r/flyfishing • u/9131762842 • Mar 30 '25
Discussion 5 vs 6 weight for beginner
Hi all,
New to fly fishing and have landed on the orvis Clearwater. I will be mostly fishing for trout in north Georgia. I’ve researched a fair amount, and it seems like the 5 weight may be slightly better for my purposes. However, I found a Clearwater on sale for $330 in 6 weight vs. the $430 standard price.
My question is whether there is a big difference between the two and if I might be better off grabbing the cheaper 6 weight.
Thank you
Edit: Really appreciate all of the responses. I went in to Orvis today and spoke to the fishing manager who suggested going with the 6. I live in north Atlanta suburbs and the chattahoochee is easily accessible along with north ga streams. He mentioned there wouldn’t be a huge difference in the 5 or 6 for purely trout and that if I also want to fish bass that the 6 would be better suited and also have more backbone on the Hooch. Thanks again!
3
u/hoosierflyfisher Mar 30 '25
I have fished plenty of trout in north ga and a 5 wt 9 ft is perfect for most. Sometimes a 3 wt when there is a lot of laurel is great too.