hey guys i'm a fly fishing newbie and have only fly fished for less than a year...i'm just wondering if my fly line is still useable.
i bought this 5 wt forward floating line from Rio for indicator fishing on Putah. I bought it last year and it's been great!
Naturally though, it's starting to show wear and tear. i'm noticing that the plastic outer edges of the line have gotten cut around the core.
i'm noticing the cuts around the end of the loop where the mono leader attaches to the fly line. i think the fly line loop gets cut and indented whenever i have to pull the line to loosen a snag on the bottom of the creek.
i also noticed a circular cut in the middle of the fly line because one of my nymphs pierced the middle of the line during a "wind knot"
Despite all this, the core still looks intact.
Is my line still useable? or should i be investing in another fly line?
You have three options: 1: If your line is not sinking in the swirling currents keep using it.
2: If your line is sinking due to waterlog send it back to Rio and tell them it is defective.... You will have to buy a new line to keep fishing. I sent back so many lines to the manufacturers they have me on a list...
3. Apply a very small amount of UV knotsense from Rio to seal the cracks. You can activate the knotsense with a UV flashlight in about 60 seconds or let it sit in the sun for awhile. Be aware that the Uv knotsense does expand. It is only about 4 bucks and can be used for major knots, line repair and wingcases.
for the fly line leader loop, there actually isn't too much of a cut, only really indented from the mono leader. so it still floats pretty well on that end.
as for the circular cut on my line, it is actually about 15-20 feet away from leader end of the fly line. so at least presentation of the fly is okay because the front end is still able to float pretty well. i just put a dab of aquaseal on the cut and it seemed to at least repair the line for the time being.
I pulled some some ten year old lines out of storage and they have no cracks in them, fishem till they go kaput. I'd send back to RIO since they cost so much nowadays. nice advice otter!
I just recently had that issue. My line was sinking and I only had it got a year. Rio will replace that line since there is a year warranty on it. It will eventually start to sink when water soaks into it. Such a headache when it does this.
One of my pet peeves has been a "floating" line that sinks. One thing that has helped me is to grease the butt section of your leader with a paste fly floatant. I use Cortland Dab because it is sticky and stays on the butt section longer. The floating butt section helps keep the tip of the fly line from sinking and getting water logged. You have to repeat this treatment every couple of hours. This isn't a perfect solution, but I've been told by reliable sources that the tip of floating lines will eventually sink no matter what you do.
A big solution to the problem is cleaning your fly line regularly. Everytime you by a new fly line from a shop you think to yourself, "do I have enough cleaner and pads?" Every fly line has a life to it, eventually it will need to be replaced. The coating it has on it when you first fish it is awesome but you should be cleaning it at least every 5 days on the water. Do this and you will see the life of the line change considerably.
Also remember, that a used line is still good for casting practice. If you cast on lawns, in parks, etc the line will get dirty. All my lines that I replace I still keep as lines I use for classes.
Berryessei, do you have a particular line cleaner that you'd recommend? There are also line dressings. Do you recommend using a line dressing after the cleaning?
