Official Beach Line Thread

[jasmillo]

Looks interesting! I've never tried that line before.
Please write a review, so your future self can find it 2yrs from now

If I can find where I wrote the review in 2 years. I’m not getting any younger.

Did you buy it in a matching line weight to the rod being used? Looks like their grain weights for 30' are about 1 line size less than the OBS (30' head). The head is 33.5' so the total head will be a bit more than the listed weight but they don't provide total head weight. My only experience with a Sonar Titan was the full intermediate in 6wt on a 6wt Xi3 (I think) and I thought it felt light and cast more like a traditional line than an integrated shooting head.

It would be cool if you can weigh the full 33.5' head.

I plan on using on both my 6 and 7 weight salmon rods. Usually buy 7 weight lines for both since most of my coho beach rods that are 6’s can handle the 7 weight lines easily. If it ends up feeling light it will be mainly for the 6’s.

Weighed the first 33.5 feet. 17 grams which equates to roughly 262-263 grains. Makes sense. The math is close if the first 30 feet is 240 grains.

 

[Squatchin]

Big fan of the SA i/2/3 myself. It gets down without being too fast and I a snag up. Casts well with a 6wt Ion XL.

 

[Herkileez]

As I do not know where you are fishing so I can’t respond to what you are talking about but, I believe you are fishing in fresh water, as coho move up river/stream. I fish in the salt water so if I stood in ankle deep water I would be hitting a lot of fishermen in the back of the head. I’m one of those switch rod fisherman thats ripping the water, but I have never had any fisherman be them fly, bait, of buss bombers say that I’m spooking all the fish.

Fishing them in the salt. I should have explained better: If I see a school, I go in only as far as I need to to reach them (ideally by swinging in). I see too many fishers automatically wade in to their knees, or deeper, often advertising their presence to the fish, either by splashing or grinding gravel under their boots.
I've really improved my catch rate by going to sh o/head casting...IMO by reducing commotion on the water...and by being able to strip 1/2, or more, of the head in, which can pick up following fish. I found, with my switch, and stripping only to the start of the head, I was leaving 30' of head and 12' of leader length unfished. IMO...The fish are the best judge of whether they're spooked...not other fishermen. I'm not the ultimate fisherman. I know some better than me,...but my logic works for me.

 

[mtskibum16]

If I can find where I wrote the review in 2 years. I’m not getting any younger.



I plan on using on both my 6 and 7 weight salmon rods. Usually buy 7 weight lines for both since most of my coho beach rods that are 6’s can handle the 7 weight lines easily. If it ends up feeling light it will be mainly for the 6’s.

Weighed the first 33.5 feet. 17 grams which equates to roughly 262-263 grains. Makes sense. The math is close if the first 30 feet is 240 grains.

View attachment 25984

So similar head weight to a 7wt OBS or a 6wt 40+ (36’ head). I can’t remember what line I was mainly fishing when I tested that original intermediate Sonar Titan. I’d be interested to try casting that.

 

[Bagman]

Fishing them in the salt. I should have explained better: If I see a school, I go in only as far as I need to to reach them (ideally by swinging in). I see too many fishers automatically wade in to their knees, or deeper, often advertising their presence to the fish, either by splashing or grinding gravel under their boots.
I've really improved my catch rate by going to sh o/head casting...IMO by reducing commotion on the water...and by being able to strip 1/2, or more, of the head in, which can pick up following fish. I found, with my switch, and stripping only to the start of the head, I was leaving 30' of head and 12' of leader length unfished. IMO...The fish are the best judge of whether they're spooked...not other fishermen. I'm not the ultimate fisherman. I know some lot better than me,...but my logic works for me.

I didn’t start fly fishing with a switch rod, I went to a switch rod as my upper body started to fall apart. I still have my single handed rods but only use the 12+wt for tuna not a lot of casting going on there. I don’t strip leaving the full head out of the rod. I strip between 8-10 strips once I feel the head pass under my finger on the cork. Then pull the line across in front of my body and do a roll cast and feed line hopefully get the head out if not I just cast it out and then do my overhead cast. This does cause more disturbance on the surface but my fly ends up about 70-80 feet out. This way I fish those last few feet and have had hits doing this I have not been able to land any fish that hit on the pull around. I just put this line on a reel and did a test run out front in the yard. I put it on my 8wt Z switch and gave it a go. I don’t know how it will fish but I cast into the backing on my second try

 

[jasmillo]

So similar head weight to a 7wt OBS or a 6wt 40+ (36’ head). I can’t remember what line I was mainly fishing when I tested that original intermediate Sonar Titan. I’d be interested to try casting that.

I’ll have it with me at the beach if you want to give it a shot.

My first impressions from this morning.

-Casting: feels a tad light. Loved it on my 6 weight Sage Maverick. Only liked it on my 7 weight Scott Centric.

-Sink Rate: seemed reasonable compared to what it is marketed as. Sank faster than my full intermediates, not quite as fast as the int/3/5 OBS

-Tangles/coils: seemed slightly better from a frequency and severity perspective when compared to my OBS’s. Not knock your socks of better unfortunately. That said, it was only fished about 1/2 the morning today. I’m also comparing it to an OBS that has been on a reel for 4-5 months so in the end, TBD

-Durability: TBD

-Misc: Textures shooting head and mid section. The intermediate section of the line is smooth. The sink portions are textured. Kind of sounds like the fly line equivalent of fishing braid when casting and stripping the line through the guides. Annoyed me a tad at first but got used to it. We’ll see how I feel long term. Also, I think you’d definitely want tape or a stripping guide fishing this line.

Overall first impression is it seems like a solid line. Still super early but I enjoyed casting/fishing it this morning. Especially on my 6 weight.

