wf or dt?

[rckcapefish]

hey guys i was just wondering what you think is better for a 5wt. rod WF or DT. i bought a orvis line over the winter and just tried it out on the water and cant stand it. it is a generation 3 wf5f. i was thinking of trying out some scientific anglers but open to any suggestions! Also what do you think of putting a 6wt. line on a 5 wt. rod. It doesnt make much sense to me but ive never tried it .

[Quicksilver]

I don't think I have ever cast a double taper line. I imagine it would be a bit easier to load the rod with a double taper five weight line. I use weight forward lines and make it a point to overline by one with a floating line. I usually go with the rods rated weight with an intermidiate and sinking line, although if the line is a real quick sinker I may underline. I am glad at this point I have accumulated a bunch of fly lines. Sucks to buy a new fly line and not have it perform the way anticipated.

[jeffsod]

I have read/heard that DT lines are good when fishing small streams when you need the rod to load with short lengths of line out. They also roll cast better than WF lines. If you are fishing larger waters you probably would like the WF better. Some floating lines are a half size heavier out of the box so normally there isn't a need to upline. Two that come to mind are the RIO Clouser and the Sci Anglers Headstart. Bean had a deal on last years Sci Anglers not long ago on the sale webpage but that may be past now. The Sci Anglers headstart line is good deal but better suited to warmwater as the presentation is not ideal or delicate enough for trout. It retails for 40.00. I think you would be happy with any of the Sci Anglers Mastery series of floating lines I haven't tried any of the Cortlands so I can't speak for them.

[Pauper Piscator]

On my 3 wt. I do a lot of roll casting. Works well. Also delicate pres.

Remember too you can cut back the tapr for a little more rapid loading. Also - you can reverse DT once it gets worn. Works great.

Really depends what you are throwing.

"Easier" to cast a DT? No. Shoot? No. Roll cast? Yes.

[teflon_jones]

I use a DT line on my 4 wt and have for a lot of years with good casting performance.

My default response is always to stick with the line weight that's meant for the rod. This is especially true with a full or mid flex rod. However, a very fast action rod may not load well with a WF floating line of the line weight that it's rated for at shorter distances. Overlining may hurt you though at longer distances since you'll be able to really load the rod well without overloading it. What is the flex of your rod? What species will you be fishing for? What size/kind of flies are you going to be casting with this line? What casting distances will be your norm?

I also highly recommend Sci Anglers lines. That's all I buy any more because I've never bought one that I didn't love.

[sped]

...they have nice thick heads for sweet roll casting and flow like lightning due to the new J3 coating....love the stuff....Sped

[DLWKFW]

DT's present more delicately than a WF line. Having grown up fishing small, clear streams; it's about all we used. Since we didn't throw a ton of line, we could always also reverse it when one tip wore out. I agree on the roll casting end, but our main purpose was presentation.

[MKDeceiver]

You overline a fly rod if you want to get more flex when loading it. If you have a short casting stroke you may not like overlining the rod. The stiffness of the graphite and the type of action on the fly rod(slow-mid-fast) action all play a part in whether or not overlining will help or hurt you.

Generally Orvis-Sage, ect. top of the line rods are made of stiff very light graphite blanks that can be overlined. Other blanks can't be. Are you familiar with Orvis superfine series rods? Those have a full flex and generally will fail if overlined.

In terms of WF or not. I've always thrown WF floating tapered lines and not had a problem with presentation. If your using a long well designed leader presentation will be fine. If you want to shoot the line, the WF is the best taper. Weight in the front is going to help you load the line better. Keep in mind though, one company's WF taper could be different from another. It's just like rods....

Moral of the story, experiment with combinations of rods and lines from different manufacturers. Eventually you will find that combination that maximizes your casting stroke and allows you to throw 90-100ft of line effortlessly when needed.

[Strat]

The newer WF lines have a long front taper and are plenty delicate for dry flies on the spookiest fish. The SA Mastery Trout is a good example.

I fish both WF and DT lines and honestly think the only advantage to a DT is the fact that you can reverse it (which is a big plus considering line prices).