Bruce Baker
Steelhead
I have not had a chance to use it, but Bjorn at The Fly Fisher (Lacey) had me go with an Airflo Sixth Sense WF 6/7 fast intermediate for sea run fishing from the beach.
Official Beach Line Thread
- Thread starter mtskibum16
- Start date
That sounds interesting. What does “fast intermediate mean? What is the grain weight of the 6/7
Bruce Baker
Steelhead
Slow Intermediate sink rate is 0.5 inches per second (ips) (grain weight is 275)
Medium Intermediate sink rate is 1.0 ips (grain weight is 275)
Fast Intermediate sink rate is 1.5 ips (grain weight is 295)
Bruce,
That is a pretty heavy line at 295g for the first 30’.
What rod to you plan to use that line on for searuns?
SF
I used a sixth sense intermediate 400grain with a switch rod, overhead for a season.. It was smooth and long casting. It was an old budget line from eBay. It has thier constant taper. Try as I may, I could never get it to not tangle. Damn slinky. Again, this was a dinosaur aged line and I'm sure the new ones are better. Bjorn turned me on to the Wulff Triangle Taper Saltwater full Intermediate line. Super user friendly, no desire to try anything else...
Divad
Whitefish
@copperJon I enjoy the 5s or 7s and tend to keep my 10s for medium to heavy two handed.
Just bought some 6’ Rio Salmon polyleaders. I think they’re all 50-60gr, won’t overpower a current line/head while still 24lb breaking strength.
Just bought some 6’ Rio Salmon polyleaders. I think they’re all 50-60gr, won’t overpower a current line/head while still 24lb breaking strength.
mtskibum16
Life of the Party
I’d give it a try. I’ve always admired your long effortless looking casts.
@jasmillo may not be the same for you but I preferred the OBS early on because it’s easy then appreciated the extra length of the 40+ after I was a more proficient beach caster.
I like the idea of a casting day. Between us all we probably have about every line and rod anyone could want to try. Haha
That could definitely be the case. I tried the 40+ early on. 12-15 years into fly fishing but fishing these lines in that manner is different than casting 4-5 weights with a floating lines. Like I said, looking to move away from my OBS’s so I may give the 40+ a shot. Then again, if they are a PIA to get these days, maybe it’s not a good time to fall in love!
So Dave at Airflo got back to me and this is his response.
"To be honest I am yet to find a line I like more than the Cold SaltWater in either a floater or the full intermediate. Pairing the floater with a polyleader of your choice is a perfect solution for 99% of puget sound fishing and on windy days there is no line that beats the full intermediate. They run 7-10 weight and I should have the floater in a 7 for you if you would like to buy it from the website as well as the polyleaders we have in stock. Let me know if you have any questions and I am happy to help. If you are trying to buy local, give the folks at the Avid Angler a call and see what they have in stock. Our website's link in below.
https://airflousa.com/airflo-ridge-striper-fly-lines.html "
That's interesting, I don't think I know anyone that fishes this striper line. Maybe @Phil K does?
"To be honest I am yet to find a line I like more than the Cold SaltWater in either a floater or the full intermediate. Pairing the floater with a polyleader of your choice is a perfect solution for 99% of puget sound fishing and on windy days there is no line that beats the full intermediate. They run 7-10 weight and I should have the floater in a 7 for you if you would like to buy it from the website as well as the polyleaders we have in stock. Let me know if you have any questions and I am happy to help. If you are trying to buy local, give the folks at the Avid Angler a call and see what they have in stock. Our website's link in below.
https://airflousa.com/airflo-ridge-striper-fly-lines.html "
That's interesting, I don't think I know anyone that fishes this striper line. Maybe @Phil K does?
mtskibum16
Life of the Party
@Kfish I have the old version of the Striper line in 8wt floating. Casts nice but it is not an overweight integrated shooting head. Casts like a pretty traditional WF fly line being that it's a 40' head. I also don't think it would be a great line for a heavy poly leader, nor do I want to have to use a pol leader for my beach line. The taper and weights may be different than the old Striper, I can't say. I think you'd want to upline 1-2 weights for a more "integrated shooting head" experience if it's the same as it used to be.
I wonder if that is Dave that used to work at the Avid Angler? Jake who used to work there now works for Mayfly. Both he and Dave really liked the striper line for beach fishing.
I believe @DimeBrite tried the newer version of the striper line. Maybe he’ll chime in on his thoughts on it.
SF
Yes he said he used to be the manager of Avid Angler for many years.
skyrise
Steelhead
I know this is not NW related but “Trident“ did a Tropical fly line shoot out article a while back. Interesting comparisons between fly lines. Plus the chart shows weights, length of heads, etc. really would like to try casting and comparing the Wulf versus OBS versus SA Amplitude Titan. I think OPST could make an integrated head that was in both a floating version & an intermediate version I would want to try it. If was based off their opst heads for salt use. Of course just my useless 1 cents worth.
Bruce Baker
Steelhead
Either a Sage XP 691 or Orvis Helios 3D 690
No. Most of the time I'm fishing the Airflo Beach intermediate. I have a 40+ Type III that I like a lot, but that gets used when I'm lucky enough to snag an open seat or am working a strong current. I also have and Airflo Cold Water floating to round out my choices.
Are we such a minority that we will always struggle with line selection and availability? I just spent a couple hundred dollars on lines to find the new ONE for spey casting the beach, settling on the SA Spey Lite Integrated INTERMEDIATE, only to find that they discontinued it this year. Many I talk to swear by the 40+, now discontinued. Seek and ye shall find 40+ int's available, but a type III can be found only if you're fishing a 5wt, or a 9wt...
When my new bbq/smoker arrives, I know a place
Anyone have an idea what line this might be? I somehow lost the label but weighed it and it should work on my 6 and 7 beach rods. No idea the brand or sink rates. The green runner almost makes me think 40+ which it could be since I have no idea where that line went after I used it a bit. I thought it was my SA sink cold but the color scheme looks off after doing some research today. I used this line a bit last year and enjoyed it nonetheless.
What did it weigh in at?
I used to have a cortland 444 sink tip that looked a lot like that one. It was a type 6.
Ok, calling myself out here. I noticed the line I posted above has a loop I created which reminded me I broke it back a few years ago and had to fix it. In an attempt to look back to see if I talked about that on the other site, I came across this post from a guy named Jasmillo in 2020….
#12 · May 24, 2020
The 40+ Type 3 is one of my favorite salmon lines. I really like the Outbound Short I/3S as well though they definitely have durability issues. I have one waiting to be returned because of running line cracks after a season. I like the line enough I keep going back though...and now it’s easy enough to drop them off at Sage which is down the street from me. I just keep two salmon weight versions on hand at all times.
I am not a fan of the 40+ intermediate for SRC though. Not sure why, I just do not like the feel when casting. Based on what folks above have said, it sounds like I am not the only one. I really like the OBS intermediate for SRC though and as of yet, have not had the durability issues I have seen with the S3. I fish that line from the beach almost exclusively for SRC.
Finding the right lines can be fun but expensive. I have spent way more time trying and matching lines to rods in the last 5 years beach fishing then I did in 16 years of fishing rivers previously. Good luck and try casting a few if you can before buying.
Moral of the story, I have no fuc*k+g clue what I am talking about in this thread so disregard all my posts
. Apparently I did try and “love the 40+ type 3 but did not like the full intermediate or the floater. Also, if you buy a bunch of lines like I have over the last 6 years, do a better job than I tracking what they are!Anyway, this has me thinking the line above is a 40+ which is probably why I liked it when I casted it last year.
I’m getting old and senile apparently at the ripe old age of 46…ha.
