Yesterday, after few months of casting 5wt line on my HT10, I took this rod on the flats.
I used 10wt Rio line ( middle profile on the picture). It is older model, so I think it is still rated as a 10wt, and half or full size heavier, then 10ft leader and HEAVY shrimp.
The first few casts were shocking, fly kicking, roll cast was crap, loops looked like shit.
Instead of wishing for heavier line, I had to rethink my set up and casting.
First thing I did, I went down from 10ft to 8ft leader ( could even go to 7 as the line has clear tip). Casting wise, I opend my loop, which morphed to a nice one on the end of the turnover.
Point is- would I go to a shop and buy another heavier line?- NO
P.S
HT first fish on a HT10 was a small ( my shrimp size) PUFFER FISH
Cheers
Mike
I practice my casting with a 6wt DT line on the HT6. The first 30' is at or near the standard, but I'm often carrying 65' or 70'. That's well over double the 160gn standard mass for a 6wt line. I'd calculate the "one line weight over" would be achieved with 35' of line outside the tip and "two line weights over" with 40'. By 55' I'm casting what the denizens of lesser forums call a 10wt line if the grain is the only consideration. It's essentially a 12wt line (by mass) by the time I'm holding the backing knot on the 80' DT6.