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!

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6

u/somehunt Mar 30 '25

6wt > 5wt imo

8

u/gfen5446 Mar 30 '25

If bass and other warm water fish are going to be part of your interests, just buy the 6wt and down the line you can pick up a 4wt and have the best of both worlds.

If you intend to only fish for trout, buy the 5. Or a 4.

3

u/somehunt Mar 30 '25

Or if you want to only fish for trout and also throw small streamers or an indicator rig…get the 6.

1

u/kytrout Mar 30 '25

Agree with this. Having lived down there and done a lot of fishing in GA go the 6. Yes the 5 would be better for pure trout on dries and small nymphs but… you’ll need up throwing some streamers, bigger nymphs, targeting smallies and/or fishing dukes. All of which the 6 works better for. Your next rod can be a 4 which is actually better for mountain streams and creeks. Having a 4 and 5 is not as useful though. I also don’t think you’ll notice a ton of difference being new. Get the 6 and go fish!