How Old are These Lines?

[Tony Buzolich]

I've been digging through the closet looking to see what I might have for an upcoming trip to Christmas Island. I've got a brand new SAGE One 7 weight and I want to use it. So what I came up with are two lines, one is a Mastery 7 WFF, and the other is an Orvis Wonderline 8 WFF.

I stretched both of them out on the lawn, spooled them onto an old reel and gave them both a few minutes of casting practice to see how they load on the 7 weight rod. Surprisingly, they BOTH cast beautifully. The Mastery 7 was a little more gentle, but the Orvis 8 was more like the Rio OBS being a bit heavier.

My concern is the age of these lines has to be over twenty years when I was going to Belize chasing bones and permit. I remember buying the Wonderline at the Orvis store in San Francisco on Grant Ave. near Chinatown which is now gone.

So what do you think? I hate buying new lines when these seem to be okay, but I worry about the vinyl coating or cracking or ??? who knows what.
Tony

[dynaflow]

I've been digging through the closet looking to see what I might have for an upcoming trip to Christmas Island. I've got a brand new SAGE One 7 weight and I want to use it. So what I came up with are two lines, one is a Mastery 7 WFF, and the other is an Orvis Wonderline 8 WFF.

I stretched both of them out on the lawn, spooled them onto an old reel and gave them both a few minutes of casting practice to see how they load on the 7 weight rod. Surprisingly, they BOTH cast beautifully. The Mastery 7 was a little more gentle, but the Orvis 8 was more like the Rio OBS being a bit heavier.

My concern is the age of these lines has to be over twenty years when I was going to Belize chasing bones and permit. I remember buying the Wonderline at the Orvis store in San Francisco on Grant Ave. near Chinatown which is now gone.

So what do you think? I hate buying new lines when these seem to be okay, but I worry about the vinyl coating or cracking or ??? who knows what.
Tony

Hi Tony,
You're spending a lot of money to go to C.I.on what many would regard as the trip of a lifetime,so IMHO consign those lines to the bin mate and buy a 7wt.Rio Bonefish or 7wt.Redfish line for your Sage ONE.In fact,buy both as (God forbid) ifyou trash a line, you'll have a backup.I used this very combination last year on C.I.and it's perfect.Good Luck!
Cheers

[MickeyFinn]

A braided core is a braided core, it's been protected by the PVC coating and shouldn't degrade at all so you definitely won't break a line. The outer core made of PVC may have degraded some but if kept out of direct sunlight and extreme high and low temps then you'll be just fine. The lines of yesteryear in the right casters hands I think are better than what's available today. Lines today although they do last a long time seem to be too stiff and built with tapers that are too aggressive.

[Walter]

Guys use Son of a Gun, its loke Armorall, to replenish the plasticizers that keep the material flexible. Try 303 Aerospace Protectant if you want the cream of the crop. "Test a hidden spot before you apply to entire surface."

[johnsquires]

Guys use Son of a Gun, its loke Armorall, to replenish the plasticizers that keep the material flexible. Try 303 Aerospace Protectant if you want the cream of the crop. "Test a hidden spot before you apply to entire surface."

Walter, I use 303 on my rafts. Hadn't thought about using it on lines. Thank you.

[jds108]

303 Protectant is the only Armor-All like product that I would consider safe. Orvis used to sell 303 in a small package specifically for cleaning/coating fly lines.

Tony - if those fly lines have been kept stored indoors they'll be 100% fine. I've got older seldom used lines that are fine. If you're still not sure, use a weight scale and pull on the back end of the line and see if it'll hold with 20 pounds of force. If the outside of the line is fine, the inside will be as well.

(as long as we're not discussing something like silk) - if the outside isn't compromised, the inside won't be either.