Newbie fly line question

[mofish]

I have a GL3 rod, 5wt being shipped to me this week. I currently own a 6wt Wulff TT sinking line. I know I should match the weight to the rod but since I already own the 6 wt, I was wondering if you guys think it might give me problems? Or should I just go ahead and order the 5wt?

[J Castwell]

That is a really nice rod. You will enjoy it far more with the 5wt line. Don't try to save a few bucks and not have the rod function as it should.

[Redhook]

Mofish, Your questions are like mine. We are maybe in the same stage of this flycasting. Read the replies to "Question by Newbie" a little bit down the bulletin board. It may give you more insight about weight of lines with rods.

[mofish]

Thanks for the replies...gonna order the 5 wt. Probably a smarter idea. I think your right Redhook except I have a long way to go before I can consider my self a novice. Who knows maybe we'll meet up on one of the area waters. I should be easy to spot. I 'll be the one with the really nice rod all hog-tied up in his own flyline.

[J Castwell]

Hey,,, just a note to those of you who are new and think your casting might be a bit off. If it is, don't worry about anyone seeing you. If they don't fly fish they will think you are wonderful; if they are average they will not bother as they can not learn any thing from you; if they are pretty good,,, they will probably offer some help! either way,,, just keep on practicing.

[oldfrat]

MOfish, my experiece thus far has been that the rod is the most important gear you get and the line is the second most important. There are no numbers 3-5 in this list. It starts again at #6.

Glad to see you have decided to spring for a proper line for your new rod.

[wireguy]

Mo,

I am also a newbie so I know that feeling. Well, I just got a new rod 2/3 wt I put on a 3wt line and that works fine. Well a week ago I went on a trip and we switched cars cause my ac quite. During the switch I forgot that I put my reel for that rod ina small compartment and I forgot it. The stream was very small and the 8 6 5wt was just giving my a hard time casting. Someone lent me a reel with four wt line on it , I was able to actually cast better (presentaiton and distance) with the four wt. I am sure its becasue of my casting abilities are not the greatest but I did buy a 4wt line for it to give it a try and see if it really makes a difference. Worse case I just have to buy a four wt rod to put it on if the test fails
My question I have to asd though to the others is will the heavier line mess up the rod.

Good luck
wireguy

[billknepp]

I would not go cheap on the new line either, Buy the best you can afford and you will be happier in the long run..SA Mastery lines with AST are about as good as it gets....

[Chris Jacobs]

The general rule is that each fly rod will fish one line size up or down.

So if you have a 5wt rod, you may fish a line weight 4 through 6

I hope that this helps!

[ducksterman]

Wireguy,

"The stream was very small and the 8 6 5wt was just giving my a hard time casting."

I would suggest the possibility that on that small stream you weren't aerializing as much line therefore it was harder to load the rod...easier when you switched to the heavier line.