Perfect Fly Rod Set Up for Little River Smallies

[Leonidas]

Just wandering if anyone had any input as to the perfect fly rod set up for the Little River in Townsend for smallies (wt. rod, leader, tippet)? Any help would be appreciated!

[Troutman]

Of course everyone has there opinions on the best rod, reel combos for flyfishing different types of water. I use several different rods for smallies according to the type of flies (streamers, poppers, nymphs) and whether using floating or sinktip lines.
I sometimes fish a 3-4 wt rods and other times a 5 or 6wt . A med-fast 8-9 ft 5wt. will handle pretty much handle everything. Reels are primarily line holders anyways, but a decent quality reel like a Ross or Orvis for $100 or less with the best quality line within your budget. My topwater leaders are generally 9-10ft long at 3X (I buy 7.5 ft and add tippet) and streamer leaders are straight 2X mono with a 2ft 3X flouro tippet section added to make about a 12ft leader. Sinktip leaders are about 3-4 ft long straight 2-3X flouro tippet. Most of the smallies in LR are under 14" so no need to overgun them with 7-8 wt rods.