A blast from the past ...
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/s...d-Length/page2Originally Posted by Bruce Richards
Roll cast length is directly tied to rod length. It is the length of line that hangs between the rod tip and the water that power is applied to, the more there is, the more energy can be applied to the line. This length equates to the length of the backcast on an overhead cast. The more line a caster can carry, the longer the cast, all else being equal.
Softer rods are usually an advantage also. The more a rod bends during a cast the faster the tip will be going when the loop forms, again, all else being equal. In a roll cast there is relatively little line to make the rod bend, a slower rod will bend more making the cast easier, and usually longer. Spey casters certainly know this, they use the longest rods around, and most are slow compared to single hand rods.
Of course, technique is more important than either rod length or stiffness. A good caster with a stiff 7 footer will probably roll cast farther than a beginner with a soft 9 footer.
Bruce
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/s...d-really/page2Most DT and WF lines have very similar front tapers, there is no generalization that can be made regarding tapers that would be accurate. Some DTs have short tapers, some long, as do WFs. Assuming that a DT and WF line have the same taper, they will cast exactly the same until the rear taper of the WF line is out of the rod tip. There is no way anyone could tell the difference between these lines except that the WF caster would be holding smaller line in his hand than the DT caster.
The 30 ft. length is often mentioned when talking about roll casting WFs. This length means nothing in most cases, except that it is the length measured. Nearly all WF lines have heads that are longer than 30 ft. Another thing to remember is that roll cast distance must include leader and rod length. A WF line with a 30 ft. head and cast with 9 ft. rod and 9 ft. leader will roll cast effectively to 48 ft. (30+9+9). So, a typical WF line with a 38 ft. head (common for a 5 wt. "trout" line)will roll cast effectively to well over 50 ft. Most casters cannot roll cast that far so it makes no difference for most anglers which taper they roll cast.
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