[FlyRichardFly]

I recently purchased a 6wt Redington CPS. I've used my 6wt Mastery Streamer Express intermediate sink for a few days and the rod loads great and casts great.
Today I put the "Prestige Plus" Cabelas 6wt WF Floating to use some poppers. Well the line seems so skinney and light that I have to put quite a lot of line out to load the rod. Even then the skinney line will hardly bend my rod.
When I got my Orvis 8wt it came with the cheapo Orvis 8wt WF floating line. I have it sitting on a spool now.
I have overlined 1 size, but never 2.
This question is mainly for Frank, or somebody with a lot of experience. I was thinking of putting my 8wt Orvis line on my 6wt CPS.
Could this cause any problems for my 6wt rod? The CPS is listed as extra fast action.
I was going to try it tomorrow, unless you think it could cause damage to my new rod.
Thanks in advance.

[Frank Whiton]

Hi Richard,

I have never used an 8wt fly line on a 6wt rod but here are my thoughts.

Graphite rods are very tough and forgiving. You will have to shorten the line out of the tip to flex the rod properly. I am thinking that your rod may be closer to a 7wt instead of a 6wt. If that is true then you won't be overloading the rod too much if you are careful to only have enough line out to load the rod properly. Here is the problem, if you are not experienced enough to know when the rod is properly loaded you might over load the rod. I think that only accomplished casters should be throwing 2 line weights over. Not because you might break the rod but because you may not be able to cast efficiently.

With an extra fast rod, if you shorten the 8wt line out of the tip you will still have an extra fast rod. As you extend more 8wt line out of the tip you will slow the tip action of the rod. You are using a tip action rod and the rod flexes mostly in the last few feet of the rod. So with over wt lines the rod doesn't just change to a slower action it will still be mostly a tip action rod that operates slower. If that makes any sense. What I am trying to say is you might create a situation where the combination isn't functional.

Frank

[Diver Dan]

You can't really hurt your rod by going two line weights up. You can actually cast any line on any rod. It may not cast really well, but you can cast it. Two weights up seems to work well if you don't get enough power in your haul. Going under a weight helps distance more if your haul is good. I grabbed the wrong reel bag the other day and fished with a 7 wt. line on my 5 wt. rod and it worked just fine. Try it and see how you like it.

[FlyRichardFly]

Thanks Frank and Diver,

I tried it tonight and it worked perfectly. Like Frank said, maybe my rod is closer to a 7wt! ..... but that's just fine with me!
When I compare the Streamer Express to the Clearwater, I think the Express is much heavier.
The Mastery Streamer Express sink line with invis 15' tip in a 6wt has a heavy mono tip and heavy line to make it sink.
The Orvis Clearwater is super light..... looks like they put air inside the line to make it float.
Both lines cast great for me....... I'm no expert caster like you Frank and when I cast 50' that's far enough for me.
I don't have a small scale, but IMHO the 8wt Orvis floating line is much lighter than the 6wt Mastery sinking line. The 8wt is thicker, but seems to be lighter.

Simply a wonderful night tonight with top water poppers and floating line.

[BigCliff]

All floating lines have air in them. PVC plastic does not float, until you put air into it.

Those streamer express lines are TOTALLY different from a floating line and should cast that way as well. The clear tip version is new to me, but the original streamer express lines are functionally the same as a Teeny line, which is basically a one piece shooting head. They are alos sold by grain wt, not line wt. What is the grain weight of yours? Here is a color code- Cabela's -- Scientific Anglers Mastery™ Streamer Express Clear Tip Fly Line

It sounds like either that is the worlds stiffest 6, you're not well suited by a rod that fast, or that Orvis line is mislabeled.

