I have a 7wt. Redington Wayfarer that I just can’t seem to get a good cast with. The line I have is a cortland 444 Lazer. I’m thinking about putting a different line on the reel and seeing how it handles afterwards. Does the line make that much of a difference in how a rod performs that a new line will make the rod work for me much better? Any suggestions on a line?
Jeff
P.S. While not the greatest caster in the world or even Pennsylvania, I feel that I am a competant caster and have no issues with the other rods I own. I have rods that run form med/slow to fast action, so I don’t think its the caster. I could be wrong.
Have you tried using a line weight heavier? I have an 8wt rod I built for steelhead and silver salmon and went on my Alaska trip with a 9wt WF floating line and found that I was still under lined and ended up with a 10wt line in order to properly load the rod.
Go down to your local fly shop or sporting goods store and ask if they have some different weight lines on reels that you can try casting with your rod. If they’re anything like my local shop (Jimmy’s All Season Anglers, Id Falls, ID) then they would be more than happy to help solve your problem. Don’t just take the line weight off of the box as the one that will work.
Buddy, I was just sitting here thinking the same thing. I really don’t think its a “bad” rod. I’m thinking about a GPX or maybe RIO Grand. I might stick with the GPX, as I really like the way my 6wt. handles. The more I think, the more I come to “get a new line stupid.”
I don’t have anything to weigh the line on, and I don’t see the point of spending the money for something right now. It says 7wt. on the line. You know how Cortland prints the line size and type on the line. Thanks for the suggestion.
I used to think that fly line tapers didn’t make much difference. I have since had some discussions with Bruce Richards of SA. Turns out some of the new tapers are significantly different. There is also a discussion going on on Itinerant anglers on the subject. See
Zach is going to write an article on the subject which should prove to be very interesting.
Fly line weight may make a big difference on your rod too. Some lines are now 1/2 weight heavier for faster rods to “soften” them up a bit. I would suggest you try going lighter or heavier if you have some lines available to you. This is the article I wrote some years ago which may not be altogether accurate anymore. http://www.hatofmichigan.org/uploads/Mechanics_of_Fly_Casting_2.pdf
Assuming that the line is a 7-weight I don’t think changing lines would make a difference, and generally I don’t like the idea of overlining rods. A 7-weight rod was designed for a 7-weight rod.
I don’t mean to sound harsh: may I suggest working on your casting? I suspect you are struggling with a defect and, believe me, that’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Ok I am not very smart in this area but here are a few suggestions. One is the line clean? In trying out different rods I build with different speeds I have found when accostumed to a certain rod it is hard to cast any other rod. Are you listening to the rod when you cast it? By that I mean is it saying I am loaded now, not when you think it is. I don’t think a new line will make that much difference. I do apologize here cause I am not being offensive just giving suggestions. I jump from a TFO to bamboo and everything in between and that is as different as night and day. I have found that I have to listen to the rod and it will tell me what I need to do. Last but not least some rods just do not fit a persons casting style and never will. This may be the issue here. Just my 2 cents
Randy and Harley, I don’t think its me. I’m not the worlds greatest, but I do alright in my opinion. I don’t have the same issues with my other rods of various actions. Yes, the line is clean.
I have one in an 8wt. I think having the extra sections makes the rod stiffer. A line that is a half size bigger like a GPX may be the ticket. It seems to me that different lines with the same weight rating are less and less likely to weigh the same these days. I have a TFO 10 wt that would barely load with a 10wt SA Mastery Tarpon line but casts like a dream with a 10wt Teeny Bruce Chard Permit line. I’d try some different lines, making sure that the length of the head is not longer than the distance you typically cast.
IMHO, you’ll have to try other lines on the rod. I have multiple 6wt WF lines. I use “fast rods”. On some of the 6wt rods, I just can’t seem to get the rod to load with some lines. 'Fur instance, the SA Sharkskin “feels” lighter than the SA Steelhead, even on 80 ft casts (so both lines have the entire belly out the guides).
Is the Lazer is a FW line? I have a few low priced (not low quality) 7 wt rods that just “don’t like” DT lines and with the WF lines they load. Opposite for one Fenwick which ifeels overloaded on WF but with a DT it just sings (both lines are Cortland 444).
I can best test rod/line combos using the same reel and different spools spun up with different lines. That way, the “balance” of the rod isn’t changing from the reel weight.
Sounds weird, but that’s how I match Rod/reels/lines for clients and friends.
I have a Wayfarer in a 5 weight and had a similiar experience with a SA Mastery line (bottom of the line). A new GPS helped quite a bit, although the Wayfarers are a bit slow so it is not a great distance caster but will handle anything within reasonable range.
BTW, when was you last casting lesson? Most anglers would benefit from a refresher course early in the season, myself included.
I recently had a simular experience with a cortland line. Poor cast , high memory , tangles. Just could not get it right no matter how much I cleaned , straighten or talked ugly to it. Finally gave up and switched it out for another line. No problem right out of the box. I chalk it up to having bought one made on friday or something. I think with a mass produced product you just get a bad one sometimes. Still think cortland makes a great line.
A very interesting thread. Nothing wrong with the rod. Not a great rod, but just fine. Same for the line. So, where can the problem be? Feel perhaps. I’ve had some combination’s of perfectly fine rod+line that just did not ‘feel’ as good as I wanted them to. I have not read exactly what it is you can’t/don’t like or it won’t do or whatever. Can you be even more exacting in what is the problem? LOL, maybe, you just don’t like the rod, or the line,? Could be.
JC, … sometimes it just doesn’t come together. Remember in 2006 when you had some red line on a rod up here. It just wouldn’t fly. We looked at everything, checked the guides, cleaned the line and it just wouldn’t “do it”.
