Woodstock, it's that innovation that keeps you from understanding how rods really work. Manufacturers mislabel to such an extent they put a 4wt label on a 6wt rod. And these factory sticks are allowed in distance casting competitions, but when a custom builder does the same thing, it's considered cheating in the same competition.

Faysu, If you look up the "Common Cents System"(google it), you will realize that the rod companies have you trained, a fast 4wt rod is really a 6wt by use of the common cents method.

Back on topic, I look forward to seeing what reel innovations come from this.

koldkut, Ok, I googled it up, and read the article by Bill Byrd...he's your guru on rod actions and lines that match right? I'd say the guy is a little kooky. Just my opinion. I know for a fact of several misinformations he provides. He can enjoy is ultra lts. and catching whopper fish on light lines, that's his choice. It has been my observation that the movement is away from these smaller wt. rods, and that comes from some notables who are promoting that as well.

io was going to get into one of those big competitions in Salt Lake City, and never did...practiced a lot, and then never entered. I think they put out 4 or 5 rods of different mfgers that you can choose from, and a caster can choose whatever rod in the group. And that has changed some every year. They cast 9' 5wts in the latest competitions I believe. I still think the line/wt system is a good one for the consumer. Describe the wind/ weather conditions you fish in, the size of the water, size of flies you will be casting, distance, fish size, and you can come to a comfortable wt. rod to use. Works good for me, and for a lot of anglers.

James, any rod will cast any wt line, just what length of a given wt line it will load properly is what you need to look at. On that common-cents site, it does go into the line weight dynamics. Lining one up or one down to achieve the rod performance at X distance(up a wt for shorter distances and down a weight for longer distances) will work for the common angler. I know how frustrating it can be trying to fish at 10 yards with a rod/line combo that doesn't load nicely until you hit 20 yards. I wouldn't have thought twice about this until I started building rods, and once I did, I was able to look back at the years when I ran a 7wt DT line on a 5wt rod in order to punch line directly into the wind. I knew it worked back then, now I know why and I can also make better selections based upon that knowledge. It's about presentation and what works for you. You may have a fast 5 wt, line it up with a 6 because that is all the stores has and find that you really like it. I would like to see more rod manufacturers put the ERN and AA on all their rods, but then you wouldn't be fooled into thinking that this rod can outcast that rod because they say it's a fast rod(and maybe paying more for it). Rather, making an educated choice by choosing a rod by a standard weight classification and matching a line for what you want it to do by seeing it's 30' weight.

jamesti, I consider it a product of the evolution of graphite. Fast action rods depend on you getting a full length of line out before they will flex properly (load up) OR...you have a very aggressive stroke in order to bend the rod bringing in to play speed plus the wt. of the line. As I got older, I no longer wanted to make casting an effort by having to aggressively move a fast action rod through the air. Short casts don't work very well with a fast action rod.
If I am steelheading, and always picking up a lot of line, and no problem loading a rod then I will use a fast action rod, but that's it. For trout fishing I prefer the medium to medium fast action rods. They cushion lighter tippets, and a relaxed stroke can load them up. The rod does the work, not me. When a rod says a 5/6 many determine that to mean a 5 DT line, and a 6wt WF line. Once you extend past 30 ft in the air, the DT line has a bigger line section that weighs more than the small running line of a WF line. If you have an exceptionally "flexy rod" considered a slower action rod, you can speed it up by using a one wt. lighter line on it, and if your rod is a stiffo-biffo fast action rod, you can overload it to slow it down, and load it up easier..A lot of times though you want to lay that fly on the water softly if using a dry fly, and don't want the more surface disturbance of a heavier line. Choosing the right line for the rod depending on your stroke makes it a subjective thing. Line wts. vary by 10-15 grain wts. or so, making a line at the bottom of the grain wt. very close to the line wt. below, and visa versa. There have even been lines mfgered lately that are say 5 1/2 wt. lines. That means the 5 wt. line is at the top of the grain wt. scale suggesting that your faster action rod will probably cast it better.

most of what you guys are saying are things i never took into account when buying fly line. i'm gonna have to print this up and do more homework. might improve my casting. thanks for the info guys.

Interesting things on this subject are coming to me. I was at a Sportsman's Show years ago, and Jason Borger's dad, Gary, was putting on a casting lesson/presentation at the casting pond. Near the end of his casting presentation he said, "How could you make a cast to a fish if you walked down to the water, and it was rising right here near my feet? That would make for a very hard cast to make." Gary took the fly in his hand holding it so the hook wouldn't embed in his hand, held the line secure at the reel, and used the rod like a bow'n arrow, and shot the fly out to the target. Now that's loading up the rod with very little line out.

Deet ~ Back on topic, I have given away many Ross Essence Fly Combos to relatives or friends I thought might take the next step in fly fishing. Affordable packaged deals...rod, reel, backing, fly line and tapered leader coupled with a great instructional DVD by Mel Krieger came to me by way of Sierra Trading Post for a song.

All in all, a wise move and good partnering. I still use my 3wt Essence on a Ross Flywater 1 for those brookies and greenbacks. Year after year. Thanks Deet for the heads up.

Good thread! My two cents: I prefer a medium action rod. My 9', 6 wt. is lined with 6wt. DT. It feels right, loads well for short to medium casts and most important for me - roll casts like a dream with drys or weighted nymphs. DT makes me a better roll caster on my tight eastern streams. My wife fishes a 8'6", 5 wt. fast action. I relined it with 6 wt. WF and it definitely benefited by loading better on short-medium casts. Before I relined it, she preferred my rod. Whew, got my Clearwater back. For the really small steams, the whippy 7'6", 4wt. has 4 WF line on it because the average cast has less than 10 ft. of fly line out. More flippin', less traditional casting. My point is, you have to consider the conditions and how you fish as well, when matching equipment up.

3M probably stumbled onto an adhesive they can use to attach and detach a reel to a flyrod non-mechanically - the "Post-It" reel seat.