Is a 9ft 5wt ok for small streams?

[riverdog]

It certainly can be done. My personal favorite rod length and wt are 8 and half feet and 4 wt when it comes to the trade off of casting distance, accuracy and size of flies the rod best handles. That said I always use a shorter lighter rod on small streams because I find it more enjoyable. Not sure who much you spent on the 9 ft 5wt but you usually get want you pay for with a rod like that. However if you find yourself wanting a shorter lighter rod for the small streams later I'd suggest not spending much money. Make sure you can cast well with what ever you get but a premium rod offers relatively little over a good entry level rod when 99+ % of your trout will be under 18 inches, typical casts are under 30 feet and the current of the stream likely not too great. A good rod for small and brushy streams to me would be a 6 to 7 and a half foot 2-3 wt rod. Reel is totally unimportant at that size in my book so don't spend much there if you do eventually get a second setup.
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