WHAT'S YOUR LINE

[shooter]

you know we have a lot of post about fly rods,what type weight ,length exc.
i want to know what type of line is being used by the fly fishers here,do you match the line to the rod or do you do like i do in most cases ,over weight the rod with a line a little heavier then the rod suggest,or as in my case a lot heavier on some rods.
i use a lot of cheap rods(rods costing less then $50) it takes a heaver line to load these rods and make them cast like i want.
although i use a lot less expensive fly rods(that sounds better than cheap)but i always use good line.
the biggest mistake i thank, a newcomer to this sport can make is using cheap line, a good line can make a cheap rod preform,but a cheap line can make the finest 3WT rod a horror .
i use a lot of Orvis wonder line Advantage in weights form 6 to11 in a DT-F,it is my line of choice ,and Cortland precision bass on my bass rods.
what is your line of choice?

[shooter]

mike i fish a lot for big gills and chinks aka redear in timber or should i say under timber here in Louisiana.
i roll cast 99% of the time, i use DT line ,it takes a heavy line to load and generate the line speed needed to make the tight rolls to get under those low limbs using 61/2 and 7 ft rods.
i bet if the rod your friend made is not loading at all with a 2wt. it will take a 6wt to load it,let me know what line you end up with.



gators eat pork

[SteveGibson]

Typically, I do not overline -- particularly with the lighter weight fly rods. I have overlined with 8-weights and heavier. Your choices of line are very good. I use Rio lines because I like them and Rio is one of my sponsors.

My philosophy is that if it works for you and you like it, then it's great.

I have a DT on my 1-weight and I like it a lot. No problem!

[David Merical]

I've used Cabela's Prestige (plus?), S&A lines, Cortland 444 lines...so far I haven't seen a big difference and all have worked just fine for me. But none of these are "expensive lines", so perhaps if I shelled out the extra $$ for a higher-end line, I would notice a big improvement in my casting?

Its funny to me...but when I started trying to teach myself to fly-cast, I bought a cheap Cabela's fly rod & reel combo, which already came with line. I didn't know you weren't supposed to necessarily cast out the entire length of fly line (and even some of the backing!), and so I would do so quite often. I've since learned that this isn't supposed to be very likely with such cheap gear, especially since I was very much an inexperienced caster.

I've read a lot about over-lining a rod, but so far I've been very happy with the performance of my rods using the recommended line wt. Again, I still don't have expensive gear...my rods range from St. Croix Premiers, Fenwick, Albright A-5's and W.W.Griggs. My original Cabela's fly rod I passed along to a fishing buddy of mine, hoping he would be hit with the fly-fishing bug as badly as I have been. But he so far hasn't been as taken with it as I am.
I still use spinning gear in a number of fishing situations, but for me, fly-fishing is just more FUN.

[Ray Danders]

Most of my fly rods are G-loomis GLX rods. I have a 6wt I use for steel head and a 9wt I use for salmon but my favorite is a Sage (4) 8ft 4wt I use for bluegills and trout. I always use premium fly lines and always matched to the rod I am using. I like the GLX rods so much that many of my spinning rods are built from GLX blanks.

I don’t recommend premium rods for beginners, but if you use inexpensive rods and you are a decent fly caster, and then purchase a premium fly rod casting will be much easier and with a lot less effort.

The strangest rod I have is a 12 foot 2wt a friend of mine built from a G-Loomis IMX blank. He was going to use it to try to break the world record steel head 2 lb. test record, but shortly after he built it, someone in Alaska landed a 26 lb.+ steel head on 2 lb. so he sold it to me. It is a beautiful rod, but it doesn’t have the same feel as a shorter rod but it is fun to use.