My fave used to be a 3wt., but now I do 99% of my fishing with a 4wt.
Ya, everyone is gonna say its too hard on the fish if you catch a big one and take too long to get it to hand. I've caught 19+" trout on my 3wt. and yes, it takes awhile to get them in, but they always swam away not seeming any the worse for wear.
I hardly ever use my 5wt. (Hardy Zenith).
Best combo of rods (imho) is a 4, 6, and 8wt. These will cover pretty much everything you'll come across.
Although, when its really windy, you can pretty much give up on the 4 wt., especially with really strong cross winds.
Since you already have a 5wt. maybe you should get a 3wt. There will be a BIG difference in how it casts, but also a big difference in how much fun it is to catch fish up to about 14".
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