I bought a new rod a few days ago, a 10ft #8 for reservoir bank fishing. I explained that my casting wasn't especially good, and I always seemed to lack distance from rising fish.
In my mind a longer rod with a heavier line would give me more distance.
I've read this morning that heavier fly lines like an 8 are apt to hit the water with more of a splash and spook fish. Would I have been better going for a 9'6 with say a 6 or a 7?

Thanks.

Not really true. but did you tell the guy in the shop Your thoughts.this could have affected what he sold you.
A 10' or 9'6'' 7# would have been my chosen tackle for you.but if you work at getting your 8# to land gently(not really difficult) you'll be a better caster.

Jim

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I would think a 7wt is a good all round wt.

I started on a 6-7wt on small-med stillwaters, went to a 7-8wt as I thought I would cast further and get more fish. I was wrong I tried a 6wt rod (Atom six/Zenith). I casted further, and presented better at distance and at close range a days fishing was easier and I was able to fish lighter so picked up more fish.

I am enjoying the 6wt at the moment. Use what you have technique is the key regardless. My old man really presents well on his 8wt with very little disturbance.

A 10ft, 8wt can be a bit of a 'brute' particularly if, as you say, your casting's not 'especially good'. The increased weight and leverage of the longer, heavier rod will not make casting easier and indeed may have an adverse effect.

Don't forget, there may well be fish rising out of your current range but I can pretty well guarantee there will be fish much closer to you that you can target with a shorter, better presented cast. It's the old 80:20 rule ... for every couple of fish you see on the surface there's probably another 8 'chuffing about' (technical term) under the surface and a good, thoughtful short cast will outfish a long distance, end in a crumpled mess, heave.

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A 9'6" #6-7 rod would have been a much better option. Perhaps it isn't too late to return it.

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Best option now is a casting lesson

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I think that the person who gave you the advice perhaps did mislead you to an extent, if he told you that you would get more distance with an 8wt, as a "novice caster". The sad fact is, that if you cant cast a 5wt, or a 6wt, etc... you won't be able to cast an 8wt. All an 8wt will give you over and above a lighter rod, is to be able to cast heavier flies, and perhaps, more of them on a leader. When conditions, like wind , make a light rod difficult, the heavier rod might be an advantage. Remember that an 8wt is a brutal rod, and is a favoured saltwater rod for bonefish and many other hard and fast fighting fish, so to think it would be a suitable trout rod, is a tad over optimistic. To think that an 8wt rod can cast any further than a 4 or 5wt rod, in the hands of a competent caster, is simply not true. I have yet to find a team of 3 trout flies, regardless of weight, that can't be adequately cast by a 5wt rod. Unless of course you are targetting mutant hybred, steroid pumped trout of over 20 pounds, on obscenely heavy leaders with a wire trace... Let's face it, no trout , regardless of weather it is wild, in a river or stillwater, under say 12 to 15 pounds, in any reasonable fishable weather conditions, really justifies a rod heavier than a 6wt.. tops.

Thanks for that.
The problem I had was that I have a few rods and lines that I inherited, one, the main rod, being a 9' #8. My father used to fish with this, on the reservoir I fish now. I couldn't afford a new rod and three lines, so explained that my idea was to buy one new line now, and use two of the old ones, which was why I/we plumbed for the 10ft #8 (it was the only rod in my price range which was an 8).

To give him his due, I did ask whether I could cast further with a 10ft rod, and he said that distance and accuracy are more to do with the caster than the rod/line. I did ask why anyone would go for a 10ft rod as opposed to a 9ft or 9ft 6, and he said that they were more a boat rod, but he did also say that it would suit my purposes as well as a 9ft or 9ft 6 rod for fishing from a res bank.

Now, after a lot of thrashing and getting used to the new action, I found I could cast better with the new rod - farther and in more of a straight line (I found putting my index finger along the top of the rod, a trick I read about here - really helped), so in that respect it was a good choice. The only problem is, I'm a bit concerned the chap at the shop didn't say "Well, in your case, you should really go for a 9' rod on a 6 or 7."

I did let him know that I really didn't know that much about rods and lines, and that I was after his advice.

I suppose, bottom line is, will there be much more splash with an 8 rather than a 6 or a 7, especially at my level of casting, and should I really have gone (and more importantly, been advised to go for) a shorter, lighter rod?

Just a personal view from someone that finds casting an 8 weight difficult and clumsy,
i can present fairly delecately to 75' or more with a 5 weight without much effort, big flies may make that harder but i cant cast an 8 weight the same distance without heaving a bit and sacrificing a massive amount of control,

i'd say an 8 weight would teach you to heave rather than cast.

Hi Phil

Just wanted to add my thoughts to this...

I've been fly fishing for about 18 months and all that time I've been using a 7/8wt.
But with a little bit more experience behind me I now know that this is a bit overkill for the fishing I do.
So over the last 4 weeks I've been testing out 5 and 6wt rods.

I like you, I thought that I wouldn't be able to cast as for with a lighter rod but this hasn't been the case at all.

This morning I tested about 5 rods and eventually bought a Greys G-Tec 5wt.
I knew from the first cast that this was the rod for me as it just felt 'right'
And the thing that amazed me was that I was casting the same distance if not further than usual with about half the effort.

I'm still going to keep hold of my 7/8wt for days when it's really windy though.

So my advice would be that if it's possible to take that rod back then I would and try testing out some 5 or 6wt ones before you buy.

Hope this is of help.

Dan

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