Rods and double line ratings

[emc]

I've got a Daiwa Whisper 8' rod rated #4/5. It handles - in my hands - a # 5 DT quite nicely. If I am going for a # 4 should I be thinking of a WF or a DT?

...........and is there a book titled 500 fly fishing questions for idiots? I'm sure I saw a thread which mentioned this ( double rated line weights, not questions for idiots) some time back but for the life of me I can't find it.

[Moggie]

traditionally DT is lower and WF the higher rating, hope i got that the right way round!

I don't understand. Does this mean that on a rod which has two ratings the lower rating is for a DT and the higher rating is for a WF?  I thought that it just meant that the rod would handle either weight.

Moggie.

[Fishtales]

My thoughts on this.

The rod is a #5 but they give the lower rating for a DT as most anglers aerialise more of it than is needed so the #4 becomes a #5. When using the rod with a WF it has to be the right weight as you can't aerialise more than the head.

[Malcolm]

I don't trust manufacturers rod ratings so basically try out lines until I am happy with a particular one. I also change lines on the same rod depending what I am fishing for and how I am fishing - e.g the rod that I use for salmon with 8 and 9 lines (short distance spey and overhead with heavy flies) is used with size 6 and 7 lines on Loch Leven with a couple of dry flies or sunk line tactics.