Fly LIne

[Guest flyfishBDS]

Lots of good information here.

Yes there are only a few line manufacturers RIO SA and Cortland for three, Cortland and SA certainly make lines for other companies. In most regards I'd go with the major company, after all would you give away the best technology to a competitor?

Of the three I lean towards Rio and SA like most here. Good selection of lines great products and lots of choices. (FYI I sell RIO and not SA but since Im a new gear columnist for the biggest FF mag downunder I get to try a lot of lines and have to be straight about such things)

Wulff lines I like contrary to the above, great design, new coating this year (bought more technology from SA) I ran one on my SLT for the last 12 months.

Sage's Performance line has been revamped but I loved the old one on my XP too, not as heavy as the Grand or the GPX but very nice.

Yes they are expensive, but if you are on a budget the only topline element you buy is a line. Buy the rod you like that fits you budget a high end flyline and save money on a fancy reel. There is only $40 difference on a good to a cheap flyline when you think about it and you will fish and cast a lot better.

No they don't last all that long, if you fish a lot and treat it badly (as I and Michael do) _ One big no no is pulling hard on your leader if its tangled around the flyline (untwist it instead) Bryce and I have both lost new flylines in the last 12 months when clients did that lol.

Three years should be a good mark for most and $20 a year isn't too much to pay.

Cheers

Steve

[Greg]

Yes they are expensive, but if you are on a budget the only topline element you buy is a line. Buy the rod you like that fits you budget a high end flyline and save money on a fancy reel. There is only $40 difference on a good to a cheap flyline when you think about it and you will fish and cast a lot better.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I totally disagree with this statement. So I need to pay 3 X the price to "fish and cast better"? I just don't see it. I've had both high end and lower priced lines and certainly don't think the high dollar lines make me cast any better and they certainly would not help me fish better. I think some of the prejudice against lower priced lines stems from 15 or 20 years ago when there were some really bad lower end lines out there. But the lower priced lines out there now: BP CV2, cabela's prestige, cortland 333, and others are great lines at a great price. Are they as good as a top of the line SA or Rio? No but the difference is pretty slight in my opinion.

In my opinion the fly rod is where to put your $$$. Line is a disposable product whereas most quality rods are capable of lasting a lifetime or more.

Could I afford a $60 line? Absolutely. There is even one currently hanging on my wife's rod. It's there because I wanted her to have the best as she is relatively new to the sport. But when we've traded rods - she says she can't tell the difference either. I pride myself on spending my money wisely and at least for me $60 fly lines are not worth the price.

Just MHO's

Greg

[Guest flyfishBDS]

As you say Greg everyone has their opinion, especially when it come to how you spend your own money.

I look at $40 as not much when you have even a $200 rod, $50 reel and $200 waders $50 boots etc you look at it as 3x the price. Put that extra $40 into a rod and you won't have gained very much. But that is a whole other debate from $100 rods to $600 rods lol.

Different opinions, different folks and as long as we are enjoying our fishing that's all that counts

I probably take a similar stance to your view on flylines when it comes to trout reels.

I get a lot of clients coming in for guide trips/instruction etc with very low end or even mid priced lines. Some work well enough but often its bad (mismatch with the rod, under weight etc or just not slick), I'll grab one of my lines and let them cast it and make up their own minds. And most of the time mine are anything but new. They get a lot of wear and tear lol

When my exwife started FF I purchased an SA beginners line (not low end more moderate) with a heavy head to encourage people to feel the load. She hated it "clunky" and grabbed my then brand new Selective Trout line (one of my all time favorite lines) and you could see the difference in her casting. Again different strokes

But I'd also say not all $60 lines are the same, but to me at least, the extra is worth it in terms of performance when I get the one's I like. I have had some high end name lines that I have pulled straight off my reel because I don't like them for the types of fishing I do, and the casting I do. I use different tapers etc on different rods, or for different types of fishing a lot too. The Rio Nymph line I use a lot with clients etc indicator nymphing but don't like it for swinging soft hackles, to me to the tip floats too high for that.

i do use some cheaper lines, I have one Cortland 333 full sink I use a lot white bassing in case I get a striper I can't stop lol, it casts well enough but I'm not concerned about it getting treed LOL

Hope your going over to Mountain Home for Conclave I have a bunch of Cortland 333s I have marked down. At the very least we can have a cast together.

Cheers and Tightlines

Steve

[Terry Beeson]

Greg, to your point and others, I have to say two words... "casting style"...

Not to disagree with any of you, but again, there is a lot to be said for casting style. I remember the first time I met Zach Matthews. He was entering the water at Rim Shoals on the BS tailwaters. The thing that stood out about him was the fact that he was the only person in Rim (probably in the entire White River system for that matter) with a stripping basket strapped to his hip. And the rod he was carrying looked as if you could stand on the ramp at Rim and touch the island with the tip...

