I'm picking up fly fishing again after a hiatus of over 40 yr. Started again late last summer in the pond at my new home. I started with my old Shakespear Wonderod and 40 plus yr old line. The rod weighs a ton compared to the graphite rods I've bought in the last yr, and the line was terrible � it came off the reel in spirals, kinks, and twists. But I could still cast fairly well with it and I caught lots of BG. The main problem was that it was entirely too heavy for the little fish. So I bought a 8' 6� 6wt without knowing much about the wt system. That rod is much better, but I still felt it was too heavy and too stiff, so I bought a 7' 3wt that was on sale. It's really a dandy little rod and casts well with 4 wt line, but it's too short for the kind of fishing I'm doing. Within the last month, I've bought a 9' 4 wt and an 8' 3 wt. The 9' is a faster action than the 8', which is a moderate action. I'm closing in on my ideal rod. I'm also well aware that the line makes all the difference in the world. I've been experimenting with different lines by switching reels. For my style of casting, which is probably close to no style at all, heavier lines seem to be the ticket � at least one wt over the recommended wt. Too heavy has never been a problem, but too light is like casting a string on the end of a broom handle. The heavier line probably works better for me because I seldom have much line out, and therefore don't have the rod loaded up. I get more strikes at 15' than I do at 30, so about the only reasons for the longer casts is that it's more fun to play the fish from farther out and it feels nice to get the rod loaded up with the right wt line and a favorable wind or no wind.
A few days ago I was fishing at the north end of my pond and noticed that the fish didn't seem to fight as hard as they do at the south end where I usually fish. I was puzzled by this and still thinking about it the next day when I realized that I had been using a heavier rod and line. So, without anticipating anything, I had run what amounted to an impartial test of the difference the tackle makes.
I fished off and on yesterday from early afternoon until after sunset and caught a lot of BG. I used the 8' 3 wt, and many of the BG were heavy enough that I was concerned about lifting them out of the water on that light rod, so I lifted them out by just the line. Those fish put up a remarkable fight on a 3 wt rod.
