On Wed, 25 May 2005 19:48:27 -0500, George Cleveland
wrote:

On Wed, 25 May 2005 14:26:18 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 24 May 2005 20:26:48 -0500, George Cleveland
wrote:

How much line has anyone here ever had off their reel while using a
5x or 6x tippet and ended up successfully landing a fish?

The reason I am askingis that I just got done switching lines around
from one small reel to another. I went out in the front yard and
stripped off all the line (AirFlo 3/4 Delta Taper) and backing (30lb
test Greenspot [its all I had on hand when I put it on the original
reel]). I came up with about 75' of backing plus the 90' of flyline. I
was a little taken aback by the apparent paucity of backing when the
thought occured to me that since this particular rod is rarely hooked
up to a leader that tests more than 4lb. (5x) what would be the
effective maximum amount of line and backing that could be removed by
a fish until the weight and drag of the line itself would cause the
tippet to part. So what do you think. I know rod action would have a
lot to do with it but it seems to me that there must rapidly come a
time with light tippets when any extra backing becomes superfluous.


g.c.

Try this: go back out into the yard, strip all the line again, and tie
on the fly of your choice. Hook the fly to the bumper of your car, a
tree limb, etc., and walk the rod out until the line is about tight (not
tightrope-walker, strum-a-tune tight, just "taut") and then walk back
toward the fly about 10-12 feet. Now try to break off the fly without
moving your feet again.

HTH,
R


Actually I did that very thing this morning. except I pu;led on the
line and backing until I got the 5x to snap. It took a lot more effort
than I anticipated.



g.c.

And I'll bet that a 100+ weight (or 200+, as the case may be) George
Cleveland Original doesn't have nearly as much flex as whatever rod,
short of an O'Cedar Sweeper Demon Deluxe, you might wish to use. I
suspect if you care to repeat it with the rod, you'll learn even more,
and gain a better understanding of your rig.

TC,
R