Spey: Rod length/line Choice for rod designation (MCCI exam question)

By the way, I have a question to ask concerning lines for two handed rods…I have a TFO 13’-6” Professional rod with a Gravity Point 9/10 wt. line with a 75’ head. What I am trying to understand is rod length and line relationship if there is any.

As I was watching RIO’s Modern Spey Casting video, I believe I understood Simon G. mentioning in the video, that shorter two handed rods require a short to medium head lines and longer rods require longer head lines.

Is this a correct assessment…? The reason that I am asking this question is during the Gulf Coast Conclave I was casting the outfit above and I had problems loading the rod correctly. As I threw the “D- Loop” behind me, part of the larger diameter head was anchoring causing my cast to fail. So I tried throwing a bigger “D Loop” behind, still more of the larger diameter head was still anchoring. When I switched lines to a medium head like the RIO Interchangeable Tip Spey Line, I could feel the rod loading better.

Is there a relationship between the rod length and head length? If there is, please give insight…I have an idea, but I wanted to get a Master or THCI instructor’s opinion.

Ron Allen Thomas

FFF Certified Casting Instructor

www.koolfly.com

Ron@xxxxxxxxxxx

````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Ron: Not being a THCI nor an expert of any kind in Spey casting, I'll bounce this question to them. (I suspect that the longer the rod, the greater head length one can handle.)

Gordy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Al Crise on choice of rod designation (from the answers to suggested MCCI test questions):-

OK . (OF COURSE, THE FINAL CHOICE WILL PARTLY DEPEND ON THE FISHING CONDITIONS AND THE SIZE OF THE FISH. )

Why do you say the size of the fish of the size of the rod? I would say the rod action might change with the fish being deep so that a rod with more lifting power. I would say the size of the fly I am casting will have more effect on the rod weight. I do take big browns on small flies and a 4 or 5 wt rod. I have taken Small tarpon on my 7 wt. Now could I take a big tarpon on a 6 wt rod. Shallow flats room to run, lots of backing or a chase boat. The rod does come in with a Big fly for Big fish this is true. Amber jack or other fish that sound will require a rod that has a heavy butt for lifting the fish.

Just my thoughts.

ol Al

Well... You could take an eighty pound tarpon on a 6 wt. ( I have done that using a 7 wt.). Problem is that you have more than, "pushed the envelope". It takes so long to land the fish that your chances of having a successful release is not great and even if you do release the fish, he's so worn out that it is very likely that he'll be eaten by a shark.

We sometimes catch jewfish on fly rods. I submit that if I managed to hook a large one on a 6 wt. that both the fish and I would die of old age before giving up the attempt to raise him from his deep hole.

I don't know of any 6 wt. rod which is designed with enough lifting power, for example, to handle a 75 lb. tuna. Even a 30 lb amberjack on a 6 wt. with max butt lifting power will make you wish you had never hooked him, I assure you.

I suppose, I "could" take a brook trout from a tiny stream using a 12 wt rod. This would be a stunt at best (perhaps on a beer wager) .... but it certainly would not be the way any reasonable fly fisherman would do it.

On an MCCI exam, we're looking for reasonable answers. Not way-out stuff. Answers to questions which a student might pose to a Master instructor.

In his teaching and on some MCCI exams which he gave, Tom White would ask many questions with regard to choices for tackle (rod wt., line wt. and design, leader system, fly size, etc.) for an imaginary fish he called his, "whatzit fish". The candidate was to ask all sorts of questions about this fish, where it lived, what it ate, weather conditions, depth it prowled, whether it had teeth, size, fighting ability, etc., etc. At the end of this, " Twenty questions" exercise, he had to come up with what he felt would be the best rod designation, length and other design parameters as well as choices of the other elements of fly tackle.

This tested the candidate's experience and reasoning ability for choice of tackle.