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12 wt line

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Bobby bucktails

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I want to use the grain size appropriate for my rod which is a fast action 12wt. Im 4 or 5 years into fly fishing and just getting use to the grain size vs wt size. I will buy something else like maybe that heavy 10 wt line but i really don't want to buy something that dosn't work out so i wanted to see what you guys said. Thanks!

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1 hour ago, Bobby bucktails said:

I want to use the grain size appropriate for my rod which is a fast action 12wt. Im 4 or 5 years into fly fishing and just getting use to the grain size vs wt size. I will buy something else like maybe that heavy 10 wt line but i really don't want to buy something that dosn't work out so i wanted to see what you guys said. Thanks!

Heavy 10 wt line will not work in your fast action 12 wt rod. You may want to try different head configurations, but still, remain in the 12 wt ball park.

You ain't gonna be blindcasting that stick all day long...Been there done that. So you want a line that will get your fly out there properly, and quickly.

 

Just my opinion...

Edited by snapper1
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12 hours ago, tgd627 said:

If you have a fast action 12 wt a very heavy 10 wt line won’t be enough to load that rod. 

 

You haven’t said how your going to be using the 12 wt but I think the Rio Leviathan at 600 grains of would work. 

Ill be throwing oversized topwater by day and big sub surface flies by night. I will check out the leviathan. Do you have that line on a 12wt? Just curious

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5 mins ago, Bobby bucktails said:

Ill be throwing oversized topwater by day and big sub surface flies by night. I will check out the leviathan. Do you have that line on a 12wt? Just curious


Nice man, that’s awesome.  I’m sure the 12 will be able to handle all that. No I don’t and I haven’t casted it either. I have a buddy who has the 750 for tuna. My thought was that it’s a cold water line that those grain weights would align with what you would want for a very fast action 12 wt. 

(*member formerly known as 'tgd627')

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Leviathan is a tropical line. But with soaking and stretching, it works well even in cold temps. In my opinion, it has the best material combination of all lines.

I have 400, 500 and 600 sink tips. And then I have three intermediates which should be 500gr but are 600+ in reality (one old and two newer - all are about the same).

 

For 12wt line recommendation rods I really like lines that are true or at least close to true 12wt lines (SA Mastery Tarpon, Sage Equator II, Cortland Tropic Plus intermediate).

 

I had an Airflo Sniper 10. It was ok for a "12" rod in my opinion (so it worked on the same rods as 12 Mastery Tarpon etc). Only ok because it was horribly short head (brick on a strap) and it was with a ridge (thus finger cutting & limp) surface.

 

Nowadays many lines are overweight and the information is not available what they truly are and that makes buying lines a nightmare.

Fortunately some state the specs so as I wanted a strong core 12wt intermediate I bought Rio Flats Pro Intermediate "11wt" which is exactly 12wt.

 

Mostly the problem is not that the line would be able to carry flies needed. And the tackle need mostly should go from fly's need to line and then the line defines the rod. In SW you need also to consider that the rod can also handle the fight.

 

But since many buy the "top of the line" rod that is developed by good to excellent casters (and for specific purpose -> casting distance, feel etc), a less capable caster is in trouble with the recommended line weight. So, in the case the recommended line weight is 12, for the less capable the suitable line weight is 13, 14 or even 15 (feel preference also matters). But essentially, if a less capable caster bought the rod with 12wt in mind, he/she bought the wrong rod as he/she is not casting a 12wt line. The line manufacturers responded to this by making "quick loading" lines and call them with a lighter number than they are. I would be fine if they would state ie 10wt (AFFTA12) on the box if people want to "match the numbers" even if not good casters and thus knowing how to match the head length & mass to the rods they are using. And this is also because we all want to be at least average casters and not "cheat" by putting overweight lines. Which is what we do if we string on an overweight line that has been badged with lower line weight number.

 

Even worse, it is possible that nowadays the rods are developed with overweight lines -> line recommendation gap in relation to good match standard line will be wider still for the non-avid caster and start to exist even for the good casters.

 

AFFTA was and is a good system, unfortunately it has been flushed from the toilet by line manufacturers...

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On its website page for its Outbound Short Shooting Heads, Rio states that these heads are " based on the popular Outbound Short lines". Then it adds:"The heads are built two sizes above the AFTM standards to correctly load modern rods". The heads are not offered in a size over 10w and that weighs 425gr same as the head on the 10w Outbound Short line.

 

I looked at all the pages offering the OBS lines and none mentions what I quoted above but yet the heads of all their 10w OBS lines comes in at 425 gr. The Tropical Outbound Short line is offered in sizes up to a 15w and the head of the 12w weighs 510gr.

 

 Now  the AFTMA line weight chart shows 280 for a 10w, 380 for a 12w, 450 for a 13w and 500gr for the 14w. So the OBS lines and heads offer by Rio are in fact "built  two sizes above the AFTM standards". 

 

For Rio to do that logically means that the rod makers must do the same thing I.e. build a rod of a given size as if it were two sizes above the standards  Thus a 10w rod is in fact a 12w and a 12w a 14w, at least under "historical" standards. And other line manufacturers no doubt do what Rio does.

 

So when did the rods begin to be "modern" as understood by Rio? if you have a 12w rod built 20 years ago, does it mean that a new line for it should be a 10w?

 

Rather confusing isn't it? No wonder many fly anglers have a lot of lines lying in a cupboard or drawer....

 

BobbyBucktails: maybe you did it but, if not,  a good first step if you're not sure about how many grains the head of your line should weigh is to use the Fly Line Selector feature found on the Rio website. This will recommend lines for the rod you have and the type of fishing you intend to do. Not perfect but a good start.

 

 

 

Edited by Suave
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Rio OBS heads and integrated lines are 2-3 line weights above AAFTA/AFTMA.  They are essentially shooting heads.  For those of us who are older, we know that when you make a home-made shooting head system, you dial in more weight.  Generally 2-3 line weights heavier.  Not meant for repeated false casting.

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