Choosing a Fly Rod by Weight

Video Transcript

"The weight of the rod is going to depend upon the weight of the line that we're casting, and that is going to be determined by the size of the fly that we're going to cast. So for instance, if we have a big bushy fly, okay, then you're going to want a heavier line, like a six weight line that has more thickness in it, in its body to be able to turn that fly over. If you're fishing a very, very small dry fly like the size of your fingernail, then a rod that will cast a three or a four weight line; it's going to cast a very little, fine fly very easily. Now, to expand on that, is like a six weight line, which is large diameter; it will very easily cast a small fly the size of your fingernail, though the presentation or how it fishes will not be quite as nice, okay; whereas, if you take a small diameter three or four weight line, it will not be able to push a big, bushy fly through the air because there's more mass to it. In other words, to to for that to be able to happen is when you start out, you get a rod that matches the line weight that you, and the size of the flies that you're planning on fishing, so what what it starts out to is the rod manufacturer will have written on the rod four weight rod, and then, so you start out trying to put a four weight line on it. Now, the next thing we want to talk about is the weight of the rod. So the weight of the rod, that's going to be go in hand with the balance of how the reel, when you hold the rod by the handle, how comfortable it feels to you. Is the tip heavy? Is it the reel cause it to tip back? You want to have it so when you grip it comfortably with your hand it feels comfortable, so weight is going to have a big factor, especially in reference to your body size. So, if you have smaller wrists or whatever, then you don't want to have a rod that weighs a lot. You want to have a rod that's comfortable. A lighter rod will always be easier to cast, and you'll be able to fish longer during the day."