WF or DT line on a 3wt.

[FlyDog]

Hi All,
I am closing on getting my first 3 wt. and I'm unsure whether to go with a WF or DT line. So far I've only fished with WF lines but from my reading I get the feeling DT can be a better choice for a light line set up.
I will be fishing small to med. streams in the N. Sierra Nevada and E. Sierra and wouldn't be using anything larger than a sz. 14 fly.
Any insight would be appreciated,

 

[Ard]

Dog,

If you are casting a #3 you aren't going for distance (usually) so DT the rod you'll like it. That's what I would do.

Ard

 

[jpbfly]

I agree with Hardyreels a DT or a thin silk line will be better.:icon_bigg

 

[Jimmie]

I asked that same question of one of the best casters at our FF Club. Just realize that I'm way short of experience to give advice so this info is coming to you second hand. He told me that with all of the overhanging trees/brush that we have here on the western Sierras that DT is better for mending and roll casting we need to do a lot. He also said that if you plan to travel with it or throw bigger flies stick with WF. I think that he said that WF turns a fly over better but I'm not real clear if someone could chime-in.

 

[Jackster]

The front tapers of both the WF and DT are almost always nearly the same. If you're casting where you won't see or use the running line on a WF, go with the DT. They cast alike until you get out past the head but the DT gives you two lines in one as they taper identically from end to end.
Another consideration is room on the reel. The DT will take up more room because of the thicker center section.

 

[Pocono]

I think that part of the solution to the equation of choosing a DT vs. a WF line has to do with the composition of the blank.

If it's a graphite blank, even a slower action model like Sage's ZXL, then I think that a WF line is the way to go. I use WF lines on carbon fiber rods all the way down to 3 wts. and I don't fish anything below a 3 wt.

If you're going with a glass blank; either the slower E-glass or the faster S-glass (both of which are slow by comparison to most carbon fiber rods), then I think a DT line is a better choice. I use DT on all of my vintage glass rods; from 8'0" 7 wts., down to 5'3" 4 wts.

For a bamboo rod, most people I know will stick to DT taper lines. I was test casting a new 7'0" 4 wt. bamboo rod last weekend; made by one of our local rodmakers, and it was loaded with DT line. If you're not too impatient in your casting stroke, I think that the cane rods cast like a dream.

I agree with what's been said by other posters about the ease of roll casting and mending a DT line, but unless you're going to be fishing in conditions where you have more than 40" of line out through the tip top, you're not going to notice a big difference, since the first 30' of line on a DT and a WF are very similar.

 

[FlyDog]

Thanks for all the good info and food for thought.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a TFO Finesse 7'9" and load it with Rio WF Trout.
I'm actually battleing more with the "do I really need another rod" than what to get.:batty:

 

[Pocono]

Thanks for all the good info and food for thought.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a TFO Finesse 7'9" and load it with Rio WF Trout.
I'm actually battleing more with the "do I really need another rod" than what to get.:batty:

You know, I stopped separating wants from needs years ago and I can't tell you how much easier that's made things for me; particularly in terms of making choices. From my standpoint, if I want it then I need it. So far it's working for me. :icon_wink