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Should i use a 10 wt fly line on my 9wt rod?

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salvadore33

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Hi guys 

 

I apologies if this is a rookie question to ask. but im in the market for a sinking line. and was thinking of getting an airflo sniper sink 7 line and am not sure if i should get it in a 9wt or the 10wt. I've read before that some anglers use a heavier line to load thier rod easier and get distance on their cast against the wind. im trying to use this line at inlets and rougher surf for stripers. the rod i currently use is the reddington path 9ft 9wt. would like to get your informed opinions.

 

Lue

I said good day SIR!!!

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The line weight designations for various companies, and rods within a company, aren't really well standardized. Some 9 weight rods are stiffer and may benefit from overlining. Others are of a much slower, bendy action and would be underpowered with a heavier line. Overlining is good on some rods for loading quicker with less line out , or for casting larger, more wind-resistant flies. Overlining may get you less total distance, since the optimal load for your rod may be with less line out of the tip when you shoot. 

 The best thing to do is to try your rod with various 9 and 10 wt lines to see what best fits your rod and your personal casting style (which can also be a factor). Better yet, try them with the flies you intend to use with those lines. 

   If you don't have much experience casting, I'd get a few casting lessons in order to actually develop a casting style. 

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I would suggest that you determine the grain weight of the Airflo Sniper Sink Tip line. If I had some experience with that line I'd give you a more informed opinion. I don't know anything about the Redington rod either, but a saltwater 9wt flyrod can typically handle / comfortably handle a 350 grain sinking head line ... and / or a 10wt WF Floating or Intermediate line.

 

If it was a RIO line ... like RIO Outbound I'd stick with a 9wt fly line version .... since RIO purposefully increased the head weights in their OB lines ... to better load fast action rods to deliver distance when casting.

 

Not much help ... but that's all I know with the info provided.

RockfishOn!! :cool:

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1 hour ago, KironaFly said:

I would suggest that you determine the grain weight of the Airflo Sniper Sink Tip line. If I had some experience with that line I'd give you a more informed opinion. I don't know anything about the Redington rod either, but a saltwater 9wt flyrod can typically handle / comfortably handle a 350 grain sinking head line ... and / or a 10wt WF Floating or Intermediate line.

 

If it was a RIO line ... like RIO Outbound I'd stick with a 9wt fly line version .... since RIO purposefully increased the head weights in their OB lines ... to better load fast action rods to deliver distance when casting.

 

Not much help ... but that's all I know with the info provided.

airflo's web site states that for the 9wt is a 375grain for the head while the 10wt is a 425gr the description of the line is as fallows. im green at this so im not all that familiar with what all thats in their line description means. 

 

"To help people catch more fish Airflo has developed a new aggressive short head Striper line. The Sniper line is based on a shorter version of our 40+ line with its easy casting condensed head and thick tip diameter. The Sniper has a Dual Head Design which allows the line to perform as well for lesser casters as it does for advanced casters. Lesser casters can cast the line with only the front 15 feet of line out the rod tip while the expert will aerialize the entire head to achieve maximum distance. They come in floating, intermediate sink, type 3, and type 7 sink.

  • Included in the Sniper family is a new “Custom Cut” line, made with a level 35 foot head of 14 grain per foot sink tip material blending into an intermediate running line. Floating and intermediate lines are looped both front and back, the Sink 3, 7 and CC are looped in the back only.
  • Taper: Short head, Long Front Taper Design
  • Core: Power Core
  • Range: WF8 – WF10 Floating/Int./Sink 3/Sink 7/Custom Tip
  • Coating: Polyfuse XT Dual-Layer System
  • Polyleader: Salmon " ------------------------------------------------------info from airflo website

I said good day SIR!!!

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14 mins ago, salvadore33 said:

airflo's web site states that for the 9wt is a 375grain for the head while the 10wt is a 425gr the description of the line is as fallows. im green at this so im not all that familiar with what all thats in their line description means. 

 

Those are the same weights as Rio's Outbound Short  line and I am guessing that 425 grns is going to be heavy for your Reddington 9wt. If you don't have a good fly shop near your home where you can try lines, I suggest calling the Bear's Den fly shop in Taunton, Mass. Ask for Scott--I would not be surprised if he knows something about your rod and has a line suggestion for you.

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thanks for the help fellas im not really near a shop that i can test line at. theirs an orvis but im pretty sure they would try and push thier line on me before suggesting something else. Im on the clearance section of an out of state shop that has the sink line in both weights. so im likely to just order it through thier website at a $30 discounted price. the rod loads well with the 9wt intermediate line i currently have on it. so its not too still of a rod. 

