Why so light?

The single most common question we get is: "why are your head recommendations so much lighter than other companies?" The truth is, we just made an error on our line chart. We've fixed the gliche. No, but seriously, our recommendations for OPST Commando Heads tend to fall 75-100 grains lower than many people would expect. One reason for that is that the sink tip weight must be taken into account when lining a rod for a Skagit cast.

A Skagit cast is a water-loaded cast, with load generated largely through removing the line, as well as the sink tip, from the water's surface. The tip is an active part of the cast, not just something that's along for the ride. So when lining a rod, you must add the tip weight, which is often 100-150 grains or more, to the Commando Head weight. When you take this into account, our recommendations for TOTAL grains on the rod don't differ much, or at all, from the rod's grain recommendations.

That being taken into account, our recommendations still might seem light. It's because our lines are so short: 12 to 18 feet. They do seem to pack more punch, for less grain weight, than others, and this is because, being so short, they have a lot of grains per foot. It's this high grains per foot that loads rods more efficiently, with a shorter stroke, than some longer, overall heavier lines. This efficiency is enhanced by the line's fatness, which increases surface tension. In such a short and fat line, water tension loads the rod proportionally more than with many other lines.

That is the best explanation we can give you for why our recommendations for OPST Commando Heads sound light. We're not crazy! Try it for yourself, and if you're like the vast majority of our customers, you will agree that there is something about these lines.