Hi guys, been crazy with vehicle issues.. Sorry i havent been on..

Heres the question.. My one fly rid has a ERN of 4.90.. Does that mean it would cast a 5wt line better then the current 4 wt thats on it? It is rated 4-5wt.. Just curious, ive read that section of the ccs about 80 times now.. And still am having an issue grasping it..

A fly rod with an ERN of 4.9 will cast any fly line at some distance. ERN is power, not line number.

Dr. Hanneman offered a tip for those that wanted a quick match to fly line from rod power number - ERN = ELN with 30 feet of line past the tip. if you regularly hold much more than 30 feet of line airborne, then you might find that an ERN of 4.9 will be better suited to a 3-weight line. If you hold much less than 30 feet of line beyond the tip, then the same rod might be better suited to a 5-weight line (or higher).

Keep in mind that the weight of a fly line changes as you put more or less of it beyond the rod tip.

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That makes sence... Whats odd is my cortland.. cheap, nothing fancy rod, cast 15-25 feet of 4wt. Perfect for me.. (Thats the rod with 4.9 ERN) and my buddy has an orvis clearwater 4 wt, unfortunatly i havent preformed a ccs on it yet, id like to.. Feels like your about to snap the fly on every load.. I dont like his at all.. I think the 4 wt line is too light for his rod.. Contraversy, he hates my rod.. Says it takes too much effort to work the line... Goes to show you everyone has a diffrent feel i guess..

The way i read the CCS was the ERN= ELN.. I understand thats talking about 30ft of line from the tip... But thank you for clarifying, and adding about (what should have been obvious) more line= more weight, less line=less weight..

Also, if you are going to equate ERN to ELN, remember that the middle of the range is the number you use for the "average." So an ERN of 4.5 would match with a 4-weight fly line, at 30 feet.

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Every fly rod I have ever tested for CCS was found to be at the high end on power, similar to what you found, 4.9 for a nominal 4 rated rod.

It's a poor workman who blames his tools. It's a poor fly fisher who blames his rod. A fly fisherman who seldom casts 30 feet should not worry too much about ERN or ELN. He/she should work on presentation. I am unaware of any credible measurement of a rod blank's presentation performance?

For the record, i can do a 100' cast and present a large dry within a 1 1/2' target.. Gently.. Obviously on a very still day, and not my 4wt.. Rather my 8wt. Master your triple haul, you'll be surprised at what you can achive with practice.. The point behind the question isnt a matter of being able to preform better on the water, it an excerise in knowledge.. Your only as good as the information given.. And if you think you know everything, you know nothing..



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2018 01:33AM by Anthony Unger.

Remember that when I say "30 feet" that's not how far you're casting that I'm talking about. It's how much line you're holding in the air during the cast. The rod that possesses an ERN of 4.5 will easily load with 30 feet of 4-weight line beyond the rod tip. It will certainly cast further than that. But it is a starting place for matching lines to rods. And as Dr. Hanneman has stated in the article and in person, this is a generalization or average. Depending on your casting style, ERN=ELN may not necessarily fit you and what you're doing. It is only a suggested starting point. A guy that has a powerful casting stroke or fishes long distances may find that his best line match equation is ERN=ELN-1, or +2 or whatever.

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I follow you.. Thank you once again tom, i have to ask... What exactly is your profession? Lol ypu have a great knowledge of the ccs...

As of right now, it's publishing the magazine and hosting the International Custom Rod Building Exposition.

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Im jealous...

I assume when you say "better" you mean farther rather than more accurately. Which line a fly rod will cast better depends upon three things: the rod, the line, and the caster. A fly caster with a good double-haul can aerialize a lot of line and cast an underlined rod that would frustrate an angler without a double-haul. A custom rod buyer would do well to experiment with short-head and long-head lines of various weights and a rod with a similar (or the same) ERN as the blank his or her rod will be built on to find the line that "feels" best. Learning to double haul will open opportunities while fly fishing and will undoubtedly change your preferences in matching rod to line - and even your preferred AFTMA rating of the lines on rods you already own.