Starter Fly-rod weight

[ronk]

I've been ronked!

Terry

Not the 1st time.Probably won't be the last.

[ronk]

Ron,

What do you consider to be a good line, with so many out there it can get to be a bit of a wonder for us newbies.

Jim

There are a lot of good lines these days,Clouser,Rio,Sci Ang etc. Any of them should do well. I like the Airflo Distance Taper(as opposed to the Extreme Distance) for bass because it doesn't stretch which makes me believe it will make for a better hookset in their hard mouths.It also wears like iron.Don't buy a cheap line.

[Tom L]

My first line was Orvis Easy Mend suggested by Tom L. Very nice, like it a lot but felt really dry and wanted to coil when the water got warmer in the summer. So I now have a spool with SA Mastery Bass in hopes to keep the slick feel in the warmer temps and not knowing how it will react to cooler weather, I have my Easy Mend. Probably a good idea to have two lines anyway?

Jim - My personal experience is that SA flylines got the slickest coating. I had tried RIO, Orvis, and Airflo lines; but non can compare to SA slickness.

[Guest Jim S.]

Thanks guys,

Will deffinatly look into that Airflo Ron, I can see a new spool in my future.

 

The Orvis did feel good again when the temps came back down.

 

Terry, you would have had my attention had it been Kathy Ireland's line :-)

 

Tom, I will get to know the SA this year and get my first real comparison between lines.

[ronk]

Another company that should always deserve mention when it comes to flylines is Cortland, a company which was at the forefront in developing the modern flyline in the 1950s/60s.For most of the years after Cortland along with SA dominated the flyline market..But with the advent of newcomers like Rio & Clouser Cortland for some reason has been pushed to the back of the bus even though it cotinues to be an innovative maker of quality flylines.

[Jonn Graham]

Rio's Smallmouth fly line. Like the clouser line, but made with a stiffer coating which keeps the kinks out of the line during the heat of the summer. biggest problem with Clouser line is it has a tendency to tangle when the heat is on.

[Rob G]

Terry wins again the wit award!

 

Ron, I was always a fan of the classic 444 but a few years ago, purchased a couple Cortland lines that you could feel the coating was defective right out of the box. Haven't purchased any more since.

 

The SA Mastery Head Start lines are great in the summer as they don't become too limp but in the early spring and late fall, cold water does seem to cause them to be overly stiff and coily (is that a word?)

[Rob G]

John,

been wanting to try the Rio Smallmouth line but wasn't sure if it would work when I was fishing for largemouth.

[Ed Buric]

The smallmouth line actually has the words largemouth need not apply printed on the end of the line

[ronk]

The smallmouth line actually has the words largemouth need not apply printed on the end of the line

No wonder Jonn likes it.

[Jonn Graham]

ha

[Tim A]

I have never heard of a line "coiling" because of warm water. Certainly due to core materials and some coatings, lines will keep memory (manifested as coils due to storage on the reel) in colder weather than they are rated for. In this region, I would make sure the line is low-memory or for cold-water usage, unless you only flyfish on the hottest days and only in July-September. How do you make sure of this? Well the box or description online might market it that way, or you can look at core materials. Braided Dacron is the limpest, with single mono being stiffer and braided mono being the stiffest (why you'll see this in lines called "tropical" or "tarpon taper."). For the money, it is hard to beat Cabela's Prestige Saltwater (although they only make #7-#12) or SA Left Kreh Signature Line (which they make in #3-#8 I think). These are both braided Dacron core, super limp all year round, both are manufactured by 3M (Sci Anglers), and only $40. Plus they aren't a ridiculously bright orange or chartreuse like a lot of "beginner" or "bass" lines.

 

By the way, in my experience, SA lines remain much slicker over their lifetimes than Rio or Orvis lines. It also helps to regularly clean them. I wipe mine after each day on the water, and periodically apply Glide or SA lubricant to the line and let dry. I obviously disagree with Ron on this one.

[Jonn Graham]

The way I understand it from guides who fished Clouser line for years, it coils due to the warm air temps. The guides I speak of are the guys who helped Rio come up with the Smallmouth line. Reason being is that they were tired of the coldwater clouser line coiling or "wilting" in the heat I used Clouser quite a bit when I started and I noticed that during the summer it was tough to shoot line due to the coils in the running line.

 

Besides the issue during the heat of the summer, I loved clouser and still use it occassionally.

[Rob G]

Tim,

thanks for that information, I was unaware of what different materials were responsible for the properties of each individual line. As I type, I have three spools with 6 wt lines that I use for my bassin'. The Rio Clouser seems to remain supple in the colder temps, the stiffer SA Mastery line defintiely coils more in the cold but shoots nicely in the hotter months and an Orvis bug taper that hasn't seen as much use so difficult to form an opinion at this time other than it is definitely a more soft or limp line. I have used many others over the years but if I had to pick just one, it might be the Rio Clouser but then I really haven't noticed the coiling in warmer temps that John speaks of. Maybe you could tie the posterior end to a tree and really pull on it?

[Tim A]

John,

Thanks for sharing your experience & knowledge with the Clouser line. I certainly understand a coldwater line "wilting" in the heat--the softer coating becoming almost gummy in hot weather/water and therefore not shooting through the guides very well. But I have a hard time understanding how warm weather could make a line coil. Coils in the line are from storage on the reel. If there are coils in your line in warm weather, you usually need to stretch the line--certainly a normal practice for warm-water lines, but sometimes necessary with any line if stored tightly and for too long. I can't imagine--I guess because I haven't personally experienced it--a fully stretched, straight line turning to coils in the heat.

 

Rob, I agree--the warm weather lines are definitely the business when it comes to shooting. Harder coatings and stiffer cores make a line really zing.

 

By the way, the SA Mastery Redfish lines make for beautiful smallmouth lines. They offer a coldwater and warmwater model, though the coldwater one might work better of the 2 for our region (rated to perform optimally below 70 degrees). They are a half-weight heavier than normal lines (like GPX, Grand), have a short taper for throwing bulky/heavy flies, and come in a pleasant light blue color rather than bright orange/chart. I use the redfish line on my 8wt in the summer for a lot of bulky-fly tossing, as well as a general purpose line when I fish SE saltwater. It has a harder coating (but Dacron core) and requires a little stretching prior to use in moderate temps.

 

Stretching a fly line in one's hands or around a post is a routine procedure when using warm-water lines with stiffer cores.

 

Also, when I said "Braided Dacron" in my last post, I meant to add that companies will often call this "braided multifilament" core since they might not be using the Dacron brand. Don't confuse this with "braided monofilament," which is much stiffer.