There are a numerous amout of fly lines out there, and I wanted to know what lines you guys use and why? And what's up with that sharkskin line? What makes it so better for $100?
I use a floating for 75% of my fishing and a sinking tip for streamers and occasionally when I swing flies... granted I am increasing how often I use a sink tip.... I am becoming a streamer junkie... next type of line I am buying is a full sinking line, probably one of kelly gallups.. why.. because I am a smuck
I have lines from Scientific Anglers, Rio, Cortland, and Airflo. I'll break it down by my line weights. I'm assuming that you want to talk about trout lines. I'll cover my lines for my single handed rods from 3 to 6.
3 weight - SA Mastery Trout DT3F. I always have enjoyed how this line roll casts for my short to medium game. The tip floats very well. I probably have about 15 to 20 days on this line (over 2 years), so I'm sure it has plenty of life left.
4 weight - Rio Gold WF4F. I bought this on the recommendation from the Sage rep for my ZXL. It shoots wonderfully and it roll casts okay. DTP pointed out to me that the line is a quarter weight uplined and has a skinny running line. I would have probably been better off with a DT line instead.
5 weight - Rio Grand WF5F. I have this because I have a fast action rod. After 60 plus days on the water, the line shoots and floats well. I was meticulous about cleaning this line regularly. I also use a Cortland 444 Intermediate line (WF6I) for stillwater fishing. Now this is a slick as snot line!
6 weight - SA Mastery Sharkskin WF6F. The sales pitch is that it will cast farther, float higher, and last longer. It casts further because there is less surface area touching your guides. It floats higher because the line surface creates a meniscus effect when it is on water. It lasts longer because the outer coating has flex zones built into it.
What I noticed is that I can confirm two out of three claims. I can get an extra 10 feet on my cast compared to a standard floating line. When I fished with this line, the tip stayed high. I will have to wait and see about the long term durability issue. I have only used this line about 10 days.
One thing that I noticed on my 6 weight rod (it's a fast action rod) is that the Sharkskin Trout Taper doesn't load up my rod as well as an SA GPX taper or a Rio Grand taper would with heavier flies, like a #4 Barr's Slump Buster. If SA makes a Sharkskin line with GPX taper, I will be all over that!
I like both SA and Rio. If you take care of your lines, they should perform well for a long time.
I have a Cortland 333 WF floating line on my 3wt and 7wt. They're fairly inexpensive lines. They cast fine and float well, but they don't last very long. I'm not too fond of them, but I can't afford anything better at the time.
I have an Airflo Ridgeline Presentation Taper DT floating line on my 4wt and 5wt. I like the way the line loads my rods, and it shoots well (for the same reason as the SA Sharkskin--less surface contact area). The only problem with the Airflo is that the tip sinks.
I have an SA GPX WF floating line on my 6wt. The line loads the rod beautifully, but it doesn't shoot well (I think I need to clean it) and the tip sinks.
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