4 or 5 weight line on a 7 weight rod?

[stanster]

I recently picked up an old (circa 1960s I believe) Wright & McGill 7 weight 8'6" fly rods. I already had an old Bronson Royalist fly reel of unknown weight class which I have attached to the rod. Both are in decent shape and are probably fishable.

I have two 8 weight fly outfits, so I really don't NEED a 7 weight rod. I do want to fish this rod just for the heck of it. Can I spool it with 4 or 5 weight line with out incurring major problems? I know, I'd be better off with 7 weight but I will use it more if it has a lower weight line.

Any advice from experts out there.

When I brought the rod home, my mother in law and sister in law were visiting. They are NOT an "outdoorsy" family. The mother in law asked my wife "Why does Stan need another fishing pole?" My wife just laughed and said, "Stan's an antique fisherman, so he likes to acquire antique fishing gear.

 

[EOBOY]

I Can I spool it with 4 or 5 weight line with out incurring major problems?

I would think going that light the Rod wouldn't load properly and you would get very frustrated.

 

[troutdude]

Used to fish a lot, with W & Mc rods, back in the day. In fact my very first rod--my gramps gave me--lies at the bottom of Blue Lake. Yours may be late 50's vintage, based on the type of glass and the ferrule. But, is cool either way.

I'm no fly expert; but I'd have to agree with EOBOY. However you could fill the spool, with lighter line, and do some "lawn casting" to see how it goes. A beta test, of sorts, before you venture out with it.

 

[TimberTodd]

I would think going that light the Rod wouldn't load properly and you would get very frustrated.

X2 on this.

 

[troutdude]

X2 on this.

Dontcha mean X3?

 

[stanster]

Thanks, guys. It sounds like a bad idea, which I kind of figured. It never hurts to ask though. The rod is actually a cool looking rod and it feels good, so I think it will be fun to give it a try. Of course, I need a 7 weight rod like I need another hole in my head, so I think I'll try it with a 6 weight line, instead.

Thanks much for the good advice.

 

[ChezJfrey]

Thanks, guys. It sounds like a bad idea, which I kind of figured. It never hurts to ask though. The rod is actually a cool looking rod and it feels good, so I think it will be fun to give it a try. Of course, I need a 7 weight rod like I need another hole in my head, so I think I'll try it with a 6 weight line, instead.

Thanks much for the good advice.

I agree with the others, that will be too light to cast well.

Do you have any spare spools of your 8 weight? I would try that instead. Over lining one weight would be preferable; I even know some people that do that intentionally.

In fact, I did that with my single-hand 5 weight, putting a 6 weight on it...helps with 'off the water' roll/spey type casting with that rod.

 

[TheKnigit]

I actually tried it once with my 7/8 weight, just out of curiosity. I didn't have any problems with the line spooling, but it was a bear to cast. Everything was out of balance, really awkward, and I had a really really hard time controlling my tipit. I gave up after I hit myself in the chest on my back cast. Luckily I didn't have a fly tied on.

 

[EOBOY]

I agree with the others, that will be too light to cast well.

Do you have any spare spools of your 8 weight? I would try that instead. Over lining one weight would be preferable; I even know some people that do that intentionally.

In fact, I did that with my single-hand 5 weight, putting a 6 weight on it...helps with 'off the water' roll/spey type casting with that rod.

I had a Reddington 5 Wt. and it just wouldn't cast, I put 6 wt. line on it and it made all the difference in the world. The action was so fast it needed the extra wt. to load.

 

[stanster]

Thanks guys. It sounds like it was a bad idea. I may go ahead and string the 7 weight rod with 6 weight line then. I really don't NEED yet another 8weight or a 7 weight outfit.

 

[GungasUncle]

A rod of that vintage has to be glass - glass rods usually go the opposite direction of graphites - modern fast action graphites are so stiff that you have to overline a lot of them to get them to actually FISH. Vintage glass rods - especially those before the AFTTA line weight scale was introduced - tend to go the other way for guys - they find that sometimes going lighter makes a dog of a rod into a real fishing tool. Overlining a fiberglass rod is going to slow down an already slow rod, so overlining it is likely going to result in it sucking pretty badly. A 4 weight would no doubt be too light - a 5 weight double taper line might work though, or a #6 weight forward taper. If neither of those work - try a WF7 and a DT7 - this is where having a good local fly shop comes in handy as they usually have lines to try out...

There is a fellow named Howard who runs a blog called Windknots & Tangled Lines - google it, and shoot Howard an email - he's quite the authority on vintage Wright & McGill rods and can steer you in a good direction, and if for some reason he doesn't know the answer, he can point you to folks who will.

 

[stanster]

Thank you Gungas Uncle. I just bought the used rod for $10 at a flyfishing expo. It had an automatic fly reel which I have replaced with another reel that I had. I think I paid $10 for the reel also. Since the rod and reel are both around 50 to 60 years old, I think it would be cool to fish it. I really don't need a 7 weight since I have two 8 weight outfits. A 5 or even a 6 weight would work for me if I can cast it. I'll check with Howard. His website is very informative and I got a lot of info from it after I bought the rod. I'm sure I can get info from The Caddis Fly shop in Eugene too.

Thanks again all of you. The info is apppreciated.