Thanks for explaining the use of 4wt on a 5wt. Each time you posted you stated that is how you fished the 5wt and it got the best of me and I just had to know the reason for it. I have used fast rods for several years and like them, but, lately, I have started to overline my fast rods by one weight. For some reason I cannot "feel" the rod loading when rigged with the recommended line and I get the feeling I am "standing in the river waving a big stick" and do not know what my fly line is doing during the casting stroke and when I overline the rod one weight, I can "feel" the line as I pull it off the water and "feel" the line as I come forward with the cast. I feel I have more control of my cast by doing this. I will admit that there are a few times my casting is not what I wanted and that was because I was making the cast too quickly and all I needed to do was slow down the stroke and everything would work out great. It is difficult to explain, but, when I overline the rod by one weight, the line, the fly rod and my arm feel like they are working together and more smoothly. I guess I just need to feel the rod do it's thing throughout the entire casting stroke and my casting is more controlled and less effort, at least for me.

Thanks