My normal gear is a 10' 7# Hardy Ultralite rod. Had it since new, to tight to change it lol. I normally fish small stillwaters. Now to my question well in a second anyway. About 12months ago I damaged my shoulder and it is now as good as it going to get. I am finding after casting for 30 mins or so I have to stop and rest as the pain is to great to carry on. The whole day will be stop start. So before I go looking at and spending money on new rods and lines. I need a bit of advice on how light a rating I could go down to and still fish ok. I will be able to try before I buy at the Stockport fly tackle shop. So just need a starting point to work from. Any help would be great please.

You could step down a weight, or maybe 2. You could also try a shorter rod, say 9'. A shorter rod will have less leverage and therefore put less strain on your shoulder.

On balance I reckon a 9' 5/6wt would suit your situation OK.

Other people might have experience of fishing even lighter on stillwaters so worth waiting for a few more responses before you decide.

Edit: Just to add, I've landed carp to 10lb on my 9' 6wt without an overly long fight so should have no problems with that size kit for the vast majority of stillwater trout.

I used to fish Bewl a lot from both bank/boat with #7 and #8 rods,now i mostly fish smallwaters with a 9'6''#6.A breath of fresh air as far as fatique goes,anything around the 9'-9'6''#5 or #6 would suit your situation

Neil

I'd find someone with an 8f.6in#4/5,weight rod or a 9ft,#4/5, weight rod! Ask if you can borrow and fish with them for a few hours. only difference you'll notice is if it's extremely windy; and even then you'd compensate on your casting with less strain on your injured shoulder, after-all your only fishing small still-waters!

After a bit too much fishing on successive days, the muscle just above and behind my right elbow became swollen and tender.

I gave it a whole day's rest before the call of rising trout became too much for me.

Unable to spend another whole day without fishing, I determined that I was either going to learn to cast left-handed, in some fashion, or give-up false-casting and stick to a single roll-cast and fish close in for the day.

In the event trout rising at maximum casting range proved just too tempting

What I did do was to match a klinkhammer with a small dark olive buzzer, and left it out there to drift, avoiding as much as possible the temptation to retrieve.

That significantly cut down on the number of casts I needed to make, and if anything proved more tempting to the trout

And my arm feels fine this morning

To some extent it depends on what size and weight of fly you are tending to fish on your small still waters. If you are fishing with weighted or beadhead lures, then the heavier 6-7 weight rods will probably suit your need. However, if you tend to fish smaller and more imitative flies, then you can probably step down to a 9' or 9'6" 5 weight without too much problem. Another consideration is whether you are fishing C&R or C&K. I'm typically fishing small stillwaters in southern england which are mostly C&K with fish typically in the 2-6 lb range, and I'll typically fish with either a 9' 5 weight or occasionally a 4 weight if fishing small dry flies. When I'm fishing C&K or fishing for larger fish I will typically step up to a 6 weight. With the lighter rods, while I cannot get the leader turnover into a stiff wind, I find that there are plenty of good fish close in on the windward bank, well within casting range.

Another thing to consider is your casting style. Last season I started to feel a slight tightening around my right shoulder, so eased off on the power I was putting into the cast and focused more on the timing. I actually found that I was getting the same distance for less effort by letting the rod do more of the work. With the lighter rods, I find that I can feel the rod loading better than I can with the heavier line weight rods.

For what my opinion's worth i tend to think of a 7wt as being overgunned if you are using a single fly on a stillwater, many people who come to stillwater fishing as a way of starting their trout fishing are indoctrinated with the age old theory that 'thoust will need a 7wt to fish the stillwaters'. I think a 7wt will be ideal if you are fishing a team of large flies on say a sinking line and need the heavier line weight to get them out on a windy reservior. But if you fish a single fly you will find a 5wt of say 8.5 or 9ft length with a middle action is an ideal rod to use and far more user friendly. My ventures out onto stillwaters are few and far between these days, but whenever i take a beginner out fishing i find these waters ideal for them and will reguarly use a sharpes gordon 8.5ft 5wt rod all day long.

I have a friend who has a damaged shoulder and now fishes with a 9' 0" #5/6 rod. He's had to modify his casting action and went to a qualified casting instructor for this help. With his injury he is only able to fish for three to four hour period and takes painkillers to dull any pain.

Hi Buggalugg,

In addition to the advice already given, if your permanent injury affects just one side of your shoulder had you considered casting with the other hand?

If you were to take a lesson with someone like Michael Evans he would soon sort you out casting with your 'wrong' arm . Just a thought.

I might be talking utter **** here, but what about a lightweight double-hander? Should be easy enough to attach a butt section, and this will take much of the strain away from the leading shoulder. Sure you'll have to learn Spey/roll etc, but it could be the way forward. More Punch/pull than pure punch