I said good day SIR!!!

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9 wt rod then this 375 grain.ine should be plenty enough. Bear in mind a std AAFTM Line is 280grains for a 10wt over the first 30 feet of the head.

Suggest the BS is ignored about lines catching you more fish. I hates marketing babble speak.

350 would be my tops for a 9 wt rod. Even a so-called modern stiff one .

Your new and 450 lines are going to be a handful for you.

 

mike

 

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12 mins ago, Mike Oliver said:

9 wt rod then this 375 grain.ine should be plenty enough. Bear in mind a std AAFTM Line is 280grains for a 10wt over the first 30 feet of the head.

Suggest the BS is ignored about lines catching you more fish. I hates marketing babble speak.

350 would be my tops for a 9 wt rod. Even a so-called modern stiff one .

Your new and 450 lines are going to be a handful for you.

 

mike

 

thank you for the direction mike. i guess i know what the christmas bonus is going towards now

I said good day SIR!!!

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Airflo Sniper is like any other heavy brick on a strap. The "9" is a 12 line. And the "10" is almost a 13 line. The good old rule of thumb was that 30' head one takes from two line weight heavier line (this was when the lines were following the standard more or less). If the rod works well with a real 9 line, even the 9 sniper will feel heavy. I have Sniper 10 in intermediate and I'd personally prefer it on a rod that likes teal 11-12 lines if not casting really big flies on slow tempo. For general use I hate this kind of lines thou.

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4 hours ago, salvadore33 said:

Hi guys 

 

I apologies if this is a rookie question to ask. but im in the market for a sinking line. and was thinking of getting an airflo sniper sink 7 line and am not sure if i should get it in a 9wt or the 10wt. I've read before that some anglers use a heavier line to load thier rod easier and get distance on their cast against the wind. im trying to use this line at inlets and rougher surf for stripers. the rod i currently use is the reddington path 9ft 9wt. would like to get your informed opinions.

 

Lue

Go with the 'Flo ... the Airflo Sniper in 9wt. At 375 grains it might actually overload the Redington Rod since I have no feel for it, specifically. But for my Sage RPLX 9wt ... the 9wt / 375 grain Sniper line would be pretty much right.

RockfishOn!! :cool:

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You might want to reconsider the short head lines , the majority are all extremely over weight and ....well... short. In order to build a good foundation (casting) and solid mechanics you may want to shy away from the extremes and get something with a 34 to 40' head and maybe with an aggressive front taper. this will provide you with enough working line to learn the double haul, not overload the rod and the loop won't collapse if you get past the head. It will also make you feel the right timing (casting arch) to archive the load rather than have the line load the rod. A practice line might be a good idea, Cortland SW 333 has a long head and true to weight, it would also be fine to fish as a float and cost $39.00 but can be found for less. Upper end lines such as Airflo ridge, Orvis cold water and Rio Striper although I find the Rio heavy. Note the grain weight of the airflo is for 40' not 30 like the others.

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I am in the same camp as PS and SMS.

There is a place for short head lines for some applications and for some guys who like them.

Personally I have absolutely no time for them. Head lengths around 40 feet carry very well and make great general purpose Lines.

As a suggestion one of the  nicest casting and fishing lines is the Airflow  Ridged Cold Water Striper Line in the Intermediate sink rate. The I Line is a very useful line for shore fishing.  A line like this will,work with a new caster to. For your 9 Wt rod the 9 wt line will more than likely, match it very well.

Most of us when shore fishing put more than the first 30 feet of line into the air. The extra line will give you more weight and this will work for you. Now when you get to cast reasonably well you can get more than 30 feet of head into the air with just two false casts. On very good days one pick up one back cast and one delivery cast but to do that you don’t retrieve too much of your head into the rod guides.

I did try short head fly Lines . I gave them a shot. I think they are somewhere in my loft covered in dust. But others do have the opposite opinion to me and like them.

Heh let us know how you do and please have fun doing it. The great thing is you can always change stuff and try again. Part of the journey and a huge part of the enjoyment  is making new discoveries.

 

Mike

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Personally, after 20 or so years of flyfishing for stripers as well as trout, I  never came to enjoy over lining a rod nor do I care for the heavy sink tip lines which I suspect would have the same feel. I have some sink tips that I can loop to loop on my 10 wgt and 8wgt but almost never bother anymore using them. Takes to much of the joy of casting away, feels like I am tossing piece of lead not a fly line. They work and were useful in sections of the Navisink River as well as the Housitonic River but I also felt an intermediate line with a lead eye clouser would get me down the water column just as well.  In the end its your fishing experience so do as you feel.

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