Most quality fly rods manufactured today and for the last 20 or so years do a good job of specifying the proper line weight for that instrument. Although modern quality rods with progressive actions usually are rated correctly, often when I’m lecturing on fly-rod angling for bass, I advise uplining by one or two line weights and using an aggressively tapered weight-forward fly line for ease of casting bass bugs, poppers, and large subsurface imitations, which are all aerodynamically challenged flies. Most quality fly rods can accept lines several weights heavier and perhaps one weight lighter down than their manufacturer’s rating.
When graphite rods first won wide acceptance, experienced anglers often routinely uplined these rods by one line weight. It was done in part to slow down rods deemed to be excessively fast, because all graphite rods were faster than the fiberglass and cane that anglers had been using, and it was done in part to get a better feel for loading the rod. Often these rods indeed cast better with a higher-than-specified line weight because they needed some extra weight to flex or load. Since then, in the search for faster rods that will carry more line and cast longer distances, these rods have been succeeded by a number of graphite generations, each with subsequently higher modulus numbers, meaning faster deflection recovery times. Today, many anglers still slow them down with a bit more line weight.
Along with faster rods have come specialty lines designed either to slow down today’s fast rods by overlining them or to load them in ways suitable to the kinds of fishing that stillwater anglers do and the kinds of flies that stillwater anglers — especially bass anglers — use.
Let’s start our discussion of overlining by looking at the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) flyline weight charts. They were developed to bring standardization to a confusing area (remember those alphabetical designations, like HCH, that had a lot of us scratching our heads?), and they have become universal. Be grateful for modern fly line designation, even if there are so many offerings out there that at times it becomes confusing.
In the AFFTA scheme, everything relates to the weight in grains of the first 30 feet of line. (A grain is 64.79891 milligrams. In the traditional English weight system, it was equal to the weight of a single grain of barley. A nickel weighs approximately five grains.) A rod designated as a 5-weight calls for a fly line in which the first 30 feet weighs 140 grains. But AFFTA also specifies a bracket range — for a 5-weight line, that range is between 134 grains and 146 grains, a fairly small tolerance. The system is the same for double-taper lines, weight-forward lines, and applies to floating or sinking lines of all types. There’s usually anywhere from six inches to two feet of level tip in front of any front taper. Its weight doesn’t count in the AFFTA weight specified for the first 30 feet. The length of the level tip varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and allows you to cut and reattach leader butts without altering the more important and heavier front taper section.
Because it’s the weight of the line that flexes the rod as your casting stroke moves forward and back, adding velocity and line-carrying capacity to your cast, a lower-weight line with more line aerialized and thus more weight out beyond the rod tip flexes just as well as a higher-weight line with less line out, discounting the small amount of increased line drag caused by a wider-diameter taper. In a recent casting clinic, members of my fly-fishing club helped students by having them pull a bit more line out to start. The extra weight helped them flex or load the rod so it could do its intended job. They could better feel what loading was all about. Sometimes we also intentionally upline a rod in clinics to help demonstrate the loading feel. As the student progresses, we can go back to a more standard line-weight setup. Women, with generally smaller statures, often progress prone to by letting the rod work and using its rebound power, rather than trying to muscle line out with excessive arm, wrist, and shoulder action.
Things have gotten confusing, though, because several line manufacturing companies now offer lines that actually weigh halfway between what its AFFTA designation says it is and the next line up on the AFFTA scale. A 5-weight line might actually be a 5-1/2-weight line. It will load and cast better for shorter and midrange casting situations. I have also found lines intended for fast rods that add almost a full line weight, but yet have a lower designation.
In addition, numerous specialized front-loaded tapers are being offered by line manufacturers. What is of most interest for stillwater anglers are the various bass tapers. These are weight-forward floating lines with the weight concentrated toward the front of the tapers to turn over large, wind-resistant flies such as poppers and sliders.
And with specialty bass lines have come specialty bass rods. A major rod company came out a few years ago with a largemouth model that came with a line that was a 330-grain, aggressive, front-loaded taper. That rod and line casts a sizable, aerodynamically challenged bass bug like a dream. The rod loads easily and carries a large fly accurately, turns it over well, and lays out the line straight and true. The same manufacturer also began offering a smallmouth model lined with a 290-grain taper of the same design.
Specialty bass fly rods do a better job than standard trout rods of casting the aggressive, weight-forward specialty lines that big flies need in bass fishing. Specialty bass rods have oversized guides that allow thicker fly lines to shoot better and stiffer butt sections that aid greatly in fighting bass, particularly larger fish that require horsing and a different approach than is used in trout fishing. Bass fishing takes place in and around structure that requires strong-arm tactics in landing fish. You need a heavy hook-set and then the force to put the brakes on.
Of course, saltwater fly rods also have bigger guides and stronger butt sections, and many anglers use saltwater rods for freshwater bass fishing or vice versa — specialty bass rods in the salt. I tried those 330-grain and 290-grain specialty bass lines on 10-weight and 8-weight saltwater rods, and they cast as well, if not better, than the specialty rods that had been designed for bass bugging. Specialty bass fly rods are almost all shorter than 8 feet long, because that keeps them within the regulations of pro bass tournaments. I like the longer saltwater rods for bassing, especially when float tubing.
But you don’t need to invest in a specialty bass rod or a saltwater rod for bass fishing or even need a specialty line. Plain old-fashioned uplining will do the trick of making your standard trout rod a bass rod. Just use a weight-forward fly line that is one rod weight heavier than your rod’s designation. You will find that it loads and casts quite well at short and medium ranges. Add a double haul to your cast, and you can extend your range. A slider, such as the Sneaky Pete, with its bullet head, will cast better than a cup-faced popper, but that’s true on specialty lines and rods, as well.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. It helps if you, your buddy, or your fly shop has a selection of lines to try before purchasing, if you need a new line for uplining. Find what works for you and your casting style using appropriate flies and leaders.
As I came to understand why overlining worked so well, I applied the concept to other types of fly fishing, including trout, striped bass, and saltwater fly-rod angling. There’s a pond in my rural homeowner’s association complex, and I started driving over in the evening with a rod or two and several different lines, seeing which combinations cast best. It is important to use flies such as those you would cast in actual fishing situations, rather than little puffs of Glow Bug yarn, to represent accurately the drag aspects of real flies and bass bugs in casting.
The results of your tests may surprise you, because rods and lines are only part of the equation. A few years ago, I purchased a high-end graphite rod made with new technology. I started out casting with the designated 5-weight line. Not quite happy with the results, I changed to a 5-1/2-weight line and then a 6-weight, but I went back to the original 5-weight a month later as my casting proficiency changed and I got used to the new rod. A year ago I bought a very fast 6-weight rod specifically to cast a long line in stillwater situations — 60 to 80 feet. I tried uplining it, but went back to the designated line weight. When I aerialized lots of line, the added weight beyond the rod tip loaded the rod just fine, and I had the cannon that I wanted for long stillwater casts.
Today we have numerous superb rods and lines to choose from in the fly-fishing armamentarium. They give us abilities and versatilities that we haven’t had in the past. Combined with better casting, different rod and line combinations allow us to customize and dial in the characteristics we need in specific angling situations. The newest line and best rod won’t work unless you improve your casting proficiency and understand the mechanics of your casting stroke and a fly line’s flight, and five minutes of practice a day for a month will make you a better caster and a more successful angler. But uplining may give you a better fishing instrument for any stillwater application.
