Trev - Thanks for the sage advice from someone who clearly knows much more about this than I do. I got really into tapers a while back when I came up with a rod that just wouldnt roll cast. That spawned a bit of an obsession for a few weeks. Somewhere in there I cut up an old 6wt dt line that came to me on a martin tuna can from ebay trying to make a spey casting type head for my 2wt SFG and my 3wt Douglas upstream. I did it thinking Id swing small streamers and wets in mid size streams around the north Ga mountains. The head works ok but I haven't gotten around to fishing it yet. Its fun stuff for sure. Id like to do more, I learned a lot about lines and casting from it.
I completely agree that the 30' weights are a loose guide at best and the concentration of weight along the line is extremely important. Luckily, for the really aggressive wf tapers you really can get the vast majority of the weight in the first 20 - 30' so perhaps the number actually has some value. My only reason for wanting a wf is that the peach doesn't seem to shoot very well in my hands and I can feel the rod is capable.
Based on casting with my peach dt8 and my hand loading scale the rod is good for about 290 grains before the amount of flex in the tip becomes undesirable. In other words, I suspect about 290 gr including line leader and fly is about what I would consider optimal as a maximum amount of weight out of the tip top. at 330 grains, Id consider the rod overloaded. With that in mind - I assume that a wf line slightly heavier than standard 8 weight with a good shooting profile would be ideal. that should leave enough weight for a healthy size Clouser or a decent size cone head.
Your guess and my measurements are really close as to the ideal weight. I wonder if the rod could carry more weight if it was in a head closer to the line instead of being 40'+ of dt line. What are your thoughts? The way I see it, I have an option at 225 gr (magnum/smallmouth 8 ), an option at 240 gr (mastery bass 7) and an option at 260 gr (magnum 9). I doubt I will be able to tell much difference between the tapers, Im more concerned with weight. Based on the "cast by feel test" do you think I should be looking for something on the heavy end of the scale? even heavier than what is listed? I suppose if I guess wrong and buy something too heavy its an excuse to find a ff858 or a 2 piece ff85?
here are some shots of the outfit! There are some small scuffs on the second rod section from the bottom but otherwise the rod looks nearly new. Its great that you can still buy nearly new Fenwick glass rods for really reasonable prices.
Edit -
First fish on the rod! I picked up a sinking "8wt" rio fathom line for swinging streamers for trout and fishing deeper to warm water fish in still water. This is my first sinking line and it casts.. sorta like people say sinking lines do. But its very serviceable and I think its a good match to the rod. There is a scientific anglers "8wt" bass bug in the mail that Ill report back on once Ive cast it. The sinking line and a "half and half" tied on a size 1 mustad 34007 brought in my first fish on the rod - a good size bowfin. I dont keep a scale with my when I fish because I dont typically care but I would have been curious what this one weighed, it felt like reeling in a cinder block. the rod bent all the way to the cork but I had plenty of backbone to fight the fish back out of the weed bed that was conveniently located boat side. It was my first bowfin on a fly rod and also, likely, the biggest fish Ive caught on a fly rod. I wouldnt have wanted to subject my ff756 to that.. Having a heavy duty rod for heavy duty fish is fun, despite my user name! I would love to try this out for inshore salt water, which Ive never done. I also have good feelings about tailwater trout on streamers, mice, or jumbo dries. I have a feeling this rod is gonna see a lot of great times.
edit 2 -
The scientific anglers bass bug 8 wt line is just ok. It is certainly not overloading the rod, and I wouldn't hesitate to try another "heavy" "8wt" line on the rod but Im not sure I care for having all of the weight out at the very end of the line like that. I plan to hang onto the line, and for really air resistant flies or windy days its probably a great line. for more general purpose still water fishing Ill probably actually stick to the aircel 10wt wf line, it casts very well on this rod, feels great and has produced the best distance. it also has a fairly fine tip and front taper that I think is probably good for not spooking fish. In moving water Ill probably end up using the Peach dt 8wt to preserve the ability to mend and manage line.
With that, Ill wrap this up! thanks to Trev and everyone else who helped out! If I pick up a FF858 or 2 Piece FF85 Ill be sure to post a comparison. This rod is certainly very versatile for line weight, fights big (for me) fish with authority, casts to 70 ft, shoots line great with the right line, and has a very soft tip that I think will be good for trout or regular size bass in the 12-14" range. on Lines - Id say anything goes 8-10wt, but I would be reluctant to underline this one. if I ever come into a peach dt7 Im sure Ill try it.