Come to find out, Zach was working on his Spey fishing and had a (if I remember correctly) 15 foot spey rod. He wanted to be able to get the line WAY out for his fishing style.

One of the next times I ran into Zach, he was outside the Sowbug venue in Mt Home getting a distance casting lesson from John Wilson. Both of them were reaching out around 90-100 feet.

Contrast that with someone like me. I have a below average cast, still consider myself a novice at best. Yes, at times I'd like to reach out there and touch a seam where I just noticed a 24 incher rising, but I'm comfortable with my short reach nymphing and medium reach streamer fishing.

I guess I compare it to golf. I can have the finest (insert favorite brand) golf clubs, the latest in "distance" golf balls, and watch countless hours of the Golf Channel. But that don't mean I'm going to bash one down the fairway like John Daly or score a 12 under par like Tiger Woods.

I guess what I'm trying to say is what I said before. It's not so much about what the "best" fly line is... It's what fly line is best for YOU....

[Guest flyfishBDS]

Spot on terry, and price is t be considered in that too

[Greg]

Terry - you make a good point and I agree with you.

Steve - I'm glad you didn't take offense at my post. I almost deleted it after writing it because I was afraid you would (take offense). But I did want to get across the point that not everyone necessarily feels they are shortchanging themselves if they use a cheaper line. I guess it's just not that important to me. If it casts well, floats well (if it is supposed to float), and is durable - I could care less about line. To each his own. You made a good point that the jump in price is much more substantial for top of the line rods as opposed to fly line. Meaning that the 30 or 40 bucks you save on line wouldn't necessarily buy you a much better rod. But it would buy a significantly better fly reel and quite a supply of fly tying goodies.

I keep meaning to come down and fish the Beaver tailwater and stop by your shop. Maybe sometime this fall.

On another note - when is the Mountain Home conclave?

Greg

[Terry Beeson]

Greg,

TOMORROW!!

Starts tomorrow - Thursday October 5 - through Saturday.

Actually, I hope nobody takes offense to MY posts. Like you, I have to at least TRY to spend my money wisely...

I'll tell you a story about my cousin (a true blue "tightwad") He bought a new "off brand" riding lawn mower and was putting it together (came cheaper unassembled...) one Saturday when his neighbor pulled out of his garage on a new "green" riding mower. They began comparing notes and found that my cousin had given $800 for his mower, and his neighbor gave $2,400 for his. After more discussion, they figured out the mowers were, basically, "exactly" the same... but the neighbor discovered that his mower was rated by Consumer's Digest to last 5 years. My cousin's mower would only last 2... (can anyone do simple math here?)

My cousin looked at him and said, "Well, I can buy 3 of these mowers for what you gave for that one and get SIX years out of them...."

Case closed...

[Guest flyfishBDS]

No problems Greg Ive been on these types of boards long enough to know that well intentioned firm points of view can often read a little harder when written, than when spoken with a smile.

Besides its flyfishing, no one is right and wrong,

I'd still put the extra into a flyline and have a cheaper reel lol

You should visit the Conclave its a pretty cool event, you might even get to meet Terry. I did last year and trust me he's not all um that offensive, compared to some

Actually that is one of the cool things about Conclave you can meet a lot of folks off this board and the FFAM board.

I'll have two of the fancy new Sage Z-Axis rods for people to playwith, the 9' 5wt of course and just intoday the 9' 3wt which is a sweetie and great for low water on places like Beaver and Taney.

You should come fish Beaver in the fall check the Beaver thread for some info. I got a 22" brown night fishing last week (ducked out for an hour) and had a client connect briefly to a PIG of 30" or better on a drift boat trip.

Also check out our One Fly Competition (which is really a social event) Terry you should come over too.

A really fun event

Cheers

Steve

[Terry Beeson]

I'm coming to Conclave Saturday - can't get off work before. I'm going to be helping Allen Crise with the youth conclave, so may not get to see a lot of folks, but will try to slip in a quick tour of the booths and tiers.

Yep, Greg, you should make the Conclave. After attending a few of the SOCFFF ones, I can't imagine what the big FFF one is like...

Hey, Steve... Is my "power bait" fly banned in the one-fly?

I'd really like to make that one, but probably won't be able to. But I AM going to make a trip to Beaver sometime and pull some of those bigguns you show on your website out for a photo-op...

Hope to see you Saturday!

[Greg]

I'd sure like to attend. It sounds cool. But it is a 2 hour drive for me. It's been a rough week at work and I may need to just chill out on Sat. I wish it was running through Sun.

Greg