Flies to use with a 3 weight rod

[angmorbeng]

Hi

Assuming I am not the world's best caster(pretty average) what weight flies can I reasonably be expected to cast with a 3 weight rod?
I am used to a 6 weight set up which casts pretty much anything.

The same mini charlies on size 6 shrimp hooks or larger clousers with my new 3 weight means that I have problems turning over the leader and experience a few wind knots, which usually doesn't happen. Feels great to cast a lighter set-up but these problems are a little frustrating.

Will a little casting tution remedy the situation or are my choice of flies too large or too bulky?

Reading on the internet 3 weights are supposed designated for very small flies (14 or smaller?)

Anyone offer some helpful assistance?

Also is there a professional flycasting instructor in Sg.

Cheers

John

[Chee Yung]

Hi John,

Henry at Coho gives very expert instructions if you buy him coffee ;D but watch out if you are the slow learner type like me ... you need to buy him ice cream to cool him down ;D

Pak Amin is a certified FFF casting instructor and he has produce marvellous students

Charlies being weighted tend not to be a problem but I think you either over power your cast trying to cast 6wt distances with a 3wt, or fail to stop correctly resulting in tailing loops and wind knots... IMHO casting lessons will solve many problems including knowing when your rod is 'maxed out'.

Qwek being the ultra-light guru may be able to verify this theory and explain more regarding the best sized flies .

Cheers
CY

[Mattseah]

Hi,

I do most of my freshwater fishing in singapore with a 3wt rod. I find it the most enjoyable to use as long as the conditions are suitable. Its light so its beautiful to cast and you can cast the whole day without getting tired, it also lets you feel the fish really well. With my 3wt, i fish with a 4lb line i hardly ever break a fish off.. the rod just cushions each tug, the same property that allows you to really feel everything the fish is doing..

But you do have to be realistic, don't expect to cast long distances.. especially if there's wind. Im sure there are other anglers who will disagree with me here.. but i think in general, the distances you cast will be shorter.. it can be downright ugly when your casting into wind too.. Another point would be the size of your flies.. i like using small flies so i don't generally have a problem, i would go up to max maybe a size 4 beadchain clouser? and even than would not be having much fun.. i do find a certain satisfaction at catching a 4lb bass on a size 12 fly..

Im not sure how to describe casting an overweight fly, but i would say its a tuggin sensation at the end of both your back and forward false casts.. your cast dosen't seem smooth.. and you seem to be chucking your fly out instead of casting it.. If you must use a large fly, i would suggest trying to open up your loop, giving it a lesser chance of collapsing.. but also reduced momentum going forward and thus a shorter cast..

its something you have to balance with.. whats more important in the situation? if i need to cast heavier or bigger flies, i generally just go for my 5wt.. but its a personal choice...

Hope this helps

[alberto]

Hi John,
I fished with you once at BR and at that occassion, you were using a #6 rod and like you said, pretty much cast everything.

If you switch to a #3, then you might have to change your casting stroke a little to accomodate the lighter rod.

I have notice that you have a very hard stop on your forward cast and this could lead to the problems you describe.

I used to have the same problems that you have but now can cast a size 4 beadchain clouser/charlie much better than before by having a slightly bigger loop and a thicker leader.

I hope this helps.

regards
Alberto

[angmorbeng]

Mat and Alberto

Thanks guys for your help. As always the people in this forum are very generous with their time, help and advice.

I think I might approach Henry or Amin for some casting tution. In the mean time I will experiment with changing my casting style and trying some smaller patterns.

Cheers

John

[cookiemunster]

Hi John,

I am in no position to give much good advice since I started only about 4 months. However based on my own humble experience, I would say that its not really the weight of the rod that determines the fly you can cast, but rather the size and shape of the fly and wind conditions that determines how well you can cast on that weight (with respect to your casting skills of course). For example, I cannot cast well in strong winds even with a size 16 nymph fly on my weight #3 rod. But in gentle winds, I can cast a tungsten weighted size 4 wooly bugger on my size #3. However the casting feeling is a very different strong tugging feeling as MattSeah mentioned.

I might not make much sense but I find heavier lines and rods help to cast bulky flies easier in stronger winds. Meaning that if there is no wind, I would say even a #1 weight can cast a 1/0 peanut bunker fly if you chose to.

Having said that, I strongly recommend you look for Henry to advise you on your casting. The best thing is he does not charge $$ for casting instructions so the least you can do is humbly accept his guidance and style of teaching.

Cheers