I'm pretty new to fly fishing. Alright, that's only sort of true, I am relearing after nearly twenty years of dormancy- and it hasn't been like riding a bike. My rekindling( or rebirth, as you will) came at the hands of my dad who has decided to come to my town to fish some of the rivers and fisheries we ahve here in central arizona.

He's decided to teach my son how to fly fish and it has brought back the memories about our sport that really sent me back out to learn all I can about it again. Due to this, my grandmother entrusted me with some rods, one of which is a fiberglass rod from the late fifties. I also received an old, crusty pfuegler reel loaded with an unknown line. ( it's only been a couple of years, still good...)

so, unknown rod, unknown reel and unknown line... I'm not the greatest caster ever, but with a balanced setup, my cast is clean. It used to be... with this fiberglass, reel and line, I'm casting in molasses. I can barely get a wolly bugger out twenty feet, getting it back up is much like fighting a fish to the surface.

So, after a frustrating day, I take the gear to my favorite fly shop, and the gal there knows, loves and adores fiberglass- she's all over my pole before I can tell her what's wrong, she's got it together and whipping it around and asks " Wow, feels like a great four weight-or is it a five?"

The blank look on my face tells her everything, looking at the rod in a closer inspection reveals the rest.

So I'm buying a new reel, wf4f line, and signed up for a class so she can teach me how to cast the glass. So long as I bring a case of my home brew....

Knowing what you are playing with is very helpful. Turns out, after going to weigh the first thirty yards of the line at the gun shop next door to the flyshop, the line is a dt6f line. casting a 6wt line on a 4wt pole... a pole that is made from something as soft and springy as glass... it's a wonder i didn't have a Bugger for an earring.