Official Beach Line Thread

What is your favorite beach taper? Pick one for coho and/or SRC.

  • Total voters
    91
I throw an 6- OBS on a 6 weight Xi3 which is a beefy rod. How would you rate your rod?

To me 6 weights come in a variety of styles but I like to think of them as either a trouty dry fly rod with some finess or a mean ass streamer/salty line launcher. 200 for the trouty 6 weight and 240 for the line launching 6 weighter.

Then again the fly shop is a great place to answer your question.
 
I'd go with the 240 gr in the compact.

As far as beach lines go, I've come to the realization that I'll just need to buy a new one every year.
My current one has been used hard for around seven months and is now toast. The sound of the running line cracks going through the guides is rather soothing..... ;)🤣
SF
 
jaredoconnor said:
I’ve got a 9ft 6wt Fenwick Aetos that needs a new line. Thinking Cortland Compact Intermediate, but can’t decide between 5/6 or 6/7. 200gr vs 240gr. Pretty non-trivial difference. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
I believe the Aetos has a "soft tip" though it is considered fast action overall. Start with a 200g Cortland Compact fly line and see how it goes.
I used a 6/7 240g Cortland Compact line with my Scott Meridian 6wt and it works well, but this rod is a cannon more like a 7wt.
 
Purchased the Cortland compact with the intermediate tip/head (clear tip) in a 265 grain for my 6 wt rod. I like the line it loads and casts well. Seems to have a coil to it even after fishing it for weeks and trying to stretch the line. I even used it on my 8 wt reddington salt rod . I would say the OBS loads and casts better especially in windy conditions. Too bad they don’t offer a type 3 line.
 
skyrise said:
Purchased the Cortland compact with the intermediate tip/head (clear tip) in a 265 grain for my 6 wt rod. I like the line it loads and casts well. Seems to have a coil to it even after fishing it for weeks and trying to stretch the line. I even used it on my 8 wt reddington salt rod . I would say the OBS loads and casts better especially in windy conditions. Too bad they don’t offer a type 3 line.
Click to expand...
They discontinued the Type 3 and the Float compact. They wouldn't tell me why they discontinued it but they told me if I told them what kind of fish I was fishing for and what rod I was using they would point me in the right direction for a substitute :rolleyes:.

I did just see this in an email from them for a floater option and at a lower price than a lot of the other lines. Looks like a specialty version of the 444. 22ft head 😳 https://www.cortlandline.com/products/big-shot
 
Spent the last week fishing the Arctic Silver Compact 2.0 because it’s been a while, and I fell in love with it all over again.

Until Airflo sees the light and revives the old 40+ this may be THE line for my cold saltwater fishing.
 
Jake Watrous said:
Spent the last week fishing the Arctic Silver Compact 2.0 because it’s been a while, and I fell in love with it all over again.

Until Airflo sees the light and revives the old 40+ this may be THE line for my cold saltwater fishing.
Click to expand...

What is the difference between the old 40+ and the new 40+?
SF
 
Stonedfish said:
What is the difference between the old 40+ and the new 40+?
SF
Click to expand...
Apparently an entire line size.

I haven’t found a true 40+ in a long time. The closest ones I can find, and I contacted a friend who works there, is the “Airflo Ridge 2.0 40+ Sniper 4 Season” with enhanced marketing mumbo jumbo. @Nick Clayton also recommended it to me, so I tried it. My primary beach rod is a 6wt Burkie Sea Trout, and it didn’t like the line at all. Tried it with the short Scott Sector (my go-to boat rod) and that rod also didn’t like it. They both loved the old 40+ and crapped the bed with the new one. Apparently that’s because I loaded the lightest version (6wt) and that’s possibly too much.

From my Airflo friend: “Unfortunately those [old 40+] are gone and as far as I know there is no plan to bring it back. To be honest I would go with one of two lines for the Beach fishing around Seattle. I am assuming you are using a 7 weight in which case I would go with a 6 weight in the Sniper 4 Season 2.0. The full intermediate or the Int/S3 would be money. Both are fantastic lines. I say the 6 weight because it has so much weight it will load a 7 weight rod excellently.”
 
Jake Watrous said:
Apparently an entire line size.

I haven’t found a true 40+ in a long time. The closest ones I can find, and I contacted a friend who works there, is the “Airflo Ridge 2.0 40+ Sniper 4 Season” with enhanced marketing mumbo jumbo. @Nick Clayton also recommended it to me, so I tried it. My primary beach rod is a 6wt Burkie Sea Trout, and it didn’t like the line at all. Tried it with the short Scott Sector (my go-to boat rod) and that rod also didn’t like it. They both loved the old 40+ and crapped the bed with the new one. Apparently that’s because I loaded the lightest version (6wt) and that’s possibly too much.

