Hi,
after self teaching myself the art of fly casting with a cheap set up from decathlon, Im ready to upgrade for a slightly heavier rod. Im on a 4 5 weight rod, so Im thinking on a 6 weight rod shakespeare odyssey XT which Ive read some reviews and they goo quality at a reasonable price. The thing is I have a fairly new Pitsford pirate WF5 floating that cast beautifully and woulnt like to loose it. Will I be able to load a 6 weight rod with no major issues??? Thanks

why the change to a heavier rod, are you going to be fishing new waters? reservoirs, large stillwaters?

if the 5weight was fine for the waters you fish, why not just get a better 5 wt rod?
or even go down to a 3wt, which would be much more fun.

I find that the bigger the rod, the less fun it is getting the average fish in...
Granted if you are aiming for double figure fishies then a stronger wt rod should be better, or for casting further out on large waters....otherwise why change?

casting a 5 wt line with a 6 wt rod may not be the best, the rod might not 'work' properly, finding it difficult to 'load' without the appropriate line weight flying around....although it can be done...but it wouldnt be as good as a 6 or 7 wt line.

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well, I wanted something bit all rounder, cause at the moment im fishing all sort of waters, but I guess no one stop me staying in #5.... the other thing that pushed me to move on to #6 is that is not easy to find intermediate or sinking lines for #5, then I need to buy #6 lines for a #5 rod which i suppose is not convenient neither.

Just last week I bought my son the same Shakespeare XT rod for his first rod. Paid a little over £30 for it, so didn't expect too much, but heard good things about it so thought it would be good for a starters kit.

Rigged it up and had a chuck and was amazed - it's casts superbly well with medium / fast action. Needless to say I'm thinking of 'upgrading' some of my more expensive rods for a couple more Shakey XT rods! Superb for the money and they are finished / look well too.

Went out this Saturday with the Shakey Oddyssey 7'6" 4 weight and caught 13 on a mix of dries and sight nymphing. My daughter for whom this rod was meant used it for the first time and refused my offer to give her my Sage Fli in exchange! However, if you want to keep using the Pirates line (I use one) then go for the Five weight as it really is a medium action and I think you'll struggle to load a six weight with the five weight line.

Take care

Terry

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Thanks guys for your comments, very helpful...
seems I will have to sacrifice little bit... is either buying a new floating line or getting a new set up for some sinking action.....unless someone knows a good cast-able #5 sinking line in the market???

WF5 intermediate and sinking lines, aren't that difficult to find, airflo (but don't touch their floaters), Talon (Newmill fishery) and others are available online and ebay if you need them.

My advice would be stick to the 5wt until you are confident and then decide what you want.

Most upgrades are not to a heavier wt rod, but to a lighter wt rod. Unless you are constantly going after high double figure fish, a 5wt is the maximum I would suggest you go with and makes an all round rod that will cope with most thrown at it. (If you are not fishing small streams, a 10ft might be better than the smaller one you have as it gives more control but not necessary more distance).

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I use a Rio Intermediate 5# line on my Scott 4# rod and it casts superb with no problems. By the way the Rio Aqualux Clear Intermediate line is fantastic !!
I first used it wet fly fishing on the White River in Arkansas with Davy Wotton on one of his rods. Loved it !!

MD

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found this one on ebay:
SHAKESPEARE WORCESTERSHIRE SINKING FLY LINE WFS-5
WFS stands for weight forward sinking i presume?
any good? yeap my budget is tight and want to keep it pocket friendly while i can...

The John Norris Pro 2 lines are very very good! At £12.99 you will not get a better line. They do sinkers and I'd look closely at these. I have an intermediate and it's really very good. Made me realise no need to spend £30-40 for a decent line!

Also hear very good things about the Pirates lines off this forum. Personally I've had mixed experiences with Skakey lines though......