I have just purchased a new 9 ft 8 lb. rod and real. Can I use smaller line on the setup if I want to go fo the smaller fish? Or should I keep the line size equal to the rod rating?
Thank you
Matt
Hi willieboy, i'm not being a smartass, but it would be 9ft 8wt and not 8lb. And very good question.
A rod rated for 8wt is the manufactors suggested line size in which they think it's made for. For the most part its accurate. But it can very 1 size smaller or even larger. But going larger or smaller is most likely a decision made by the person using it. It just might feel better for person to cast 1 size up (called overlining). Rarely does anyone go one size down. Usually going down in size from a suggested size would make it harder for your rod to load correctly. If it doesn't load correctly, then it's harder to feel line load while your casting and thats not a good thing.
A fly lines main purpose is to use it's weight to throw a fly and thats basically what fly fishing is. Your casting the line and not the fly. The fly basically is along for the ride. So if your casting say a 6 inch diver fly, it's mush easier to have a heavier line (bigger rods and line weights) to move the bigger fly thru the air. A 3 wt rod/line would not have alot weight to move a wet 6 inch diver. But this can be argued as well, because a person who has been fly fishing for a while can probably throw bigger flies with smaller wt lines & rods, but that works because of experience of the person casting.
So you could use your 8wt line to catch smaller fish, but then your getting into the rod itself. The rod would be say an overkill on small sunfish, you still catch them, but you would be making the fish sail across air when you set the hook :) Downsizing the to a rod that would be used for a smaller line is what you would need to do. And thats when you get into the nasty habit of collecting multiple fly rods for different occasions
So long story short, keep the recommened line size
I hope this makes a little sense.