[FlyRichardFly]

Cliff,

My Streamer Express is the 200 grain for a 5/6 rod and the color is Yellow/Clear.
Poppers are hard to fish and I hate throwing flies with lead eyes so I put the Express sink line back on.
It still casts like a dream, with the X Fast rod, and I caught quite a few smallmouths tonight with the sink line.
Thanks for your help, everyone, I was just trying different lines. I now know that for me a unweighted rabbit fur or marabou streamer on a intermediate sink line is the most productive and the most fun to fish with in the river I fish.
I'm a lazy guy and I love to just cast and let the fly pulsate in the water until a fish hits it. Top water is too hard...... especially a upstream cast, you have to strip the line all the time.
Also I can catch much more fish with a sink line.
Maybe the 8wt Orvis is marked wrong, but it does feel lighter than 200 grains to me.
My bad, sorry, but tonight I had the most wonderful time of my flyfishing life. Lots of nice smallmouth and lots of Rockbass and lots of Fallfish and a few channel cats!
If life was any better, I'd think the deck was stacked!

[Joni]

Originally Posted by FlyRichardFly

I recently purchased a 6wt Redington CPS. I've used my 6wt Mastery Streamer Express intermediate sink for a few days and the rod loads great and casts great.
Today I put the "Prestige Plus" Cabelas 6wt WF Floating to use some poppers. Well the line seems so skinney and light that I have to put quite a lot of line out to load the rod. Even then the skinney line will hardly bend my rod.
When I got my Orvis 8wt it came with the cheapo Orvis 8wt WF floating line. I have it sitting on a spool now.
I have overlined 1 size, but never 2.
This question is mainly for Frank, or somebody with a lot of experience. I was thinking of putting my 8wt Orvis line on my 6wt CPS.
Could this cause any problems for my 6wt rod? The CPS is listed as extra fast action.
I was going to try it tomorrow, unless you think it could cause damage to my new rod.
Thanks in advance.

I normally don't use an 8 wt. Last year I bought some WINDCUTTER II in a 7 wt. I worried about it on my 6 wt rods, but it works great, specially the T3 Tip, but even the mid flex Zero.
Lately I have been targeting Carp with a custom built Hardy Glass. I was told it is a fast 6 wt. This rod ONLY shoots with the Windcutter, and I do feel an 8wt. would work even better.
No set rules, try it. If it loads for you then so be it.
It is going to be YOU and YOUR CASTING STYLE that picks the right line.

[Diver Dan]

Not all rod makers are that accurate when they decide what wt. a rod is. I'm not to sure about line makers but I suspect there is some error rate there as well. Rod maker magazine has a series of articles that show how to determine the actual wt. of your rod, and your line. It works really well. If you are interested I can dig out the issues it was in.

[Joni]

I am. I have read the Common Sense thing, is that it?

[FlyRichardFly]

Hey everybody,

I love my Redington CPS 6wt and it is the best rod I ever had!!
A 9' 4pc at only 3.4oz makes it a wonderful rod!!
I simply love the extra fast action and I am a seasoned fly caster who could make any line work well with that rod.
I've never "overloaded" a rod 2 wts....... but my wonderful rod handled the 8wt line just great.
My rod can't tell weather the line is a floating or a sinking. It only knows the grains and that is what makes it load!!
I still think that my 8wt floating is no heavier than a 6wt sinking!!
My question was mainly for Frank. Really, I was just trying different lines...... if I wanted a good floating for my 6wt I would probably get Rio 7wt or maybe Sharkskin 7wt.
My Orvis line is fine, probably not labeled wrong and my Redington CPS is probably a 6wt...... it is super light and casts like a Helios!!
My post was worded wrong..... my fault, and all I wanted to know if 2 sizes up will hurt the rod.
Frank Whiton answered it pretty good.
Really, I don't need casting lessons!! LOL I've been flyfishing longer than most of you are alive!!
I put my intermediate sink line back on my rod and that casts wonderful for me just like the 8wt floating did.
- Floating line must be lighter than sinking line!!!! that's why the floating floats and the sinking sinks!! My rod is a stupid hunk of graphite..... it can't think, so IMHO it will cast a >200 grain line just as good as a 200 grain sink line.