line size conversion?
G. Mayner
for "D" or "HDH" line requires? The young guy at the local shop is clueless.
Thanks!
Garry
Smith
>Can anyone tell me what current wieght line (#4, #6, etc.) a rod marked
>for "D" or "HDH" line requires? The young guy at the local shop is clueless.
It's been a long time, but I believe that HDH is a double taper 5 or 6
weight line (the old markings don't always translate perfectly into
modern sizes). Could be wrong though. My memory seems to fail me
sometimes. My advice is to try one if you could. See if the rod
loads properly when you cast it. If it seems you need to work to make
the rod flex, go up a couple of line sizes. If the rod seems to be
overflexing, go down 1 or 2 sizes.
Barry Smith
John Fereira
G. Mayner <gma...@access.digex.net> wrote:
>Can anyone tell me what current wieght line (#4, #6, etc.) a rod marked
>for "D" or "HDH" line requires? The young guy at the local shop is clueless.
>
You know, I never really bothered to find out what determines line/rod
weightings. Can someone come up with a good description about what
determines a rods/lines weight? When does a 5 weight line become a 6
weight? How does one go about determining the weight of an unknown
rod. I've got an old fiberglass rod that I bought at a flea market
and rebuilt. I've been using a 6# line because it "feels" right but
I really don't know if the rod was originally a 5 or 7 weight.
John
John Hutchins
>for "D" or "HDH" line requires? The young guy at the local shop is clueless.
"D" is a level line....you probably don't want that. "HDH" is,
as has been pointed out already, a double taper. Roderick
Haig-Brown's _A Primer of Fly-Fishing_ gives this table:
A .060 inch D .045 inch G .030 inch
B .055 i nch E .040 inch H .025 inch
C .050 inch F .035 inch I .022 inch
Jamie Maxtone Graham's catalog (he sells antique fly fishing
stuff) gives this table:
Center Points
Diameter (inches) Diameter (inches)
AFTM 4/5 .032 .021
AFTM 6 .038 .023
AFTM 7/8 .044 .026
AFTM 8/9 .048 .032
AFTM 10 .056 .036
AFTM 11/12 .064 .044
AFTM 12/13 .072 .048
So, your HDH rod seems to be a number 7
John Hutchins
John Hutchins
In private e-mail, Dave Engerbetson has pointed out to me
that the AFTM rating of a line is based on its weight and
not its size and that there isn't necessarily a ready way
to convert a modern line (which may be made out of any of
a number of different materials) to an old size. Dave
adds that he just read a book that calls an HDH a 6. He may
be right...then again, I may be right...I suppose it depends
on how old your rod is. The table I gave was for converting
silk lines (which, on the whole, are, I think, heavier than
a modern line of a given diameter) so if your rod is modern,
then you'd want a 6. If your rod is old enough that it would
probably have been fished with a silk line (pretty old) a
7 may be better. Good luck finding the right line.
BTW, if anyone's curious and doesn't already know, my book
says the AFTM rating is based on the weight in grains of the
first 30 feet of line excluding the tip.
Smith
>Haig-Brown's _A Primer of Fly-Fishing_ gives this table:
>
>A .060 inch D .045 inch G .030 inch
>B .055 i nch E .040 inch H .025 inch
>C .050 inch F .035 inch I .022 inch
>
>Jamie Maxtone Graham's catalog (he sells antique fly fishing
>stuff) gives this table:
>
> Center Points
> Diameter (inches) Diameter (inches)
>
>AFTM 4/5 .032 .021
>AFTM 6 .038 .023
>AFTM 7/8 .044 .026
>AFTM 8/9 .048 .032
>AFTM 10 .056 .036
>AFTM 11/12 .064 .044
>AFTM 12/13 .072 .048
>
>So, your HDH rod seems to be a number 7
This is excellent information for anyone with an interest in antique
fly fishing equipment. Thanks for posting it.
One thing to keep in mind is that old fly lines were braided silk with
very different characteristics to modern fly lines, which have a very
small braided core with a synthetic coating. Given this, it is not a
simple matter to look at diameters for the conversion. The rod could
be anywhere from a 5 weight to an 8 weight, although I would choose to
err towards the lighter weight lines, since casting styles have
changed and a stiffer rod relative to the line weight is more in
vogue. The only real way to determine the proper line for this rod is
to try it with a number of lines and determine which feels best. By
the way, this is the technique many manufacturers use. And this means
that many people who buy rods and lines based on manufacturers
recommendations find they have a difficult time casting. Anyone with
a rod should try it with different lines to see if they like another
line better. Some of the better fly shops will help you in this
regard.
Barry Smith