Howdy, guys-
Ya can't post everywhere, and I read a lot more than I post here on SWE (Howdy, PEC) but 'new guy' or not allow me to play devil's advocate.
With all due respect to the author ("a flyrod stinks as a fish fighting tool") when applied properly you can put an awful lot of pressure on a fish with a flyrod- keeping the tip low and allowing the rod to flex as far as possible into the first third of the blank is the key. Raise the rod tip to a place where you'd hold your spinning rod and you put next to nothing on the fish. Fight with the butt 1/3 of the blank, and low/to the side when appropriate, and I'll bet you could not hold the fly in your hand aginst that pressure.
"I've adopted a slower casting style"... Great- me too. I prefer a rod with a moderate flex. Now I have a Loomis 8 weight that's a moderately priced GL3 and it fits my style. Don't know what the rod in question is, but if its a Cross Current, for example, no wonder you can't load it. It doesn't fit your style. The thing is a cannon- and its so fast that unless your casting stroke is suited to it and well developed, its no surprise that you're not feeling it load even uplined by one. By using an 11 or even a 12 weight line you're taking a very fast rod and slowing it down to where you like the feel.
Which does make uplining it 3 weights a crutch. If the rod (assuming its very fast) is not suited to your preferred casting style, it's the rod selection that's "broken". The crutch helps you limp it along and force it to be what you wish it was to start with.
"Right tool for the right job..."
Choose the right rod for your style to begin with, and you're good-to-go.
Your mileage may vary, of course.
