Hi guys,

Wanna apologize strait off about such a long post, but I'm having a heck of time explaining this... An advance "thank you" for any and all who take the time to read this.

Just recently, I snipped my old 5wt rope clean in half while trying to ungoober someone else's mess of discarded mono from my line. The line I was previously using was overpriced junk (in my humble opinion) and with no real motivation to salvage it, I've begun looking into a replacement.

The rod I'm throwing is a 9ft Gatti FR-TA 2pcer and I fish with it anywhere from 20ft out to about 80ft regularly.. I spend alot of time large tailwaters with this rod and reaching out long is a must for my style fishing... but the rod needs to remain managable for closer casting as well. The line I am currently considering is a Scientific Anglers Mastery XXD Series but I'm unsure whether to stay with a 5 or step up to a 6...

A reputable local custom builder has been busy extolling to me the benifits of overlining higher modulus tip action rods like my Gatti, but I'm really not sure if its the right thing to do... especially with a line like the one I'm currently leaning towards (the extremely long bellied SA XXD). He swears that I'll likely achieve better range and better control by overlining, but this seems to defy conventional wisdom as I have always heard that a person should consider overlining a rod only if they are having trouble getting the rod to load a closer distances for short range casting. Conversely, I've often heard that if one wants greater distance, then perhaps the rod should be underlined...

Remembering that the loading weight of the line continuously increases as more line is arielized, I do not see how overlining this rod truly gonna help my long casts as he so avidly insists? Am I missing something here? Wouldn't overlining my 5wt Gatti with a very long bellied specialty distance line like SA's XXD series simply take the "umph" right out of rod on long hauls? Or will it the added grain weight and belly length turn what I already thought was a cannon into a full blown rocket launcher as he says it will?

Thanks again for your patience and help,

Nate H.

P.S. Could overlining Gatti 905 TA by one line weight result in blank failure? I sure don't wanna run the risk of breaking this puppy simply for the sake of a few extra feet on my hauls... its my favorite rod!!! lol

The modulus would have nothing to do with whether or not you should overline it above the maker's rating. The power of the rod, however, has everything to do with it.

I don't know what the power rating on your rod is. If you had the ERN for the rod I feel confident I could give you a pretty good answer. Without it, it's a stab in the dark and you'd just have to try it.

A 6-weight line weighs more than a 5-weight line. It's doubtful that you could cast as far with a 6 as you could with a 5, assuming the rod's power is similar to many other 5-weight models. But, a 6 would allow you to cast close in much easier, as it would load the rod better at shorter distances. Again, I'm assuming the power of the Gatti 5-weight is similar to many top brand U.S. made rods. Of course, they're not all the same.

Generally, and this depends soley on the amount of power a rod has (there is no standard) you would use the rated line for casts of about 25 to 65 feet, overline by one in closer than 25 or so, and underline for casts beyond 65 or 70. But again, it depends on the amount of power you're starting with.

All rods will cast a range of weight and I suspect that you can get the job done on both ends with whatever line you choose, but you will almost certainly find that one line will excel at short distances, one at longer distances and one is pretty darn good for just about all medium distances. With a fast tip action, you've got a pretty good range to work with. I think I'd decide what distance I cast the most, line the rod for that, and adjust my casting when I need to move inside or outside that range.

And here's one more variable - the new SA line you speak of may not weigh the same over the same distance as your older 5-weight line did.
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My experience with overlining a rod has been better control in close , for more distance I underline them , thus creating the same "weight" with more line arialized. I think that you will find that the rod will "die" when going for the longer casts with the heavier line .I frequently use 2 or 3 different lines on the same rod (4wt) depending on the river I'll be fishing .You may also find that the rod will handle the weight fine......being labeled a 5 wt dosen't mean it's a true 5wt.
Just my experience. John

In my opinion you are logically answering your own question. If the rod casts well with a short amount of 5# line it doesn't need more weight to load properly. If it casts well on longer casts using the same line a 6# line may only cause the rod to run short of power on the longer casts do to an excess of weight. If the 5# is as versatile as you describe you probably have a fast action rod with a ERN between 5.5 and 6.0.

Just wanted to thank you guys for such quick and insightful response... I just stepped out to pick up some dry cleaning for the wife and 3 great replies were awaiting my return! Much appreciate it fellas.

I reckon I'm now starting to understand first hand the value of getting in-line with the CC System stuff... Maybe soon I'll get my head wrapped around it a little better and can really start applying it rather than simply confusing myself. Now if I can just get my browser reconfigured to show the old data links to left, I might be able to get somewhere! lol

Thanks again guys,

Nate H.

I've used the XXD line a time or two and talking to a SA rep about them last Feb. he said they are pre-made heavier than spec. ( He said they are a half weight to heavy) they cast beautifully on the 5 weights I've tried them on and rollcast in excess of 60 ft no problem.

So the SA 5 wts aren't really 5 wts. Great. Another non-standard line to work around.

Really if your rod was working good with a 5 wt before then I think you'd be disappointed if you go to a 6, at least on your longer casts.

I like to overline most of my rods. Including 2 Gatti PA's. That way I can fish better close and if I want to fish far, It' is easy to shoot the line.

Jari

On those 5 WT's that are not 5WT's if the companies would lable the blanks and rods correctly, the problem would be eliminated. They are not doing us any favores

Nate:

The XXD has a very long belly (60 ft) and you need to be able to hold most of this aloft to really get the full distance benefit from the line. If you are a good caster, you will find a rod that CC tests as a 8 wt can really help hold/control that amount of line in the air. If you are a very good caster, you should be able to hold 65 - 70 feet aloft with a rod that CC's as a 6/7 wt.

I would urge you to CC test your rod before buying the line and then decide. If the Gatti tests out as a 5 wt, you may find it tough to keep 60 feet of a 5 wt XXD aloft and this will negate the very real distance benefits of the line.

With a well balanced setup, this line will cast very nicely from 10 - 90 feet. Bruce has done a superb job with this line.

I just stumbled upon this old conversation and I'll add something. SA XXD is spot on AFTMA specs. But since the whole head is so long, a full head of the #5 XXD weigh around 19g (sorry, I'm metric) and that's the same weight as my shooting head of 9m that I use on my #8 rod.

Cheers