6wt fly rod with 5wt line...

[Neil McCauley]

Somehow bought 5 wt Rio Gold WF floating line for my 9' 6wt Redington rod.

Is this going to be a big problem casting?

[smr913]

May not load the rod as well but I doubt you'll notice.

[fishnkamp]

Yes you can easily run a line heavier on most rods but going lighter is usually not good

[Turkey sandwich]

well, that's frustrating.  Going heavier on line can be a good idea sometimes.  Going lighter, not so sure.  That being said, Rio Gold is great casting line.  Can you see about returning it and swapping it out?  I know Cabelas is really good about that stuff.

[fishnkamp]

I was lucky when I was younger and became friends with both Lefty Kreh and Bob Clouser. I still have some great gear from back in the 80s.  My 7'9" Orvis Far and Fine was rated for a 5 or 6 wt line. It always fished best with the 6 wt, but it specced that way.   A five wt worked but only if you wanted to throw midges and small nymphs. I used it for bluegill and bass. The 6 wt worked best for small wooly buggers, nad of course the beloved foam and rubber spiders.  No self respecting bluegill, sunfish or crappie could resist a good old foam spider with rubber legs. 

 

The same held true with my RPL3 9 ft for 8 wt.  I always liked throwing a 9 wt line on it, but it specifically called for an 8 wt only.  The 9 wt throws big striper flies so nicely.

[Further North]

Here's how I'd describe it: Most people who fly fish want that long, tight looped cast that flies across the river and drops without a ripple into a pool where the big fish lurks, 70 ft. away...

 

The Bad News: That ain't gonna happen with a line that's too light for the rod.

 

The Good News: If you practice a lot you'll be able to finesse that fly into a spot 30 ft. away so softly no fish will be able to tell it's not a real bug.  What I mean by "a lot" is...like 80 hours on the lawn.  I may be exaggerating to make a point...but you get my drift*.

 

...but I'm not sure that's useful.

 

That you are asking the question indicates to me that you're not an experienced fly fisherman...and I'd posit that it'd take a fairly experienced fly fisherman to get the best out of a rig set up like that.  I'd try to swap it for a 6 wt line..or:

 

1) Buy a new 5 wt. rod (for trout, really not enough rod for bass in most places).

2) Suck it up and buy a new 6 wt. line, sell the 5 wt. line.

 

Many fly rods these days are faster actions...which exacerbates your issue.  While it's easy to go one line wt. up when you have a faster action rod...it makes lighter line all but impossible to use.

 

 

 

 

*Yeah...pun intended.  Sue me if it didn't make you smile.

 

 

9 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

The same held true with my RPL3 9 ft for 8 wt.  I always liked throwing a 9 wt line on it, but it specifically called for an 8 wt only.  The 9 wt throws big striper flies so nicely.

 Great rod!  Had one like it...got stupid and swapped for something I was convinced would be better...it wasn't, and I can't even remember what it was...but I remember the RPL...

 

I was, however, smart enough to hang onto the Scott....

[fishnkamp]

The RPL II was a good rod, but I let a great rod go much like you did,  I had another Orvis rod that I loved to bass fish with and it was an 8 1/2 for 7-8 wt. I used it a ton, then on a trip with Clouser I used his RPLII  9 for 8 wt in order to experiment with throwing some large deer hair bugs. I got to like the feel and sold off my Orvis.  STUPID on my part! I like the RPl and with the 9wt it will throw bigger stuff for stripers.  Since I live next to the Chesapeake Bay it works but I would love to have the Orvis, it was slower and handled the midsize stuff with such grace and joy. I had probably 100 hours throwing wooly buggers or crystal buggers, not to mention the hundreds of larger Clouser crayfish or lead eye flys. I am not a huge lover of really slow rods but I did have a 4 wt Winston for a while.  Man you could make a back cast, eat a sandwich, smoke a pipe and then it was loaded and ready for a forward cast, but it did lay out that fly so dainty and sweet, mother nature could barely land it any more gently herself.

 

[Deleted account]

There are so many variables, its hard to say. The actual taper of the line in combination with the rod taper/action, fly size/air resistance  and angler technique will all influence the outcome. In general terms, usually its a better idea to step up 1 line size than to go down one, but there is only one way to find out. On a positive note, it sounds like an opportunity to go get yourself some WF 6 line AND an 8'6" 5 wt rod...

[Further North]

8 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

I am not a huge lover of really slow rods but I did have a 4 wt Winston for a while.  Man you could make a back cast, eat a sandwich, smoke a pipe and then it was loaded and ready for a forward cast, but it did lay out that fly so dainty and sweet, mother nature could barely land it any more gently herself.

