Which Flyline

[Travis Swift]

I'm new to flyfishing, have no mentors so I ask questions....sorry.  BTW I've fallen in love with it.  I bought a Cabelas Bighorn Combo 9ft 5 weight that came with flyline and backing on the reel already.  It bothers me not knowing what flyline is on there and honestly I'm sure it's cheap and not great line.  I want to purchase some good line.  It will be used on Taney for trout and here in Kansas for bluegills and smallish bass. Also this will be used for jig and indicator, midge and indicator and scud's and indicators pretty much exclusively.  I don't plan to throw any dry flies at all. Can someone give me some suggestions on what line to buy for that kind of scenario?   I'm assuming a better more premium type of line will help with casting distance and control a lot?

thank you in advance I really appreciate the help.

travis 

[ness]

My opinion: wear that line out fishing it. A better line won’t make any discernible difference in your casting. Practice and mentoring will though. 

[duckydoty]

My opinion ( and it’s not really worth anything) is fly line is the most important factor in the equation.  Any rod, cheap, expensive, new, used, or custom made can throw a good well matched fly line.  Even the best rods will struggle and create aggravation trying to throw a cheap, unbalanced, and unmatched fly line.  Over lining by one weight can make for a more forgiving learning curve and a weight forward line is easier to learn on

[Travis Swift]

Thanks Duane that is a terrific tip.  So your suggestion would be to buy a 6wt line for my 5wt rod?  Any particular brand/model?  I do think I want to purchase a camo type line to help with spooky fish in the trophy area. 

[duckydoty]

Brand does not really matter but make sure it’s a full length fly line. A good line will cost between $60-100 dollars. Yes, over line by one weight class especially if it is a fast tip.  Not so much if it is a softer medium action rod. Long leaders, long tippet, and soft casts are for spooky fish.  

[Travis Swift]

it's rated as a moderate tip

[snagged in outlet 3]

They are listed as "moderate" action and my bet is they are very slow.  You should try a 6 weight line on it before you buy it though.  Maybe go to a fly shop or get a buddy to let you put a 6 weight line it to see how it handles. 

[ness]

So, it’s unanimous 😄

Seems silly to me to assume the new Cabelas outfit has a mismatched line, or even a crummy one not worth fishing. I bought two different Cabelas outfits for my kids and they were both fine, moderate action rigs.

Time would be better spent learning to cast and make a good presentation. 

[fishinwrench]

A Cabela's combo is unlikely to be a very fast rod.  Personally I wouldn't over-line it, even for a beginner.     Lighter lines are easier to mend, and mending is more important than being able to shoot 30' of line with a Trout rod.

[Al Agnew]

I agree with Ness.  The line that's on it is probably decently matched with the rod.  But if you insist you need a new line, I wouldn't over-line it, either.  Just get a good 5 weight, weight forward, floating line. And you don't need a camo line, in fact, it probably won't make any difference whatsoever in the stealth of the line.  It's a floating line.  It will lie on the surface, and the fish will be looking up at it, which means they are seeing it against the brightest part of their environment.  A light greenish or yellowish line will blend into that background better than a darker camo line, but the fish will still be able to see it just fine, so really it doesn't much matter what color the line is, the fish will know it's there if it matters to them.  Usually it doesn't.

The line also doesn't matter for fishing nymphs with indicator in the kind of scenarios we encounter here in the Midwest.  Leader isn't even all that important...in fact, some people just use a length of monofilament for a leader--something like 14 pound test--and add tippet to the end of it in the pound test or whatever X they want.  A good tapered leader helps in casting dry flies and lightly weighted nymphs without the other stuff hanging on your line, but it really does almost nothing for casting heavier weighted flies or flies with indicator.  My nymph reels usually end up having a 4 foot or so piece of leader that's been cut down over and over until it ends up that length, and then a couple pieces of tippet tied onto the end of it to get it back to the length I want, and THEN the "real" piece of tippet that I tie the flies onto.