Good Morning Gentlemen....
As you all know, I am building my very first flyrod for my brother...it is a 8wgt, 9foot..2pcs.....everything is going well, inspite of some interruptions !!
I have also been reading about flyrods, but cannot find where it is stated, just what does 3wgt...4wgt...5wgt...8wgt...mean ??

Is this the amount of power behind the rodblank, when one is casting it ??
Please enlighten me !!.....
Many Thanks...
MaryLou


MaryLou Van de Riet
Weatherford,Texas USA

MaryLou,
3Wt, 4WT, etc is a designation of the flyline weight, 3WT being lighter than 4WT, etc. and doen't differentaite between floating line, sink tip line, or other factors. What's your lucky brother fishing for, and what kind of water does he fish on? Small streams, lakes, big rivers...?
Tom

Tom...
My brother lives in Missouri,and will be fishing for Missouri Trout.....I think he will be fishing streams and lakes...
I am also building one for myself for my trip to Montana this August, but mine will be a 5wgt....

MaryLou

MaryLou Van de Riet
Weatherford,Texas USA

The wt. denotes the Grains (weight of the line) for the first 30 foot of line. (example: 4wt line, means that the 1st 30 feet of line weighs 4 Gr.)


<*)))><

Art....
So this means the term " weight," has nothing to do with the way the rod flexes...am I correct to say that ??

MaryLou

You are correct MaryLou, weight ratings have nothing to do with the way the rod flexes. It is as Art says

Regards

Scott

Actually, on the rod it means little to nothing. There are no standards behind those numbers unless you apply them to the line itself. AFTMA designated those numbers for fly lines based on the amount of weight of the first 30 feet of fly line.

#1 = 60 grains

#2 = 80

#3 = 100

#4 = 120

#5 = 140

#6 = 160

#7 = 185

#8 = 210

There was a time when a rod labeled as a "#8" or "8-weight" was designed to load easily with 210 grains, or 30 feet of a #8 line outside the tip. But in the past couple decades that's gone by the wayside. The designer may be using his rod in such a way that he keeps 50 feet of line past the tip so his "8-weight" might by somebody else's 10 weight. The number on the rod has come to mean very little. It's just s subjective rating with no standard behind it.

Read the following article which I think will greatly help you all this into perspective. It will also make you a better fly rod builder. Use this link and then click on "AFTMA Fly Line Components" for a download that you'll find very eye opening.

[www.common-cents.info]


................

Tom above defined what a 4 wt or 8 wt line means. The line weights are an agreed on standard by the manufacturers. Basically an 8 wt rod means the manufacturer of that rod or blank thinks that it is a good power blank to use a 8 wt line on. But as said, that is a subjective rating on the part of the manufacturer.

Subjective as it is, that is what most. as in almost all, fly fisherman go with. If the rod is rated as a 5 wt, they use a 5 wt line. And it usually works well. Some more experienced casters prefer to try different lines on a rod to meet certain situations. For instance, if trying to cast a big bushy fly in windy conditions someone might opt to use a 9 wt line on your brothers 8 wt rod and just cast or fish at shorter distances. Using light flies on clear, flat water a person might use a 7 wt line to allow casting or carrying a little more line and make a little less splash.

As a rod builder, you become the person that has to do the subjective rating for line weight. The common sense system is a fine way to build a knowledge base to do this. The beauty of the common sense system is it actually gives you a measured, verfiable number that relates to the power of the rod. You can then use that number to develop your own sense of rating.

I wanted a 7 wt to bass fish with. I built a rod on a 7 wt (Diamondback classic trout) blank. It felt really bad when I tried to fish it. I did the CC rating on it. It rated out with numbers that would put it inbetween a 5 and a 6 wt. Not good for pushing a torpedo taper 7 wt. Now I check the CC of the blank before I build. Nice to know what you are getting ahead of time.

So as a rod builder of fly rods, you need to learn the line rating system. You need to learn to cast just a little bit so you know about flex in the rod and how the speed of the stroke and the line weight out affects this, and a little bit about casting different lengths of line of different weights on the same rod. Or you can just buy the blank as a 4 wt and go with that. It works most of the time. But a guy that wants a short 4 wt to fish small streams with is gonna want an entirely different power and action rod than a guy that wants a 4 wt to fish open tailwaters with the clear conditions. And of course the major manufactures know this and try to build that into their designs and ratings. But it leaves you guessing as a rod builder.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2007 11:42AM by Bill Moschler.

That's exactly the problem - what one rod manufacturer calls his "5-weight' rod, the next calls a "7-weight" rod. The rod rating indicates a good rod to use their labeled line on, but at a certain range, which they almost never tell you.

My GUSA 8' 5-weight would snap like a twig if I ever tried to lift and cast 30 to 40 feet of 5-weight line on it. It was designed for casting and fishing in very close. But my GUSA 9' 5-weight won't even begin to load until I get about 40 to 45 feet of line past the tip. It was designed for long casts. But all you'd see looking at their listings, is that both are "5-weight" rods.

Find out what your customer is going to do with the rod and try to match the rod power to the line he's going to be using at the general range he'll be doing it. Just one more service that a custom rod builder can offer a fisherman.

...............

Gentlemen....
You have presented me with alot of food for thought !! This is definately going to be an adventure in learning and building flyrods !!
It will surely be, an entire new aspect of rodbuilding for me !!
Many Thanks.....
MaryLou



MaryLou Van de Riet
Weatherford,Texas USA

I think what these guys meant to say is that yes, *generally*, the line number printed on a rod describes the power of the rod. There is variation as to what exactly a '3 weight' means, but, that said, you won't find many 3wts that are more powerful than 6wts... or 6wts that are more powerful than 9wts...

(simple is good too)

Scott Kinney
The Longest Cast Fly Rods
[www.thelongestcast.com]

yeah, don't get too bogged down with the technical aspects although it's that very same technical stuff which will help you understand and implement your skills as a "custom rod builder" in the end. you'll get it. it helps to wrap and fish a few rods to help connect the dots. and turn here for advice too of course.

eric
fresno, ca.

Mary Lou,

I also live in Missouri and fish the trout parks a lot which is probably where your brother will be doing most of his fishing. For the parks I would suggest you go with an 8 to 9 foot five weight rod. I think he would find that quite satisfactory.

Dave