Rod-Line Combination
- This topic has 9 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated Oct 31, 2008 at 3:48 am by
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I apologize if this topic has been discussed before, but I was unable to find anything in a very brief review of the message board.
As a beginning fly fisher and one who is still working on his casting, I’m under the impression that line choice has a significant effect on the casting performance of a rod. I have heard that a specific rod will cast better with a certain company’s line rather than another brand of line.
If this is the case, given the number of lines types, e.g., WF vs. DT, line companies, and different offerings by those companies how is it possible to sort through the hundreds of lines and pick the “best” line for your rod?
David –
If you are beginning, in all seriousness, the best line on the market for you is Scientific Anglers’ Mastery Headstart.
Good advice Zach.
David,
Once you become a better caster and get the hang of things, you will find out that you can completely change a rod for the better and for the worse by changing lines. Many flyshops have several different lines of the same weight spooled up, laying around so you can see what works and what doesn’t
I agree with Zach, stick with the Headstart until you really get a feel for casting and develop your style.
I think line selection is the way to “fine tune” the performance of a particular rod.
David,
Not necessarily as subjective as you might be lead to believe. There is some science behind it.
Go to http://www.HATofMichigan.org on the e-book page and look at the Mechanics of Flycasting articles.
Warning – it could put you right to sleep.
Bob
Bob nailed it. I’ll add that while line combinations are subjective to the caster, a good caster will be able to easily adjust their cast to any common set-up. For starters, any line matched correctly to the rod weight will do. Become a great caster with that setup before investing anything more other than time.
I regularly fish saltwater flats in the Northeast, and I prefer to overline a fast action rod (9-10 wt line on an 8wt rod, or 10-11 wt line on a 9wt rod). I false cast once and easily throw 100′, which is different than the style Bob described. However, I bet Bob and I could switch rod/line setups and both cast very comfortably, although we’d each adjust our casting style accordingly.
After you develop strong casting skills, then worry about fine tuning lines. Or don’t. 😉 With line’s costing what they do, it’s nice to be able to switch rods/lines with friends to see how they feel.
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