Putting a 10 wt. Line on Rod Rated for 8 wt.?

[mcneishm]

I have an inexpensive Cabelas Wind River 9' rod rated for an 8 wt. (WF8F) line. I use this rod exclusively for salmon/steelhead. The 8 wt. line was inexpensive and, in its 3rd year, is showing wear. I never thought it performed as well as it should so I'm considering one of two things: Replacing it with either a 9 wt. WF9F or a 10 wt. WF10F. I have a good quality Orvis Silver Label 10 wt. line that I found in one of my fishing drawers, having forgotten about it. Unknown why I even have it. I don't think that putting a 9 wt. line on this rod would hurt it, in fact it might improve it's action. What about the 10 wt.? I already have it and thus would not have to spend any money to have a new line on my salmon/steelhead kit.

So, for those who know more about this kind of thing than I, what would the effect(s) be of putting the 10 wt. on the rod stated above?

 

[gfen]

mcneishm wrote:
So, for those who know more about this kind of thing than I, what would the effect(s) be of putting the 10 wt. on the rod stated above?

They're arbitrary numbers made up by people who think they go together. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong.

Only one person is really capable of deciding, and that's the guy who uses it. In this case, that would be you.

Rather than ask a bunch of Internet experts, why not walk outside and try it out? You'll learn far more useful information that way.

 

[jdaddy]

How did it cast with the 8wt line? If the rod is a slower rod that 10wt may overload the rod. Then again, are you fly fishing for steel and salmon or are you chucking and ducking, in which case the line is almost irrelevant except that the 10wt line may turn over that lead mess better.

If you are never going to use the 10wt line on anything else go for it. If it is an expensive line that you plan on using for saltwater or something in the future, remember that streams and conditions on streams like salmon river are tough on lines.

 

[PhilC]

I ended up putting an intermediate 10 wt line on an 8 wt z-axis when I was Florida since my 10wt rod was a 2 pc and not as travel friendly...it did overload the 8wt but extra hauling could get the line speed up and get it to shoot.
On the same trip I broke the 8 wt (stepped on it) so then I had to resort to using the 10 wt rod with 8 wt line on the SR...as jdaddy mentioned there wasn't much casting involved so the line wasn't an issue but the 10 wt got heavy high sticking all day

 

[ebroesicke]

don't forget line weight is a function of length too, ( it is a measure of the weight of the first 30 ft i think). In theory you can cast any rod with any line. 30ft of 10wt might weight the same as 60ft of 5wt (not sure it s a linear equation, just for the sake of an example). You can then use this info to fit the line, to the rod, to your application. Like to start you cast with just a little line out? Try the 10wt. Want to start your cast with all of your line out? Try a 2wt. Best bet is to follow Gary's advice, you wont hurt the rod by going up 2 wts.

 

[sandfly]

why does everyone think that over loading a rod will fix what is in reality a casting problem. most times adding 2 line sizes is going to put stress on a rod where it will start to crack grafite fibers. that is a softer rod to begin with all you will do is put stress on it. but that's your choice.

 

[ebroesicke]

over-lining only puts stress on the rod if you try to carry too much line out side of the rod tip, it doesn't stress anything by being on the reel or on the ground, stripping basket, etc. And the OP is only asking about IF he can use it, not if it will fix his cast.

 

[springer1]

They're arbitrary numbers made up by people who think they go together. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong.

+1

 

[Rolf]

springer1 wrote:

They're arbitrary numbers made up by people who think they go together. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong.

+1

+2

 

[afishinado]

True above.

Choosing the line weight that works best depends on a lot of things:

the rod, caster, line, conditions, type of fishing....blah, blah, blah


Here is a great article that gives some rhyme and reason as to which line weight may work best for a given rod, angler or situation.