Bamboozle
Well-known member
It’s no secret that manufacturers make and have been making fly lines heavier OR at the upper end of the AFTMA standard for a given size. All you need to do is ask them or look on their website for the details on weight.
It’s also no secret and nothing new that some rods are faster or slower than others, so the line weight written on the blank is somewhat arbitrary. If you use a heavier than normal 5 weight fly line on a rod rated for a 5wt, it will most likely feel slower and if you use a lighter line, faster.
Similar differences may be felt with more aggressive or moderate tapers within the same stated weight.
However, the person who designed that rod had a rod action in mind and dialed in that rod action with a particular line weight, or a specific line weight AND taper in mind whether you like it or not. If you deviate from those choices, (like for example, using a heavier or more aggressive taper) you STILL may not like the rod action.
This is why people buy rods from certain makers or spend time trying rods out. They know what they like and they already have an idea of what the rod builders are capable of, versus buying something they are unfamiliar with and taking stabs at line weights and tapers.
As far as 5 weight rods and 5 weight lines to go with them, there are a TON of them along with 2 weights, 3 weights, 4 weights, etc. I know because every rod I own casts the line weight specified and performs as expected because I know what I like, how the rod maker thinks and what to buy to please ME.
Do I own rods that some people would wish were faster or slower so they might use a lighter line or vise versa, absolutely!! However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t 5 weights, etc., if that’s the action the builder had in mind. It means that SOMEBODY doesn’t like that rod action with the suggested line size.
If it were me, I would buy a different rod with a different action for the same line size rather than turn a 5 weight into a 4 weight or a 6 weight. Why buy a 5 weight rod that needs a 6 weight or 4 weight line to make you happy if you were in the market for a 5 weight?
In regards to guide size, typically guide size is somewhat determined by the line size (heavier lines are fatter), so heavy line size rods often have larger guides. Some builders choose larger guides because they believe a larger guide offers less friction to a line passing through it.
However, other builders, most notably the late Tom Morgan of Winston & Tom Morgan Rodsmiths favored smaller than usual guides because he felt larger guides led to more line slapping against the rod blank that offered much more friction than the line passing through the guides.
As the owner of one Tom Morgan Rodsmiths rod and many Winstons, I agree with Tom.
As usual YMMV
It’s also no secret and nothing new that some rods are faster or slower than others, so the line weight written on the blank is somewhat arbitrary. If you use a heavier than normal 5 weight fly line on a rod rated for a 5wt, it will most likely feel slower and if you use a lighter line, faster.
Similar differences may be felt with more aggressive or moderate tapers within the same stated weight.
However, the person who designed that rod had a rod action in mind and dialed in that rod action with a particular line weight, or a specific line weight AND taper in mind whether you like it or not. If you deviate from those choices, (like for example, using a heavier or more aggressive taper) you STILL may not like the rod action.
This is why people buy rods from certain makers or spend time trying rods out. They know what they like and they already have an idea of what the rod builders are capable of, versus buying something they are unfamiliar with and taking stabs at line weights and tapers.
As far as 5 weight rods and 5 weight lines to go with them, there are a TON of them along with 2 weights, 3 weights, 4 weights, etc. I know because every rod I own casts the line weight specified and performs as expected because I know what I like, how the rod maker thinks and what to buy to please ME.
Do I own rods that some people would wish were faster or slower so they might use a lighter line or vise versa, absolutely!! However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t 5 weights, etc., if that’s the action the builder had in mind. It means that SOMEBODY doesn’t like that rod action with the suggested line size.
If it were me, I would buy a different rod with a different action for the same line size rather than turn a 5 weight into a 4 weight or a 6 weight. Why buy a 5 weight rod that needs a 6 weight or 4 weight line to make you happy if you were in the market for a 5 weight?
In regards to guide size, typically guide size is somewhat determined by the line size (heavier lines are fatter), so heavy line size rods often have larger guides. Some builders choose larger guides because they believe a larger guide offers less friction to a line passing through it.
However, other builders, most notably the late Tom Morgan of Winston & Tom Morgan Rodsmiths favored smaller than usual guides because he felt larger guides led to more line slapping against the rod blank that offered much more friction than the line passing through the guides.
As the owner of one Tom Morgan Rodsmiths rod and many Winstons, I agree with Tom.
As usual YMMV
