Can one go up a line weight on a rod without problems? Example; can you use a 9 wt line on an 8 wt rod? The reel is an 8/9 weight.
thank you
Topper: I routinely go with a one weight higher than the rod. Have been doing so for quite some time with no problems.
Tim
I’ve put my 9wt line on my 6wt rod before. It was a little sluggish, but I was able to cast it about 65 feet.
It’s all a question of how you think the rod will cast and feel with that line. It may cast better or worse. It’s not going to hurt the rod at all. Though it will ruffle the feathers of certain people.
Thank you. Will going up a wt size to 9wt line increase casting distance? I can’t believe 40 or 50 grams difference would make a huge difference in lenth. What about the size of the fish, will the heavier line help you play or bring in a larger fish eaiser? (that is, without breaking the 8wt rod?)
Regarding how far it will cast. Without trying I couldn’t tell you. Every rod and line are different. It also may depend on what size of flies you are trying to throw. You just need to give it a try. If you already have the line it won’t cost you anything to try it.
As to the size of fish, I would not expect it to make any difference. Only the rod matter there (and the reel if you are playing it on the reel, of course).
Hope that helps. Give it a try and let us know what you think. I think you’ll like it.
Topper -
Here is a link to another recent thread on this subject.
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?t=28840
John
It depends on the rod if you can overline it. I wouldn’t do it to my longer bamboo rod which is rated for a 5wt. It did NOT like the 6wt. The 3 wt will work decent with a 4 wt line, but it has a faster action than my 5wt rod.
Graphite is a whole different story. I’ve run one size up on my graphites, only had one break on me.
Jim
I would agree Jim, especially as regards a bamboo rod. Most older bamboo rods will accept a lower line weight and really come to life with them. You usually have to experiment a little, especially with bamboo.
I really don’t understand why you would want to line a 6 weight rod with a 9 weight?
Bob
Thanks everyone.
JohnScott I checked out the link as well. Tks. I also sent Sage an email and a staff member got back right away saying “That is perfectly ok. You will only lose performance past 60-70ft and not by much. I would consider a Rio Outbound in a Wf8f before a standard 9wt line.”
Mostly just to ruffle someone else’s feathers. :roll: And I just wanted to see what it would do. I like to experiment. If someone tells me I can’t or shouldn’t do something, I’m bound to try it.
This question come up quite often.
Rod’s are rated to cast a nominal 30 ft of fly line. So a 6 wt rod is “rated” for 30 ft of 6 wt line. The limitation of this system is that what bends the rod is not the weight or mass of the fly line. It is energy and energy is a combination of both mass and velocity.
An easier to think about it is that a fly rod is rated to do a certain amount of work, and that work is to cast a fly line of a certain mass, a certain distance. A fly rod moves a given mass (fly line) a given distance (30 ft).
Both work and energy are measured in the same units, ergs for the metric system and ft-lbs (the force of 1 lb acting over a distance of 1 ft) for the British system. Rather than rate the rods in terms of ergs or ft-lbs capacity, manufacturers rate them by using a system that relies on an average cast of 30 ft of fly line. Since the physics of casting require the two variables of mass and distance, they define the distance variable as a constant 3O ft, reducing the rating system to the single variable of mass. This system of rating fly rods is simple in concept but complex in practice.
Unfortunately, in real life, the distance variable is not constant. Infrequently do we cast exactly 30 ft. of fly line. Almost every cast is shorter or longer than what the manufacturers have defined.
Because the manufacturers have chosen a rating system that essentially ignores the varying distances in casting, we need to choose the fly line weight appropriate the distances we normally cast, regardless of the line rating on the rod.
We can do that by moving (casting) a heavier line a shorter distance or a lighter line a longer distance. We want to balance mass against distance so that when the mass of the heavier line is multiplied but the shorter distance it will be the same as the mass of the lighter line multiplied by the longer distance.
The fly rod doesn’t care about the line ratings as long as the work it does is the work it is rated to do.