I got to thinking about roll casting, something that I use every so often and I fish with a variety of rod actions and lengths. I will roll cast with any of them but I just never really thought about what would be the best rod and line for roll casting.

So, I asked a friend of mine who is a certified casting instructor and this is what he had to say.

Regarding rod action, the best choice for most casters is a medium fast rod. The casting stroke for a roll cast is short and few people can get enough loading done in that limited space using a really fast (stiff) rod. On the slow side, few people can keep the desired straight line path for the rod tip with a soft rod.

Regarding rod length, the longer the rod the better so long as there is enough space available to accommodate the length.

It is also very important to consider the fly line as it impacts the roll cast!

Energy is transferred to the fly line through a combination of energy from the loaded rod and energy from the forward movement of the rod during the casting stroke. Relative to overhead casting, roll casting depends more on the energy from the loaded rod. The weight of the fly line in the D-Loop is a very significant factor in loading the fly rod. That is why the longer rod works better for roll casting.

Regarding the fly line, as the length of the cast increases, the weight of line in a WF line will decrease for the D-Loop unless the amount of line shot is increased. A DT line may work better for some applications. Best of all though would be to consider a taper specifically designed for roll casting. Simon Gawesworth has designed such a line for Rio called the InTouch Single Handed Spey line. It maximizes the weight of line available for the D-Loop.

I hope this helps to answer some of your questions.

Larry ---sagefisher---