From my Airflo friend: “Unfortunately those [old 40+] are gone and as far as I know there is no plan to bring it back. To be honest I would go with one of two lines for the Beach fishing around Seattle. I am assuming you are using a 7 weight in which case I would go with a 6 weight in the Sniper 4 Season 2.0. The full intermediate or the Int/S3 would be money. Both are fantastic lines. I say the 6 weight because it has so much weight it will load a 7 weight rod excellently.”
Click to expand...

Sounds like Dave, but could be Jake. 😉
SF
 
Jake Watrous said:
Spent the last week fishing the Arctic Silver Compact 2.0 because it’s been a while, and I fell in love with it all over again.

Until Airflo sees the light and revives the old 40+ this may be THE line for my cold saltwater fishing.
Click to expand...
AS compact 2.0 is still my go to. I have been spending time with a gifted OBS that’s one line size heavy for the rod I’m using and it’s nice, but it definitely feels one line size heavy. Curious to try an appropriate weight version now.
 
Ugh, my SA Titan has started to crack/wear right around the spot where my last double haul meets the guides. Maybe I just have a destructive casting style, but I am really struggling to find a durable line now that 40+ Type 3 lines aren’t available. So far I’ve tried SA Titan, Cortland Compact, Rio CQS, and Rio OBS, all with what I consider to be an unacceptably short useful life.

As I said regarding my casting style, maybe this is just me blaming on my boots the faults of my feet.

Anyway, I just put a Hail Mary classifieds WTB out for a 40+. That ain’t likely to pan out. Sorry if it’s been discussed before, but do any of the more available current Airflo offerings have a fairly similar feel (and hopefully durability) to the old 40+ Type 3’s?

Whoops, edit, @J Watrous is talking about this like two posts up. Good info, thank you!
 
J Watrous said:
Apparently an entire line size.

I haven’t found a true 40+ in a long time. The closest ones I can find, and I contacted a friend who works there, is the “Airflo Ridge 2.0 40+ Sniper 4 Season” with enhanced marketing mumbo jumbo. @Nick Clayton also recommended it to me, so I tried it. My primary beach rod is a 6wt Burkie Sea Trout, and it didn’t like the line at all. Tried it with the short Scott Sector (my go-to boat rod) and that rod also didn’t like it. They both loved the old 40+ and crapped the bed with the new one. Apparently that’s because I loaded the lightest version (6wt) and that’s possibly too much.

From my Airflo friend: “Unfortunately those [old 40+] are gone and as far as I know there is no plan to bring it back. To be honest I would go with one of two lines for the Beach fishing around Seattle. I am assuming you are using a 7 weight in which case I would go with a 6 weight in the Sniper 4 Season 2.0. The full intermediate or the Int/S3 would be money. Both are fantastic lines. I say the 6 weight because it has so much weight it will load a 7 weight rod excellently.
Click to expand...
No pressure, but if that 40+ Sniper Word Salad line is an intermediate and is gathering dust, I’d be interested in buying it off you to give it a go.
 
Since the Coastal quick Shooter in 6 weight is no longer available, I spliced the head and 3’ of running section of a retired CQS to a Wulff running line. Casts great, and I can hold a bit more line in the air during a false cast. Not sure how long my splice will last.
 
J-ham said:
Since the Coastal quick Shooter in 6 weight is no longer available, I spliced the head and 3’ of running section of a retired CQS to a Wulff running line. Casts great, and I can hold a bit more line in the air during a false cast. Not sure how long my splice will last.
Click to expand...
Are you doing a welded splice?
 
Bagman said:
Are you doing a welded splice?
Click to expand...
I’m a bit of a hack at this. I’ve used the “finger trap” section of braided loops in the past but wanted a bit lower profile. This time I cut the lines at sharp angles and superglued the butts together as one line. Then did a nail knot over the sections and finished it off with flexible solarez.
If you have a video or other instruction to reference for welding lines I would be interested.
 
J-ham said:
I’m a bit of a hack at this. I’ve used the “finger trap” section of braided loops in the past but wanted a bit lower profile. This time I cut the lines at sharp angles and superglued the butts together as one line. Then did a nail knot over the sections and finished it off with flexible solarez.
If you have a video or other instruction to reference for welding lines I would be interested.
Click to expand...
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0212.png
    IMG_0212.png
    479.8 KB · Views: 8
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top