If you haven't done so already, check out Rob Ketley's story in the Jan/Feb '04 ish that presents an easy, inexpensive way to figure out the line weight your rod is really suited for. And hey, if you've tried Rob's test, how'd it work out?

I tried the test and found out my 5 weight rod was actually a 6 weight. It is a well known brand, although a less expensive model

Have you tried casting a 6-wt line with it?

Aikido:

Hope you found the technique easy to do. Its a lot tougher to expain it in writing than just doing it.

A 5 testing as a 6 is very common, especially with sticks made over the past 5 years or so. One person I talked to tested a new 6 wt from a very popular manufacturer that rated as an 8wt. He was wondering why it felt so "different" to other 6's he has used. Now he knows!

The CC system is a nice easy way to compare rods. If you are an average caster (can cast up to 60 feet with a 6 wt) then the line ratings I showed in the piece should work fine for most of your fishing needs. If you can really zip things out there, you may want to tweak the line rating down 1/2 to 1 wt.

Have fun,

Rob

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The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.

Not yet, that's next, coarse now I have to buy 6 weight line

The hardest part was going through change jar and finding post 1996 pennies

This technique should be permanently archived in this site!

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pagan by nature

I enlisted the resources of my daughter. She gladly went thru our piggy banks and found recent pennies. The only stumbling block to the process was my wife's reaction. "Honey you want to do what? Why? I think you have gone overboard!" So I took the path of least resistance, and rigged up the system and measured rods while she was out of the house.

I found the system easy to use and quickly found out that my Sage SP 5wt is a 5 wt and my TFO Western Series 5wt is a 6wt. My TFO Saltwater 7wt tested out as an 8wt. Now I know why the Sage and the TFO 5wts feel different when cast with the same reel/line combo.

Richard

Richard:

My wife has just got used to my hare-brained fishing ideas. The house and garage are littered with fishing "projects" like the one man pram launcher and the extra long furled leader board. I guess she is lucky I don't make catfish stinkbaits in the bathroom .

If you are so inclined, check out the action angle measurement technique in Rod Maker Magazine. This provides even more help in determining differences between rods. Plus, you get to use a protractor and the shiny pennies...........

Rob

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The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.

Dan:

I built a 9 foot St Croix 4 wt about 3 years back. Like you, I could never get the darn thing to feel right. The rod was left in my closet until last year, when I dug it out and CC'd it. It turned out to have a "soft spot" just above the grip. While the tip section rated OK as a 3/ 4 wt, the soft butt dropped the total rod down to a 2 wt! I am now thinking the rod might make a reasonable 7 foot 3 wt. All I have to do is saw the rod about a foot above the grip.......

Nowadays, I simply CC every blank I purchase. That way, I don't waste time wrapping something that is the wrong power or action.

Rob

_________________
The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.

RK,

Your piece in the current CFF proved to be very educational, but also a little vexing. I haven't done the test to all of my rods yet, just the collection of 6 -weights (all supposedly the same model) that I used in my guide service. Out of six that were supposed to be the same thing, two that proved to be my favorites tested out as 7 -weights, three tested out as kind of "6 and 3/4" -weights, and one proved just a tick stiffer than the test thinks a 6 should be. Doing the test didn't change my preference, as I still prefer the two stiffer rods of this group of 6 -weights over the others, even when casting them with WF -6F lines. The vexing part is that I thought a few of the group were different, but I didn't expect them to all be different, yet all of them are. No two, it seems, are alike.

The test proved to be a straightforward kind of thing and the only difficulty I had with the process was convincing "She Who Must Be Obeyed" that I wasn't raiding the coin bank for some nefarious purpose, but I solved that--sort of--by tossing the issue on her lap with the pages open to your piece. Then it took me forever to do the testing, because I couldn't get the issue back until she had read the whole darn thing.

Thanks for giving me something to do down here while our beaches are blown out due to the storms!

-JP

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"I fish, therefore I am."

Jerrold:

It is obvious you have the skill to feel the subtle differences between rods. Not too many folks have that. The part of the CC test I detailed will show the power diffrences, as you have found out. What it will also do is show you the differences in rod action, too. When you have the rod deflected by the required amount, check the angle of the tip with a protractor. I bet you will find this differs between the rods by a few degrees, too.

With power and action information, you can begin to assess your "preferred" rod. For example, I prefer my 6 wt rods to have the power of a 7, and an action angle of over 65 degrees.

Enjoy playing with pennies and protractors......


Rob

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The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.

Dan:

If it is a joy to cast with a 5 wt line, then for you it is a 5 wt. The CC system simply provides an average benchmark to work from. Just like not all of us have IQ's of 100, not everyone casts using exactly the same biomechanics.

The rod in question may well CC out as a 5wt, or a 6 wt. However, if it casts best for you with a 5 wt line, then you have just figured out your personal correction factor. From here on out, you can CC any rod and determine what line will work best for you 99% of the time.

I am waiting to see if Dr. Hanneman can come up with a simple technique to measure tip velocity. If he does that, then the big 3 factors of rod performance will be in the bag.


Have fun,

Rob

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The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.