Rob 
I remember talking to you before about this. Do you feel a 4wt is sporting enough for the wee trout.... I.e do they put a good bend into the rod and make it seem like you've got a good scrap on? I'd be interested to hear your opinion. As a 7' 6" #4 Epic could be an option.
My cane rod was a 4 weight because that is what I was given (in payment from Jim Somers for building some of the old Somers Fibatube rods), but, as it was cane, it did bend nicely. I would also say that it was a true "river 4 weight" in that it was designed to cast 5-10 yards of line rather than modern carbon rods that all seem to be built for distance. I did try it with a 3 weight and even a 2, and it cast well, but no good for close in work with those lines.
Personally I would be looking at cane or glass purely because the blanks have enough weight in them to start flexing with little line out the tip. I would bow down to Sandys expertise on the Epic front but a 4 weight would, for me, be more useful for what you describe. I found myself fishing silly sized "terrestrials" such as grasshoppers, hawthorn flies and floating beetles and the 4 had a better turnover.
Most casts were little flicks, bow and arrows casts or a sort of half cocked roll so the extra weight helped hugely. If I cast more than 10 yards I was in to "extreme distance" casting
Having said all that, these days I would be tempted to go Tenkara
