Im building a Pac Bay Quickline 11 foot switch rod7 weight.What would be considered average casting distance for this rod?

That depends entirely on the line you choose and the skill of the person doing the casting. It's certainly capable of easily casting 100+ feet.

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

I know you could fill a library with books written about line and weight. In your experience where would be a good starting point so I can begin to choose the proper line . This is the first rod Ive built with what I would call a medium action. I'm use to a medium fast casting rod with a quicker recovery. Im sure my casting style isn't picture perfect.I've followed the building protocol to a "T" static guide placement test ,casted the rod ,tweeked the stripper guides and the size,used the lightest guides that would pass the knot. The only thing left is the line , perhaps the wrong line for the job?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/2012 11:30AM by Maryann Cohen.

How do you intend to cast it? Single, two handed or Spey?

single and 2 handed

Okay, two totally different lines for single hand and double hand casting. You can get away with one, but you are going to be selling yourself short. Trying to use one line for both, you are just not going to get the full potential of that blank when switching casting styles.

First, single hand, your rod is "rated" (and I use that term lightly) for a 7wt. To single hand cast, as in the type of cast you would use for a standard single hand fly rod, you are going to need at least a 9 or 10 weight standard fly line to load that rod. Its going to take some playing around with different lines till you find the right one. One of my Switch rods is rated at 4/5wt, for me to single hand cast it, I have to use a Cortland Salmon/Steelhead 7wt floating line on it and it can easily power out 80 feet with my crappy casting.

Double hand cast, as in spey style casting look to some of the new Switch Lines that are being offered by Cortland and Rio. What will also work is a Short Belly Spey line. You can also experiment with shooting heads and sink tips. Switch rods operate on a grain window, very similar to a Spey Rod. Now the window is pretty wide and can be confusing to someone that is new at this, it took me a lot of playing around and help from some friends that are avid Spey anglers to get my Switch rods dialed in for my casting style. Same rod above, the 4/5wt, if I want to double hand cast it, Spey style, I use a Cortland 6wt Short Belly Spey, it will easily launch that line out to around a 100 feet. One of my friends that is very good at spey casting can cast the entire 120ft line with it.

Take a look at Bob Meiser's website. There is a decent amount on information there on the grain window for Switch rods. I would also look for someone that is local to you that is into Switch and Spey rods, most are usually pretty willing to lend a hand.

Bill, "two handed" and "spey" are not necessarily the same! You can two hand over hand cast the same as a single hand cast, many surf casters do this. When I asked the question regarding type of casting (above) Spey was not in Maryann's reply.

The first place I would go to discus line wts for this rod, is Pac Bay.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/10/2012 07:46PM by Phil Erickson.

The skill of the fly caster aside, the potential distance depends as much (or more) upon the line as upon the rod.

i am with Bill on this
The rod and the rods action will tell you what line works and loads well with it

But you should try several lines to see how the rod - FEELS - to your casting

Bill - willierods.com

Maryann,
I suspect that if you had a rocket assissted lure on the end of the line as you cast, you could likely get a bit over a mile.

Roger

Sure
And if I had a time machine I can be 20 years old again LOL

Bill - willierods.com

You hit the nail right on the head Bill B. the rod doesn't feel right, as if i can't get it to load properly.

Try a heavier line on it
just because it is marked as an 7 wt does not mean it casts well with a 7 wt line
Go 8 or even a 9 line

Rods I consider as a spring And it takes a certain weight to load them be it a fly line or lure weight, and give the performance and distance some prefer Which may be different then others prefer

You are also saying it is a Med - Action It may be - Over Rated ???

A CCS rating will give you a better idea of what is good for the rod or blank

Or some one here who has built it and knows

Bill - willierods.com

Maryann,
Sorry for butting in here but this is a bit of a pet peeve that I have. The term "switch rod" was, and should be, meant to describe a rod that is designed to be casted either overhead (OH) or anchor-point (Spey). While a light TH rod can certainly be casted with one hand - why in the world would you wish to. One of the reasons to use a TH rod is to use two hands to make life easier.
May I ask - how many single hand rods do you have that are 11' long?
Respectfully,
Herb

Maryann,
Sorry for butting in here but this is a bit of a pet peeve that I have. The term "switch rod" was, and should be, meant to describe a rod that is designed to be casted either overhead (OH) or anchor-point (Spey). While a light TH rod can certainly be casted with one hand - why in the world would you wish to. One of the reasons to use a TH rod is to use two hands to make life easier.
May I ask - how many single hand rods do you have that are 11' long?
Respectfully,
Herb

Mr. Cohen,
Most of the major fly line manufacturers now make switch lines. I would recommend using a 6/7 or 7/8 rated switch line as a starting point for that rod. I would caution you against overloading the blank though. These are lightweight, higher mod blanks that can blow up if complex double handed casting techniques are used with line too heavy for the blank. My best advise would be to try a few lines (many shops will now let you do this) and let the rod tell you what it likes the best coupled with your individual casting style. Happy building.

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