Funny stuff.

 

I'm not a slow action rod guy either...but I am getting to appreciate them more.  Casts don't need to 70 feet very often...

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Line weight ratings on flyvrods are as subjective as any lure weight or power ratings. Any rod with throw a length of line some distance. The only way to tell is to try it. I'm not familiar enough with that rod to definitively tell you to over or under line it. 

[MickD]

What is at work here is getting the rod to load properly.  If you over-line a rod it will load properly on fairly short casts, which is where a lot of fishing is done, and the casting is easy.  If you are able to get a lot of line out, the rod may not have enough power to handle it as well as it could the proper line.   You will put a lot into the forward (and back cast) cast and the rod will bend but will not throw the line properly.

 

When you under-line a rod it won't load properly until you get more than a normal amount of line in the air.  That is pretty difficult for those of us who are not expert fly casters to handle.   With a short or normal amount of line in the air, the rod doesn't load well, and you are not able to use the energy of the rod.   The rod will feel too stiff and the timing of the cast must be perfect.

 

I'm no expert either, and when I was having trouble with my 8 wt I got a recommendation to use what in effect is a 9 wt line.  It worked very well in making my shorter casts easy, and it happens that my rod has the power to get some pretty long casts when I need them.  I am not able to make the long casts that experts do even with the 8 wt regular lines.

 

bottom line, get the right line, or even one wt. heavier than recommended.  Many fly shops will allow you to try lines before purchasing, an  advantage on in-person shopping over on-line.

[.ghoti.]

On 6/1/2017 at 9:16 AM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Line weight ratings on flyvrods are as subjective as any lure weight or power ratings. 

 And, you can say the same thing about fly lines these days. There is a set of standards for fly line ratings. I used to know this, but no longer. It's something like the weight of the first 30' of line in grains or grams. You can find the charts online, i'm sure.

 

The problem comes when a manufacturer wants to make the longest casting 6wt line, so they make one that's close to a 7, and label it a 6.

 

The only way to answer your question is; try it. It may very well be fine. With rod ratings as arbitrary as they are, and line weights not strictly adhering to the standards, it's anybody's guess what works and what doesnt.

[WdyCrankbait]

A lot of good points are made here.  The one thing I say is go fish it and enjoy fishing.

 

 

[Neil McCauley]

Been using it about a month now. It casts beautifully ! If I want I can shoot it and usually cast out the whole 47' head length. But yes it does seem just a little light on the rod and needs an extra false cast or two.

[Further North]

Thanks for the follow up, really glad you're enjoying it!

 

Fly fishing is fun and can be a welcome challenge...there's a lot to feel good about when your casting starts to come together.

 

Have you considered getting a line that matches the rod?  I would expect you to find that you'd be able to get well past the head and into the running line with a 6 wt. line.

[Neil McCauley]

13 minutes ago, Further North said:

Thanks for the follow up, really glad you're enjoying it!

 

Fly fishing is fun and can be a welcome challenge...there's a lot to feel good about when your casting starts to come together.

 

Have you considered getting a line that matches the rod?  I would expect you to find that you'd be able to get well past the head and into the running line with a 6 wt. line.

Sure, right after I already blew my $ on the wrong one.

Think I'd have to get something more affordable. Piscifun has some for $30 on Amazon that has good reviews.

[Further North]

Sierra Trading Post is a good place to keep an eye peeled for heavily discounted high quality lines.

 

I see Airflo, Scientific Angler and Rio lines there most often.  I just checked and what they have right now is all sink tips or specialty line (one was a tarpon line!) but their selection changes often and it's worth saving a link and checking in frequently.

 

I'll shoot you a link in a PM n a minute or two.

 

Good luck and keep having fun!

[HookRz]

Hey, great excuse to buy that 4 weight panfish rod you want! 

I'm no expert, but when I fly fished more I was always a one weight over guy. 

[WRB]

It really depends on a few factors not mentioned, type of fly line weight forward, shooting taper, floating and sinking lines. If you are bass fishing and using surface bugs a weight forward or shooting taper floating line is preferred, 5 or 6 weight depends on the size and wind resistance of the bug. Sinking weight forward line for streamers or nymphs is the way to go, 5 or 6 weight would be very similar and again depends od wind resistance and casting distance.

It's been awhile since I have fly fished but good line can be very expensive as I recall so get the correct line for your type of fly fishing. 9' rod shouldn't have a problem with either 5 or 6 weight line.

Tom