Fly Fisherman~Fly Lines?

[Dust1n]

What have you liked for fly line.
im buying a new 5wt 9ft fly rod with a whiteriver 270 fly reel.(havent got the rod yet)iv used 555,hobbs creek and tFO

cortland555
mastery trout fly line-excells in dry flies
rio trout lt-softest of presentations
RIO® MainStream Floating Fly Line
RIO's Gold High Performance Fly Line
hobbs creek wt forward
Cortland® 444
TFO
ANY others?

[Scott N]

I've used a few different Scientific Anglers lines over the years and liked it.

[npauls]

I had shark skin for awhile but found it to get to dirty to fast and it would start to sink. I was tired of having to clean it every couple trips so I gave it to a buddy and bought some rio gold. So far so good but that rod rarely gets used anymore now that I own a 4wt so when I get some extra money I will be looking into some lines for my 4wt. Rio gold is right up there on the list of what I may get.

[tbone616]

I had Cortland 444 two season's ago on my 5wt and hated it. Found the line lumpy and as a result it didn't cast very well, this may have been just that line though. Decided last year to go with RIO Gold (as it was on sale at the time) and so far am very happy with it. Nice smooth line, casts real nice, always floats and I only need to clean it once or twice a season (usually).

[ÜberFly]

If it is a "fast action" rod (read super stiff), then SA GPX in a 5 wt. If it a Med/Fast or medium action rod then Rio Gold all the way!!

Just my 2 cents!

P

[Pikebreath]

Cortland came out with the 444 back in the mid 60's and they still sell oodles of these lines becuz they got the taper right for soft to medium action fly rods!!!!! Unless you are casting an ultra fast stiff broomstick for a flyrod, ( a beginner will find medium action rods much easier to cast), the 444's taper and suppleness in cold water are hard to beat.

[ULTRAlite]

Rio Gold every time

[Daceminnow]

Originally Posted by Scott N

I've used a few different Scientific Anglers lines over the years and liked it.

agreed. never had any issues and they've always performed well. there's always lots of good things said about rio. i am considering trying some on a new 3/4 wt reel. still unsure if i should mess with a good thing? am i going to find rio to be noticeably better? i dunno.

[Doc]

Used to use Cortland floating lines but found they were cracking prematurely, changed all my lines over to Rio two seasons ago and I'm very happy with them. The Rio Gold line is very smooth to cast with low memory.

Cheers,
Doc

[ericlin0122]

Rio gold or SA GPX(not sharkskin).

[biggamehunter]

I use a nice bright orange floating line. Its pretty darn pro

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by Doc

Used to use Cortland floating lines but found they were cracking prematurely, changed all my lines over to Rio two seasons ago and I'm very happy with them. The Rio Gold line is very smooth to cast with low memory.

Cheers,
Doc

I am curious how long line should last before it crack? If it does is it time to replace it? I too have some Cortland 444 that is showing signs of cracking....also seems to have a bit of memory as well....is it time to replace it?

LC

[Bigtoad]

Rio gold.

[Bhflyfisher]

Dustin,

A few lines you might want to check into are snowbee DT rainbow trout line and the rio gold line.

Of all my trout lines, i love my snowbee the most, i've always used golds, but once i got a Snowbee rainbow trout, it totally blew the line out of the water. For me that is. I also have a spare spool with the rio indicator line for nymph fishing in rivers. That line is also awesome if you're nymphing, but for an all round line, i would go for the Snowbee. Nothing against the gold. The Snowbee is just beautiful.

[Doc]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I am curious how long line should last before it crack? If it does is it time to replace it? I too have some Cortland 444 that is showing signs of cracking....also seems to have a bit of memory as well....is it time to replace it?

LC

Yes. Once the line starts to crack, it's on its way to peeling. You'll soon see chunks missing form the line and you'll notice it won't float as high as water enters the core. All lines will have some memory, best to run the line through your hands before your first cast. The friction will remove the coils. I've found Rio not to has as much memory as the Cortland lines I've used in the past. For saving money, this is what I tell my students. If you are new to casting or plan on fishing mostly smaller streams, save some money and get a double tapered line. The weight forwards are great if you are consistently casting more than 30ft but at 30ft and less, there really is no difference in a WF & a DT (WF taper ends at 30ft so no benefit until you pass the 30ft). The double tapered line (DT) can be turned around and re-spooled once you see wear so it's like getting two lines in one. DT lines also roll cast better than WF lines which helps when fishing smaller streams where a back cast can't happen due to trees and brush. Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Doc

[Pikebreath]

I once sent a SA line back to SA becuz of what I thought was premature cracking,,,,, they replaced the line out of good will,,,, but they cautioned me that a fly line is designed to last about 200 hours of use,,,, and frequently cleaned lines will last much longer than dirty lines,,,, as dirty lines lead to worn rod guides (grooves) which in turn eat up flylines that much faster...

Simply coating the fly line with some line dressing is not cleaning the line either. Just dressing a dirty line and then immediately fishing with it does two things, First it seals the existing dirt on the line rather than removing it,,,and two, grabs onto more gunk fishing while the dressing is still tacky.

It is best to remove all the gunk and old dressing off the line before adding new dressing to the line and then let the dressing dry before using. On stream, you can run the fly line a few times aback and forth through the cleaning pad supplied in many kits (ungreased).

Even better is to wash the line with a mild detergent warm water bath and then wipe dry with a clean absorbant "non shedding" cloth ( such as a micro fibre towel).

For the past 1/2 dozen years, I have been using "Mr Clean Magic Erasors" to clean my fly lines. I even checked with Bruse Richards (SA's fly line designer) about the wisdom of using the magic erasor as I feared it might take off some of the coating, but he gave it the "go ahead". At any rate, a wet magic eraser works great at removing the build up on the fly line and my flylines are lasting much longer for me now.

Fly line memory comes from being coiled tightly for weeks, months, years, etc on the reel. Stretching the line before fishing helps, but it also important to buy a line rated for the water temps you are fishing, A freshwater trout line will often become too limp fished in water temps over 20 C and many "bass" or saltwater (tropical) lines will never straighten out at lower water temps no matter what you do to them.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Doc,

Yes it does thanks for the explanation.

Pikebreath,

Great info as well!

LC

[EP2]

I always fish Rio just because the SA lines I did like are gone.

Rio Gold is nice, not a fan of the Grande. Also like the Clouser lines.

The Rio LT is almost a triangle taper, but is is such a long taper than if you want to do anything but throw a single fly from 10-20, get a different line.