Rio Outbound vs Outbound short?
- Thread starter Josh
- Start date
Have gone through a number of OBS lines.
They fish fine but crack quickly in my experience. I haven’t tried whatever the latest model is though so maybe they’ve improved the durability.
I don’t think they make the original Outbound, which had a 37.5’ head if I remember correctly.
SF
They fish fine but crack quickly in my experience. I haven’t tried whatever the latest model is though so maybe they’ve improved the durability.
I don’t think they make the original Outbound, which had a 37.5’ head if I remember correctly.
SF
jaredoconnor
Peabrain Chub
OB for distance, OBS for efficiency.
Scudley Do Right
Legend
I liked the regular outbound more. The OBS felt clunky to me.
Dustin Chromers
Legend
Both are good lines. For me the choice comes down to what you are throwing. For big flies the short hauls the groceries. For more distance with lighter duty fare go the regular outbound. All mine are short as I only use the line for musky.
Also be aware these lines grain out pretty heavy and do not roll cast to save their life as the taper is essentially inverted as in heavy in the tip and lighter in the tail. The tail can't drive the tip in a roll cast situation. If roll casting is any part of your fishing look elsewhere. An ambush will fill the bill there but not have the loop stability.
What are you fishing for and with what?
Bass and an Echo BAG.
I ask in that I ended up finding a OBS as well as the OB I mentioned in this thread here. I have no idea why I bought both. The OB seems to work well enough for my needs. But I figured I'd ask about the differences in case I was missing something magical.
I really like that style of shooting head paired with my BAG 7wt (that's what you have, right?). Personally, I like the Sonar Titan, which is nearly the same taper, and 3' longer than the OBS (I usually cut about a foot off) but I like a shooting head grain weight of 200-240 or so & don't find it too much for that rod.
Yeah, that's why I decide to use the OB on my BAG 7wt. The grain weight was pretty much the same as the Titan/Bass Bug lines that people were liking and the head lengths/tapers were roughly the same. Plus, it was already in my pile of fly gear (and kept $80 in my wallet).
Dustin Chromers
Legend
Bass bugs might like the short. You certainly would be quicker on the trigger.
To echo what Clark says above. I like the Titan as a line better.
O clarkii lewisi
Steelhead
Outbound short works well for me in salty water for SRC. I do wonder if this thread should be merged with Swimmy's "new shorts that I am stoked on". We could make that thread just a wee bit longer!! 
I use OBS’s a ton. It is my favorite line for beach coho in particular. I also use them for SRC. It’s very efficient for getting a lot of line out efficiently. I have run into a number of durability issues. Cracks in the running line and head after a season or less of use. Cracks in the running line appeared where you haul in particular. When beach coho fishing your making the same cast 98% of the time so my guess that is the driver. That said, Rio has been very good at replacing lines when this occurs. I do wish durability was better for a $100 line. I would not use OBS for anything other than streamer fishing though.
forgot to add, the nice thing about the slightly longer head is that if you need a shorter one, just don't carry as much line (the sole reason for me cutting a foot off is to make the font end a bit more aggressive. That rod can be like a little slingshot when fishing shooting heads.