Sasha wrote:Ok now to address a couple of other things. I really didn’t start this thread as a result of the Sage 0wt thing. The bottom line is that I like those rods and I will fish them.
I was curious to hear from those that seem to think that rods that are rated under a certain line weight are “better” for the fish in terms of not stressing them. More specifically I wanted somebody to give me a logical answer to the question I posed in my last post. That question is the basis of why I believe the .22 analogy is not a valid one. The reason being is that I do not believe that it is physically possible to apply more pressure on X tippet just because one rod is rated as “Xwt” as opposed to “Ywt”. This fact assumes that one is a reasonable person and does not use leader and tippet that is greater than the strength of a given rod. Now obviously there are situations where one would be better suited with a different rod. For example, if I go fish Henry’s lake I am not going to take my “Xwt” rod because I know that it is not suited for those conditions (throwing streamers on intermediate sink line, with huge fish). However on a small river such as the one in my report fishing 4x (the same that I use when I fish my 5wt on that river). I do not see how it would be more beneficial (to the fish) if I were throwing a different rod.
Way too many variables to make any blanket statement, but.......
Let's take a straight piece of 4X tippet. Take a 5wt Z Axis, and a 00 TXL. Hook that to a 10lb dumbell. Now try and lift that weight off the ground. No cheating by standing on chair. One thing will come to mind in the first second or two. "Did I send in my warranty card?"
This test should show, for a lack of a better term, the power differences between the 2 rods. I'm not sure a 5wt can pick up a 10lb weight, but I'm pretty sure a 00wt will blow up if you try too hard.How a fisherman applies that power when fighting a bigger fish is the biggest variable. I can see an experienced ffer landing larger fish using an "ultralight" rod. What concerns me(just a little, I promise
), is the guys who buy a 00wt to make a 6" fish feel like a 16" fish. You know the type. Get your money's worth out of small fish. 
.....and to be clear, I am not pointing a finger at anyone in this room. 
The same could be said for the guy fishing a 5wt and not knowing how to land a fish quickly. I personally think the difference is......experience level being the same, it should still be easier to land a larger fish with a 5, versus a double ought. The amount of bend you apply to a 00wt to achieve max pressure on 4X will scare even the experienced fisherman.I really enjoy fishing my 0wt. I have landed a couple larger planters in a small creek. At no time did I feel under gunned, but the creek was small and shallow. I've landed the same size fish on my 3wt, with not much difference in landing time to the 0wt. Had it been in bigger water, I probably would prefer to have the 3wt or larger. For that reason, the 0wt doesn't get fished much each year. My creekin' time is not up to what it used to be.
briansII
Just kidding. But I read that C&R post shortly after it went up, before all of the replies, and I just knew it would lead to something like this when I got to that paragraph about the size/weight of rod one should use. 
