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What weight fly rod is best for fishing Brook trout in small streams?

There are a few places nearby which offer some brookie fishing but I think that my 9 foot 5 weight is a little too big for the small trout. I was thinking along the lines of a small 3 weight. What do you think? Thank you

Public Comments

1. Good choice. You can land big fish easily in small water on a 3 wt, fish up to 4 or 5 lbs., but realistically, you're looking for a brook trout rod. Big brookies in big water would probably require an airplane ride and for them you already have the rod. Go with the 3, you won't regret it.
2. You may be correct about downsizing the length but , (in my opinion), a 4-5 weight would be perfect. Why? In those "small streams" can be BIG Trout. (When I say "big" I mean 3-4LB). Small streams "weave and divert" terribly making it important to quickly subdue your quarry. I have a 7' 6" 4-5 weight that works perfectly for the Brookies I chase. The stream averages about 8-12 FT across and has heavy overgrowth on the banks during the fishing season. I KNOW for a fact there are bigger Trout in this stream; I've seen them........... Hope this helps?
3. A 5 weight is fine for brook trout.
4. depending on the size of the stream a 7 to 8 ft 3 wt rod would be fine. The way today's rods are made you should have no problem subduing a possible lunker ( 20") if it happens. Alot of my trout fishing is done with a 8'4" Orvis ZG Helios - I had no problem with bigger fish. One thing you need to remember, if you're fishing smaller streams, you'll be roll casting alot, fast action or tip action rods are not really made for this, look for a medium or slow action rod. A slower rod will be better at both roll casting and presenting drys on a smaller stream to spookier fish. Steffen Bros. makes some beautiful fiberglass rods for this purpose, also look at Cabela's TQR rods or the Orvis Superfine series.
5. a 6-7' 3wt will work Awesome for small brooks and streams,but do know ther is a potetial of a large fish in a small brook ,in this case it is sometimes better to armpit the rod and hand strip the fish in
6. A lot depends on the type of water you're fishing. If it's an open area and you need to do some casting or big mends, then you'll want that 5 wt. 9'. But if you're surrounded by tree and brush and fishing a small creek, you'll be very happy to have something smaller and lighter. You won't get hung up as much.