Rod Lure weight

[MuskieBait]

You can cast weights outside of the rating, but you must adapt you cast. If you are casting too much out of the rating and loads up the rod too much, it can snap. At the point of release, it is also prone to snap if the energy that is stored in the rod is released too suddenly (as opposed to progressively).

It depends on material. Fiberglass is much more forgiving while graphite is often not very forgiving. I have a rod that is rated for 6oz maximum but have cast 5oz + 3-4oz bait out over 60 yards with it and it was fine. I've had graphite rod that was rated for 1.5oz but snapped with only 1oz + maybe 0.5oz bait.

It depends on the action of the rod. Fast action rod stores much of the energy toward the top third of the top (near the tip) on the cast, because the butt end is usually much stiffer. Since the energy is stored toward the tip, it is more prone to breaking. Slower action rod stores much of the energy around the mid section of the rod, or distributes it across 2/3 of the rod. It is often a bit more forgiving. However, when a slower action rod breaks, it is more disastrous since they tend to shatter instead of a clean break. It is much more difficult to repair.

A downrigger rod is much softer than most other rods. It is built differently from regular rods since it is intended to sustain the constant bend of the downrigger weight plus the current of water during trolling. I've considered them in the past as long cast rods but they just seemed too slow for my preference. They can handle much more weight compared to other rods though, but they are not really built to be great casting rods.

Compare both side by side though. You can really only find out by casting them.