# 9 Fly line vs. Rod weight

Fly line vs. Rod weight: Why Does This Feel Like an Algebra test?

 I'm going to talk about, Fly line vs. Rod weight, which can be a very confusing topic. I just read a post on Facebook from a beginner fly fisherman, that rings true over and over again. He stated that he was learning to cast, and he was having trouble getting the line to advance forward. I was able to start a chat with him and discovered that he was using the wrong weight line for the rod, AKA, the importance of having the right weight line for the Fly Rod.

In past articles I have talked about the importance of matching the rod and line weight. This young man had bought a used rod from a yard sale and purchased a used reel from a thrift store. He assumed that since they were both parts of a fly-fishing set-up, they should work together.

Once he put both parts together and went outside to cast he was unable to make the fly line cast at all. After multiple attempts, he was having a terrible time casting and was getting frustrated to the point of giving up. Now he shared with me that he was still a very new fly caster and was not familiar with correct technique or timing. After several conversation, we were able to find a fly shop and have them look at his used equipment purchase. Upon inspection it turns out the equipment he purchased was as follows: the rod purchased, was in fact a 9 ft. 7 weight rod; the reel was a used Cortland, with an old “Double Taper” #3 line on it. “doesn’t sound too bad?”

The reason he was having such trouble casting the rod, is that the fly-line was in fact “to light” for the fly rod, The lighter line was not able to “load” the fly rod properly, and therefore the line would not advance very well. I know some you reading this are more experienced fly casters and may have a few thing to interject on this conversation, but in this case it just made learning to cast just too difficult for him.

The reason I am sharing this story today is to illustrate an example of the importance of matching the rod to the line. If you recall in my previous article we discussed the fly line weights, and how important that we match the correct line weight to match the rod weight, so that the fly rod will be able to perform as the manufacture has intended and make for a much better experience.

In the case of this young man from Facebook, we talked a few more time, he was able to go to Walmart and purchase a low-cost reel with a matching 7-weight line on it. After only a few minutes outside practicing he was able to cast the fly rod with much better results this time and was ultimately able to learn how to cast.

So again, I will repeat the importance of matching the line with the rod, to achieve maximum performance form your gear.

Thanks for reading, I hope that in some way it might help.

Gary, AKA LaMachine