I did a check on a fly rod that I built three years ago. It took 75 pennies and has an AA of 65. The 75 pennies works out to a line weight of 241 grains. What I cannot figure out is the ERN value for this rod. It feels like a fast rod when I cast it which is pretty close to what the AA tells it is. It is supposed to be a moderate to fast blank and an 8 wt.

I also did a CCS check on an Allstar IM6 rod that I had just finished. The blank was labeled 7 wt. The DBI=7.53/60 making this rod an average 7 wt. with a moderate action. No problem there. I used the table to figure that out.

Use the Rosetta Stone chart to find the corresponding ERN figure. Do not convernt penny weight to line weight - that won't work. Also keep in mind that the manufacturer line rating is just a subjective rating based on what the designer intended the rod to be used for. The ERN is a relative power rating.

The AA of 65 simply means that is it faster than rods with lesser AA figures and slower than rods with higher AA figures. Remember, action is where the rod initially flexes,

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Thanks Tom. I was looking at the sample table that only goes so far instead of the Rosetta stone. The ERN turns out to be 9.38. Maybe that is why I have had trouble feeling this rod load with an 8 wt. Tomorrow I will go to the gravel pit and try it with a 9 wt. line.

You can load it with an 8-weight line, but you'd probably have to get a lot of that line past the tip. The designer probably intended it to be cast and fished at very long distances. This is quite common with most of the heavier line weight fly rods these days, and in fact, for the past decade or so.

With a 9-weight line you'll be able to load it at shorter, probably more common casting distances.

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