Suggestions On Floating Line

[flyfshn]

Received an Orvis Battenkill 2 reel for my Sage ZXL 8'6" 4wt rod and now I am trying to decide what brand of line to purchase for it. Any suggestions? A friend of mine recommended Rio selective trout or Rio Gold. Won the rod and the reel was a xmas present, so I would like to string it up with the right line.

[hfdhoosier]

I bought SA Sharkskin line for my 6wt. It is very limp and casts better than any line I have tried. I have only tried "house" line that came on my reels, SA Mastery trout, and Rio Classic trout. The sharkskin way outperformed all of those....not even close. The line is limp as string and sailed out of the guides effortlessly. The downside is it does make noise going thru the guides which didnt bother me, and it has a rough feeling texture to it so will chaffe your fingers and hand if you strip alot and dont wear some kind of glove. I would highly recommend you try it out at Feathercraft or Hargroves, I feel it is going to be my line of choice from now on. It is $99.95 but I think it is that much better than the next line down that SA has got (Mastery Trout@ $69). If you keep lookin on E-Bay you can get it cheaper in different weights at time.

I bought mine from Readings Fly shop at Bennett, he said in laboratory tests it outlasted other lines 6 to 1, he said actually more than that but SA didnt want to sound too unbelievable. He said they also gaurantee it wont wear the guides faster, he told me if it wears out quickly or wears the guides to bring it back to him and he will go to bat for me with SA. He felt it was the best line on the market. I think its worth your time to give it a try.

[Flysmallie]

I second the Sharkskin. It's wonderful. I have it on a 5wt and Rio Gold on my 3wt. I can tell quite a difference in those two but both are great quality lines. Yeah it makes some noise but it floats like crazy.

[jjtroutbum]

I am just to darn cheap to spend the extra money on the Shark but did cast Dennis's rig with it and it does float high and picks up sweet. Seemed to me to be good stuff.

I am using SA's Mastery series trout DT and like it well enough though I have had it for several seasons and have to now grease the line to keep the tip up. Couple more seasons and I'll flip the line over and fish the fresh side.

[Terry Beeson]

I'm partial to RIO but have a couple of SA lines as well. I've cast the sharkskin and the feel and floating is great. I just don't know if I would ever get use to the noise... I think you'll be happy with Sharkskin or RIO Gold...

[Flysmallie]

I just don't know if I would ever get use to the noise...

Terry, after awhile you don't even notice the noise.

[Micheal Kyle]

I love the Sharkskin I think it is better than sliced bread. Yes it makes noise but after a while you cant here it. It will out last any fly line. I talked to Bruce Richards out at the show and he told me that they tested it for 20,000 hours on rods and never had any wear on the guides.

For the ZXL I would go with the regular Trout Taper I think that it Loads the ZXL rods the best I think that the GPX Taper will overload the rod.

As far as Rio goes they are Great lines as well the ZXL was designed to be cast with the Selective Trout. I have never had any trouble with the Rio lines and I think that they will out last the regular S/A Lines, but with the Shark Skin the way it was designed will allow it to out last any line.

One last note Sage owns Rio so most of the rods are designed around Rio fly lines.

Michael

[Zack Hoyt]

I have two reels with Rio Grande and love it. Holds up well and the turn over is nice on a variety of fly sizes.

[Danoinark]

I like the Rio lines too. I typically use the double taper Cortland Classic 444 peach on the glass rods though.

Dano

[Bman]

I love my Rio's, but have a sharkskin on order, btw I demoed one of the ZXL's you have, the same rod 4wt ... SWEET ROD!!!