:?: 1. I have a 8’ 6" Crystal River (Cahill) 5 - 6 weight rod. I was wondering if there would be a preference of using a 5 or a 6 wt line with this rod or would it not make a difference? Just for my curiosity I would like your opinions.
2. What happens when you put heavier weighted line on a rod or lighter line than the rod is labled for?
:?: Im not the most experianced on here but will give it a try. I built a 2wt rod and I am financially challenged. I couldnt find a 2wt line in my price range, so went with 3wt. Seems to work. I believe the reason for overlining, heavier wt is to allow the rod to load better. My suggestion if you have a fly shop handy, go down and see if they have reels loaded with line then cast on your rod to get a feel. Im sure there are others that will give you more/better insight
Ron…Your rod should cast a DT 5 (double taper) or a WF6 (weight forward). The reason is a DT is heavier after the first 30’ because it (the DT line) has no back taper…remember me showing you the end of the taper on the WF line we were casting? Try some different lines on the rod to see what you like best.
You can bring the rod over next week and barrow some of mine
Jerry…in Hutchinson Ks
oooops…I have jury duty next week…better call first
If you are a novice caster you may find it easier to cast and feel a 6 weight line. It will load the rod easier being heavier.
Redhook,
As suggested a 5wt or 6 wt DT or WF line will be fine for that rod.
There isn’t much difference between most standard DT and WF lines until you get at least 45 feet or so of line extended, as described here : http://www.flyanglersonline.com/begin/101/dtvswf.html
What happens when you use a heavier or lighter line? For some load L on a rod, the heavier the line the less line needed to achieve load L and the lighter the line, more line is needed. So for example, if a 30ft of a 5wt line produces a certain load, maybe 25ft of a 6wt or 35 ft of a 4wt line might be needed for the same load.
When we are casting, we are always putting a different load on the rod as we change casting distances even though we are using the same line, because the mass of the line used in the cast changes as the line is shortened or extended. Rods are designed to cast varied lengths of line, not a fixed amount, so they can handle the different loads just fine.
So your 5/6 rod will handle either a 5wt or a 6wt line. You may notice that the rod seems to load well for you with a little less line out with the 6wt line if you were able to try both a 5wt and 6wt line side by side as Buzz has offered.
Thanks for the replies. Tail Loop, that was a very good explanation which I can understand. The more I learn about casting the more I think of physics. A lot of common sense which one doesn’t always think of.
Buzz, I would have called you but I didn’t think you would have access to a PC. I thought you would be at the ball games and no time for fly casting. I have swapped the reels that I have and even swapped the lines on the reels. I practiced again tonight and I went from 45 ft to 51 ft.
I think I have reached my limit with that rod like that slow action you showed me. I will have more questions for you when you get back home.
It sure is nice to have a personal instructor. :lol:
Sometimes I find it useful to go with a lighter line for dry flys’. Now I wouldn’t have gone out and bought another line just for that, but I simply have one and have found it useful for the dries. Just throwing that out there…