Common Cents System

[robow7 0]

Ahh, modern fly lines, now that's where I pull my hair out.  We had a decades old system to tell us what a designated fly line weight was for the first 30 feet, and from that we could determine whether we wanted to over or under line our rod for a specific application but today, we have some lines that are designed a 1/2 weight heavier, or one full line weight heavier, or with SA's Titan, a full 2 line weights heavier than what was defined by in the past but yet they all carry the same line weight rating.  Much of this is due and in response to the fact that many of today's rods are under rated from how they may have been rated in the past.  You really have to pay attention when replacing a line as it can be quite confusing. 

[SilverCreek 0]

Good Point robow.

Fly rod designations have "moved the goal post" in some cases.

[Mark Knapp 0]

None of it's common cents to me. It's all very complicated. I just want to know it works. I'm glad some of you know why it works though.

[finnflyfishing 0]

Thanks for sharing! Another important aspect of rod performance is rod/reel balance. When it's off balanced you just won't get all the rod has to offer.

[skeet3t 0]

Seems a balanced outfit would be determined by the person casting the rod. A certain rod/reel combination would be felt differently by different people. Me? I have other things to worry about...like fishing this Friday when the weather is good.

[SilverCreek 0]

48 minutes ago, finnflyfishing said:

Thanks for sharing! Another factor to consider is rod/reel balance. If it's perfectly balanced you will see an improvement in the performance of your fly rod.

Rod/reel balance is important during the fishing of the rod so that is assumes the tip up, down or neutral position your want.

But rod/reel balance has little to do with casting the rod. You can actually cast farther and more accurately if you take the reel off the the rod and lay it on the ground because you then are not moving and stopping the "useless" mass of the reel during your casting motion.

Read this editorial on Sexyloops, the fly casting site.

https://www.sexyloops.com/2010.shtml?0624

Here is what Gary Borger has to say:

http://www.garyborger.com/2010/09/26/rod-balance/

"Then one day I had another thought that clinched the deal. If my rod were perfectly balanced at exactly the correct point when all the line was on the reel, wouldn’t that point change if I pulled line off to cast. If only took a couple of seconds to determine, that yes, in fact, it did change. Toss that adage out! Then, one day I was ran across a story on R.W. Crompton’s “casting machine.” It literally would fly cast. When the machine held the rod at the teeter-totter balancing point with reel attached, the machine could cast further when the reel was subsequently removed than when the reel was left attached. No reel equals a longer cast regardless of where the rod is held. Crompton even developed a reel that attached to his belt so he could fish without the reel on the rod. A bit bizarre, but it made him happy."

[niveker 0]

I never really got the whole rod/reel balance thing to be honest.  In my opinion, any rod without an older Pflueger reel on it looks unbalanced.  

[robow7 0]

So theoretically, if one can cast more efficiently without a fly reel attached to the rod itself, does that give rise to create a reel as light as possible if it is to remain mounted on a rod ?

[SilverCreek 0]

19 minutes ago, robow7 said:

So theoretically, if one can cast more efficiently without a fly reel attached to the rod itself, does that give rise to create a reel as light as possible if it is to remain mounted on a rod ?

Yes, I think that is why light reels are in vogue BUT most of your time is spent fishing and NOT casting.

So what is more important is that when you have the usual amount of fly line out of the guides, you are able to hold the rod naturally assumes in the position you want for fishing without having to force it into that position. For most fishing that would be rod level or a bit tip up.

For contact nymphing, you would want a heavier reel so the rod tip is even more elevated when you are holding it while fishing. You can hold the rod at the front of the grip to shift the wt of the reel further back to further elevate the rod tip.

So your hand position on the grip gives you some leeway on rod/reel balance during fishing.