Fly Lines

[Adam Grace]

I'm curious about which fly line manufacturers you guys prefer. There are so many great lines to choose from now.

What type of fly line are you describing?...floating, sinking, sinktip, spey, running line, shooting head, multiple-tip.....

How slick is the line?
How durable is it?
Does it cast and turn over the fly well?
Does it kink/coil much? or does it lay out nice and easy w/o tangles?

What lines have you used before and what lines are you using now?

Let us know your opinions, I'm very curious.

[Jasonh]

I cannot say that i have a favorite brand of fly line but i am a big fan of rio's windcutter for spey lines, Airflo's delta long spey, SA XLT and streamer express lines for stripers. Too many good ones out there now to choose from.

Jason Hartwick

[bubzilla]

Rio really has some great innovations. And I love the fact they make so much more information available to the customer, in both their catalog and online, than the other companies, e.g., grain weights, taper construction, etc. I like their spey lines, lake lines, multi-tip lines, shooting heads, running lines, etc. They cast well, and more importantly they fish well. My only complaint is that they have some durability issues from time-to-time. I, and others I know, have had problems there. I had a couple lines blow up after pretty minimal use, and another person I know had one of their running lines, which was relatively new, break literally pulling line off the reel by hand.

I have S.A. lines that are as much as seven or eight years old and that have seen 50+ days a year that whole time. And, they make a lot of very good lines. They'd be a close second to Rio. If they'd make more information available and work more on the edge of innovation, they could be my favorite pretty easily. Rio is just kicking their butt in some areas, though.

Cortland and Airflo would probably tie for third. Both have a few really good lines, but overall their entire catalog of lines could use some work.

Bringing up the rear are Monic, Wulff, and the other companies I would consider more "novelty" in that they have basically one or two lines that are their bread and butter. Some of their other stuff seems more like a gimic or an attempt to stretch their one good idea than real innovation.

One thing is for sure. There are a lot of really cool lines available right now. That's awesome!

[MSP]

I prefer the ones Adam gives me \/

[Ben-doc]

I've only ever fished with SA and Cortland lines. Cortlands seemed to be a bit stiffer and harder to control, but made for better distance in the cast. SA lines seem nice and flexible...Of course, I can't attest to durability as I've only been fishing a couple years, and I only used the Cortland a couple of times.

[David Lee]

This is my 'pet' touchy subject .......

The ONLY dry line I've ever used that actually floats (without tip-sinking) is the Rio Nymph line - I've had major issues about paying $50.00 to $75.00 for 'floating'lines that sink after a few days , or less . This problem has been so bad over the years that I almost always use a sinking line or shooting head for most of my fishing .

All of the names mentioned cast well , at least in my hands ....

David

[Rick J]

For a floating line hands down it is the Wulff TT - I love this line from size 2 and its long front taper for delicate presenttaions to size 8 and 9 for it's awsome shooting capabilities and roll casting capabilities

[Adam Grace]

Wow this poll has had more than 300 view but only 25 responses....

Why's that?

Thank you to the guys who responded.

Doesn't anyone else have an opinion about fly lines?

[jbird]

The line I was most disapointed in, given the hype surrounding its quality, was the SA steelhead taper. It did everything I dont want a steelhead line to do.

a. It didnt float.....at all!

b. It was very prone to tangle.

c. It didnt rollcast or mend well.

I have since changed to rio and really like it.

Jay

[Darian]

Hi Adam,.... In an attem;t to answer your question about the number of views vs responses, I'd say there'ere a lot more "lurkers" out there than responders. That's probably normal considering the fact that most people tend to "hang back" or see what the lay of the land is before partcipating. Sometimes there's just no interest in the particular subject area....