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Pairing lines to rods

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Paul Arden
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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#11

Post by Paul Arden »

Make them six inches long. Stack the weight at the front. Job done!
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Lasse Karlsson
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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#12

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

You wrote "some of those lines".... not that I should make my own 😉

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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#13

Post by Viking Lars »

Paul Arden wrote: Wed Feb 10, 2021 7:23 pm
It’s not like a pair of jeans that say 32” but are really 38” so that you don’t think you’re a fat barstool. It’s about leaders and fly sizes; important fishing stuff. If my 4WT line weighs a 7WT then I can’t fish tiny flies without getting broke off. “Oh that’s ok; I’ll just fish a dog nobbler instead”?
I can tell you that several brand's XL is much larger than other brands' XL, so I feel in excellent shape when I buy Simms XL :yeahhh:

None the less, this entire line-oversizing is a bad situation and I'm surprised to see that once-were-champions of the AFFTA, Scientific Anglers, are now well and truely on board. Although SA were the first (at least openly) to market a 1/2 heavy line (I think it was the Lefty Kreh Taper), but then again, I can (barely) accept and understand the half-heavy concept. At least if they also made half-light ones :p

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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#14

Post by Boisker »

My view has moved a bit on the whole ‘line weight’ issue.
I know amongst some fly fishers the labelled 6w but it’s actually a 7w is infuriating, but as long as the info is freely available on the box the line is sold in (which isn’t always the case) then I don’t really see the issue.
The majority of people don’t care or even understand the issue, most couldn’t tell you what an 6w line is supposed to weigh, they don’t practice casting, they only fish occasionally through the year... they just want a rod that they can cast as well as their technique allows, they want to pick a line off the shelf, that someone has worked out they will find easier to cast on their rod.... so they buy that 6w line for their 6w rod, not caring that it’s really a 7w line... it works for them, and allows them to cast the line better.
Now we all know that they could just as easily improve the casting technique and not require that 6w line that is actually a 7w... but they aren’t going to do that, they fish 6 times a year, life’s too short.

So, you could argue the current system works fine... people who are really interested in casting, know what the actual weight is in the different lines, and make an informed choice.... people who really just want to catch a few fish a handful of times a year don’t and don’t need to know...
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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#15

Post by sms »

I feel big. Does my bum look big in these?
size.PNG

The shortest floater I know is 6,5m overweight head line. That is short. It is meant for tight spaces and rolls&speys. I do understand it with relatively big and/or heavy flies and/or weights in the tippet, but it is a very special tool in my opinion.

I have made a skagit line for my single handed salmon fishing. The belly (floating) is something like 4m long. But it needs to be short and heavy. Otherwise it could not handle up to ~15' T14 tips and weighted flies. Something that would be better with DH gear but on small rivers even 11' felt way way way too cumbersome. And even on big river if the spots are right next to the bank, I find it easier and more 'accurate' to fish with a single hander.
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Paul Arden
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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#16

Post by Paul Arden »

Hi Matt,

It’s been quite a while since I asked Jerry what lines he used to design Sage rods but GPX was one of them. So that was 1/2 line weight heavy. Now what if he and others start using some of the lines out there that are 1, 2 or even 3 line weights heavy? Not all rods are too stiff for beginners aligned with matching rod. HT rods certainly aren’t. If this becomes the new standard I’ll have to relabel them all. At least this will give us a 5WT :laugh:

I agree Sakari; there are excellent specialist uses for such lines. It’s just that someone realised that such lines can be cast easier overhead with poor technique compared to what they were using before. The problem I have is that it’s difficult to learn good technique with such clunky tackle.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Paul
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Bendix
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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#17

Post by Bendix »

Hi

Just for the fun of it, you guys might want to check out this website:

Salmologic.com

Here you can read about their new G&G (grams and grains) system, which is a different way of pairing lines to rods.

I personally don’t think that this G&G system is an improvement over AFFTA, but the idea behind it is interesting, especially for those who just want to go fishing every once in a while...

Because just like Boisker, it is my general perception, that most people don’t care about the more “technical” aspects of the tackle, and how to pair it up correctly... They just want to go fly fishing a few times a year, and want something that works, without too much hassle.

/Bendix
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Lasse Karlsson
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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#18

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

Hi Bendix

Funny how the G&G system corresponds almost perfectly to a couple of weights up on the AFTTA scale :p

And yeah, most just want to go fishing and talk about how brand z casts so much better than brand x, but don't want to know that z weighs 20% more than x, since that has nothing to do with throwung something :upside:

Also love the salmologic warranty that is void if one uses a heavier than stated line on their rods, even if they are made with graphene and supposedly indestructible :p hope they weigh all their lines before shipping them, since the industry has a 10% window in manufacturing ;)

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Lasse
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Paul Arden
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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#19

Post by Paul Arden »

I can’t imagine anyone going fishing just a couple of times/year. Surely the vast majority of anglers go at least once/week. On the reservoirs i would see the same people once/week week in week out and of course season ticket holders 5 or 7 days depending on the permit. So at the minimum you’re looking at 30 times/year. Not much I know but throw in a couple of holidays and so on and hopefully you’ll be fishing at least 50 days/season.

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Bendix
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Re: Pairing lines to rods

#20

Post by Bendix »

@Lasse

Yeah, I agree with you completely about Salmologic. And like I said, I don’t think their line rating system is the way to go.

@Paul

Just to clarify what I mean about only fishing a few times each year. What I experience in my local area, is that people go fishing all the time, like you say. But they use spinning gear the majority of the time, and only use fly tackle a few times each year. And that’s the reason for my statement.

Obviously this is for my local area, and things might be different in other places of the world.

/Bendix
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