, to ensure a solid hookset.

4. 7' Ultralight Graphite Spinning Rod (3wt)

This might very well be the ideal spin-fly rod for those anglers who are primarily spin casters but like to do some fly casting in ideal situations. Originally, all of the spin-fly rods I tried were based on a fly rod blank under the assumption that fly casting is more difficult than spin casting. After years of experience fishing these rods I saw an opportunity where a certain type of spinning rod with the right action might work well for fly casting. It took a couple tries to figure out the right type of rod but my rod builder and I finally figured out the formula. And let me tell you, this is one highly effective and fun to use rod!

This ultralight spinning rod is ideal at casting a 3wt line. Although I haven't done any official metrics with it, I believe it casts out a 3wt line as far or farther than my other 3wt fly rods. I suspect a stiffer fast action graphite fly rod might cast a little further but those rods tend to have less versatility. I also tried a variety of short and roll casts with this rod. The action is a little different and it took me a little while to adjust my casting stroke to match the rods natural tendencies, but after a half hour of casting (and catching a half dozen fish in the process) I felt I could make any cast with this rod that my other three 3wts can do.

As far as casting lures is concerned, it is what the rod was designed to do. Before I got involved with spin-fly rods my go-to spinning rod was a 7' graphite ultralight model very similar to the rod I have now, minus the patented handle design, oversized rod guides and cosmetic modifications. That rod could fling lures in the 1/16th to 1/8th oz size with both distance and accuracy. The length of 7' makes fishing with 2 trailing flies behind the lure easy. When I converted to spin-fly rods years ago this was the one rod I missed having. Now I get to have it back.

While my experience with this new rod is limited, I can say I caught a bunch of small fish with it during my initial testing. The rod played the fish very nicely. It gave a good bend to absorb any shocks, it had a sporting feel to it, and gave hints of its potential power should it ever be required to subdue anything bigger. My old 7' ultralight spinning rod mentioned previously had successfully fought and landed many trout in the 14" to 16" range. I am confident this newer rod can do so similarly. I will be looking forward at testing it on some Michigan trout streams known to hold large brown trout and some Maine rivers known to hold large brook trout. I will be sure to update this article after that happens. Right now, I am thinking this rod is probably going to become my favorite. If you are primarily a spin caster this might be an ideal choice for you too.

Dan Coppersmith 12/2025

Created by: Dan Coppersmith 2025| www.CoppersmithStudios.com

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Coppersmith Studios Presents

Spin-Fly Rods for Spin Casting Anglers