Looking for some decent line for reds and trout. Got an 8wt Three Forks rod that it's going on, so I figure that I need to stick with an 8wt rod. If I underline it, I can fit more backing on the reel, but probably won't turn over bigger flies(I'll be bass fishing with this line too) good enough, and 9wt might take away from the backing. Any recommendations?

answered it on the refuge

I read somewhere, maybe it was here, that when you were making a compromise you should err on the side of things that would be the most logical for the situation you'd find yourself in most often.

So: Will you have more opportunity to fling big, nasty, heavy, non-aerodynamic bass flies, or to snag a fish that will make you need all the extra backing in the salt? I think I know your answer, but I don't want to presume.

The best case scenario would be to buy the 9wt line now (assuming that it would make the rod operate in a way to suit you) and keep an eye out for a good deal on a salty reel later. You know what a cheap hombre I am, but I still went that route on my rig. I really like my Okuma Integrity reel that I got off of Ebay for salty fishing for about $50, but then I've never gotten it salty.

Come to think of it, the Integrity that I bought on clearance at Academy when I got to meet you that first time is still on my desk with no line on it. It's yours for the 15 bucks I've got in it, if you want it. It's not like I'm getting much use out of it and I could use the good karma.

Well I tell you what Red. Next time you're down, I'll buy you a beer or 3 and give give you 15 or 20 bucks for the reel.

If I had 2 reels, then I would be set up like I'd like with a bassin' set up and a salty set up...so if the next time you travel south you find that reel still collecting dust, I'll keep the above offer on the table, if you're actually using it then, I'll just buy you a beer or 3.

You drive a hard bargain, sir, and it hurts when you twist my arm like that.

Deal.

I'll consult my schedule and see when I can get it to you.

Remember up-lining a salt water fly line is more important in handling the ever present wind than tossing big flies.
IMO casting small salty flies up-line one line wt to handle windy conditions and if tossing big bass bugs up-line by 2 line wt.

If your planning on fishing for tailing reds most times you won't be throwing big flies. More times then none you'll be throwing #2's-#6's.

alot of people say to over line a rod. IMHO you will be far better off staying with #line as the rod and learning to double haul.

Case, I�ll have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.
Just assume we all know how to double haul and not go there.
I have posted this before but still good information.


FLY LINE SELECTION

FLYCASTING SYSEMS
By Bill Nash FLYCASTING SYSTEMS c1996

�Except for a double taper line the AFTMA line number, for the rated loading, and the rod number will not be the same.

Line manufacturers numbering is based upon the weight of the first 30 ft of line.
The rod, however, must be designed to cast 45 or more ft of a double taper line.
Therefore it will not be fully loaded by lines of different designs such as Weight Forward, Triangle Taper, or Shooting Tapers, even though the line has the same number as the rod. Only the weight of the first thirty feet will be the same, the total line weight (of 45 or more feet), will be less, because most of the belly weight of a Double Taper will be missing. To compensate for this the rod should be �over lined� in order to match the casting weight of a Double Taper line (some will argue that in either case casting 30 ft of line will load the rod the same but they forget that the line in the guides is also part of the load)�

Note:
Bill Nash, was a retired physics teacher that passed away a couple of years ago.
Bill was known as the West Coast guru that influenced many FFF Hall of famers and Certified Casting Instructors, such as Dan Blanton and others.

I understand George
This is how I look at it and it is a very tough topic to reach a definitive answer. Up-lining can be useful to some and not necessary to others; the personal feel or preference is different in everyone. Up-lining a rod can be helpful but can also distort the true casting sensation of X rod (some rods are designed to be fast and some slow). Up-lining a rod can have a dampening feel to the rod. If you buy a fast action rod and up-line it all you end up doing is making that rod slower. So why�d you buy a fast action rod in the first place? If it was to have high line speed you just defeated that by up-lining. If you like the feel of a fast rod up-lined then you should have probably bought a slower action rod to begin with. Being able to double haul to increase line speed while in windy conditions or throwing big flies IMHO is a better solution to up-lining and robbing a rod of its power. In my experience you�re not going to notice a lot of difference in a rod that has been up-lined at cast of 30-50 feet. That same up-lined rod at 70-90 foot cast starts feeling taxed. I personally prefer a rod with a fast crisp feel so up-lined rods are not my preference.

i think sometimes people buy a rod and then go around trying to find a line that will give them the feel of the rod they like. that can become pretty expensive. buying a rod that already has the feel you like and putting a line on it that was made for that rod may be a better alternative.

Case, I agree "it is a very tough topic to reach a definitive answer" and I do understand personal preferences has more to do with fly rod and line selection than physics.

My mentor is a FFF Hall of Famer, CCI instructor and noted fishing guide. I follow his advice on up-lining fast action fly rods.

As I mentioned earlier, I totally agree with the necessity of a good double haul. I would relish listening to a conversation between you and Blanton - you guys are poles apart.

I am just a less than average fly guy that makes the experts cringe when they see my bad habit casting ...

I commonly will do strange things like run a 7 weight line on a 4 weight rod on a day I will be doing a LOT of casting to little pockets, that little 4 weight is light and therefore I do not get as much of a workout (and sore muscles) and the 7 weight line nicely casts the fly I am using.

Line and rod matchup is best left to the person doing the matchup.

You can't use a chart or a number stamped on the side of a rod or on a cardboard box to decide how to fish.

My thoughts exactly ...

The really cool thing is that, with all the huge variety of lines and rods, anyone can cook up whatever combo suits their very specific personal preferences! I find that a wonderful thing.

The double haul is a valuable tool for any fly fisherman and everyone should learn how to do it.

However, don't under-estimate the versatility of uplining and downlining a fly rod. Yes, some rod models are stiffer than some casters want/need and heavier lines are often recommended to help "slow" down the rod to help those casters load those rods. But you can do so much more than that by using uplining and downlining a fly rod as tool to better match the fishing conditions.

For example, when the black bass are hugging the shoreline, most of my casts will be less than 35 ft from my boat and the flies will be large. Let's see 35 ft - 8 ft leader - 9 ft rod = only 18 ft of fly line available to load the rod. Fly line sizes are based on the weight of the first 30 ft of line which means using only 18 ft of line will not load a rod as well as 30 ft of line. In this situation, uplining one or two line weights will make it easier to load the rod and cast the heavier flies this short distance.

On the other end of the spectrum, I have an older 5 wt Fenwick that is a chore to cast with a 5 wt line, but it is a real joy to cast with a 4 wt line.

Changing line wt's is just another tool that can be used to better match the equipment to the caster and the fishing conditions. Besides, other that the ones defined by the game warden, there are no hard and fast rules to how fly fishing equipment should be setup. So, experiment and use whatever works best for you and the fishing conditions.

Have fun,
Rex