How important is your fly line..........

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

.....as part of your outfit purchase?

For many years the recommendation has been to put most of your budget into the fly line that you choose.

Top quality floating lines come with welded loops on both ends now and come in some different tapers and weights to fit different situations. They also have new built in lubricants in their surfaces.

Welded loops: Most top quality lines come with the newer improved weleded loops on both ends now. They make it that much easier for people to add leaders with the loop to loop system.

We also have an Airflo Welded Loop machine at the shop so we can add them to your current line as well.

Also if your factory loop fails (cracks/fractures) we can mereley cut if off and make a new one. This happens to all connection after lots of casting.

If you are not using welded loops for one reason or another it is OK but you are probably in the 5% of the fly fishers out there that are not. Most have really gone over to the welded loops because they are so convient.

Some fly fishers who use very long (15') leaders for spring creek fishing might not like the welded loops so they can use some of the old methods to have a slimmer connection.

Weight forward floating fly lines are the norm today along with graphite fly rods. Less than 5% of the fly line sales today are double taper and the same goes for fiberglass fly rods.

*We do sell some double taper floating fly lines for use on shorter, small line size rods for smaller water.

** That said, the last time I fished the Upper Sac I used an old Fenwick fiberglass fly rod with a Pflueger fly reel and a new fly line.

Fly rods run $100 to $700 so it would be better to save a little money there so you can buy a top quality fly line which will have a dramatic effect on your casting performance.

Fly reels run from around $40 up to $600 and above so it would be another place to save a few dollars so you could buy a top quality fly line.

We recommend that you bring in your fly rod and fly reel when purchasing a new fly line so our staff can do a better job in evaluating your needs.

We can also install it with the right amount of backing and the latest connections.

If you fish a lot with the same line it might be a good idea to buy a new high quality line every year.

Some people just don't get to go much so their lines will last a lot longer.

I think 5 years would be a good time to change your fly line, even if it has not been used much merely because the techknology will have changed that much by then.

Cleaning and dressing your line will be a good thing to do as well.

A new high quality line is around $75.00 today.

Our most popular floating fly line today is a Rio 'Gold'......WF5F naturally.

.

[Jay Murakoshi]

Fly Lines, life expectancy..... About a two years ago, I went through two RIO WF-9-F/I fly lines. They had separated and cracked. The coating separated from the inner core, peeled off and also the line had huge cracks. After spending 13 weeks in Baja and using the lines almost every day, I contacted Simon G. at RIO Products and explained what happened. He mentioned the life expectancy of a fly line is around 375 hours of usage. I told him that I probably did that many hours during my stay in baja....
Let's see, roughly 6 to 7 hours a day fishing, casting, stepping on the line, grinding sand from the deck of the boat, big jacks stretching the hell out of the core and cover and just exposure to the sun, I can see where I'd wear out the line. Approximately 55 days of fishing @ roughly 6 hours per day, I would say I came pretty close to the line's expectancy. This is not the normal person's fishing trip. I have never fished that many days since then, not even close.
Is a good fly line worth the bucks, you bet, especially in the salt water game.

Jay

[Mike O]

Bill...

PM sent on another, slightly-related issue

Mike

[cyama]

The new Scientific Anglers textured GPX line works really well!! I don't really like the sharkskin lines as they make quite a bit of noise sliding through the guides. I started out with the older GPX and they work great as well. You will not be disappointed with the Rio Gold or Grand. As Bill said buy a quality WF line. In many cases it is best to line up for the newer rods. Use a 6 wt line for a 5 wt rod. Talk to the Kienes folks.

[Adam Grace]

I totally agree with Bill; a good fly line is paramount in fly fishing!!!!

You can take any cheap rod and "line" that rod appropriately and make that cheap rod feel much better, however if you combined a good line with a good rod your casting and fishing experience will be much more fun compared to more frustrating.

There is much design, technology, and testing that goes into premium lines to increase the usability and to improve the experience of the fly fisher.

Do yourself a favor (if you have not already done so) and spend the extra money on a premium fly line, recommended by experienced fly fishers, and experience the benefits of a good fly line for yourself! :)

[JAWallace]

I was stretching my intermediate slime line a few weeks ago, and it snapped about 10' up from the head. I took it into Kiene's to get a "temporary" loop welded until I replaced it, and I never really liked the line anyway--it just didn't cast well.

Next trip out I had to use it, and it felt like a different line. I got another 10-15' out of the cast, it handled better than ever! I've learned how the right line for the rod can totally enhance your fishing experience, thanks Bill.