 

[Kfish]

I’ll have it with me at the beach if you want to give it a shot.

My first impressions from this morning.

-Casting: feels a tad light. Loved it on my 6 weight Sage Maverick. Only liked it on my 7 weight Scott Centric.

-Sink Rate: seemed reasonable compared to what it is marketed as. Sank faster than my full intermediates, not quite as fast as the int/3/5 OBS

-Tangles/coils: seemed slightly better from a frequency and severity perspective when compared to my OBS’s. Not knock your socks of better unfortunately. That said, it was only fished about 1/2 the morning today. I’m also comparing it to an OBS that has been on a reel for 4-5 months so in the end, TBD

-Durability: TBD

-Misc: Textures shooting head and mid section. The intermediate section of the line is smooth. The sink portions are textured. Kind of sounds like the fly line equivalent of fishing braid when casting and stripping the line through the guides. Annoyed me a tad at first but got used to it. We’ll see how I feel long term. Also, I think you’d definitely want tape or a stripping guide fishing this line.

Overall first impression is it seems like a solid line. Still super early but I enjoyed casting/fishing it this morning. Especially on my 6 weight.

Does it take a couple more casts to load up and shoot like the 40+? Or quick loading like OBS?

 

[jasmillo]

Does it take a couple more casts to load up and shoot like the 40+? Or quick loading like OBS?

On my 6 weight, I was casting the same as I do my OBS.

 

[mtskibum16]

Does it take a couple more casts to load up and shoot like the 40+? Or quick loading like OBS?

The 40+ head is 6' longer than and OBS. That shouldn't take you 2 more casts to load up lol

 

[Kfish]

The 40+ head is 6' longer than and OBS. That shouldn't take you 2 more casts to load up lol

Haha when I used to fish it that was my experience, it felt more like a traditional WF line.

 

[DimeBrite]

@DimeBrite do you find that the Titan tapers from SA are not the same as the old Streamer Express? I kind of assumed it was the same line series just rebranded.

What are you planning to use that Cortland Compact on? 7wt?

I have used the Cortland Compact Intermediate 7/8wt 275g line recently on my 6wt Scott Meridian. Very few tangles, slick coating, good running line (although it floats). The 26ft shooting head was a bit heavy for the 6wt Meridian, but it worked. You definitely need to launch the cast in 2 strokes max or it will over stress a lighter rod. I need to fish it on a true 7wt next time. Personally, I don't like fishing intermediate lines with heads shorter than 35 ft, because it feels like throwing a shot put and messes up my muscle memory for finesse sight fly casting.

I liked the 31 foot head on the old SA Streamer Express intermediate lines, their great durability, and their texture. The Streamer Express lacked loops and coiled if stored on small arbor reels. The SA Sonar Sink 30 Clear is a good line, but was not as durable. The RIO Coastal Quickshooter is very well designed taper and 35ft head, but as we all know the tangling and inconsistent manufacturing quality control was a big downer.

 

[Matt B]

I have used the Cortland Compact Intermediate 7/8wt 275g line recently on my 6wt Scott Meridian. Very few tangles, slick coating, good running line (although it floats). The 26ft shooting head was a bit heavy for the 6wt Meridian, but it worked. You definitely need to launch the cast in 2 strokes max or it will over stress a lighter rod. I need to fish it on a true 7wt next time. Personally, I don't like fishing intermediate lines with heads shorter than 35 ft, because it feels like throwing a shot put and messes up my muscle memory for finesse sight fly casting.

I liked the 31 foot head on the old SA Streamer Express intermediate lines, their great durability, and their texture. The Streamer Express lacked loops and coiled if stored on small arbor reels. The SA Sonar Sink 30 Clear is a good line, but was not as durable. The RIO Coastal Quickshooter is very well designed taper and 35ft head, but as we all know the tangling and inconsistent manufacturing quality control was a big downer.

Did you or do you take your Streamer Expresses off the reel when not in use? What's the storage methodology there? I have some I still use but yeah they can be a tad coily at first.

 

[Bagman]

Did you or do you take your Streamer Expresses off the reel when not in use? What's the storage methodology there? I have some I still use but yeah they can be a tad coily at first.

I remember Dime Bright talking about storing his lines on a larger diameter tube but I cant remember what it was or what the diameter was. So I’m also interested in this.

 

[DimeBrite]

Did you or do you take your Streamer Expresses off the reel when not in use? What's the storage methodology there? I have some I still use but yeah they can be a tad coily at first.

When not fishing I wind my cold water beach lines onto a 8" diameter spool made from a Sakrete concrete form tube. It solves the coiling issue for me.

 

[Bagman]

Does anyone else think it is about time the fly line manufacturer started listing to what the beach guys fishing coho needed in a new beach line. Im hopping this will be a game changer for us.

 

[ABITNF]

Of those listed I like the OBS for single hand but I picked up a Cortland Striped Bass Blitz from their Cold Salt Series. Tried it once on an Echo 3 and like it. It has a 26' head backed by a 13' handling section.

When Mayfly took over Airflo in the US they dropped a number of lines. Not sure why Airflo limits distribution of some lines only to certain areas. Tried to obtain a Tongariro Roll Cast line for a customer only to find it's only available in New Zealand.

 

[adamcu280]

I'm looking to replace my replacement Arctic Silver compact 6 intermediate. This is my second one that's had the coating on the running line fall apart in under 30 days of use. I really like the line but the durability just doesn't work for me.

Short list includes the Cortland compact and the SA I/2/3. I have the CQS in a 5wt and a CQS XP in 8 but don't love them. Hopefully there won't be too many $100 experiments to find the right line!

Rod-wise, I'm using the Echo Boost Blue 690 which, for my casting style, beats the pants off the Redington Predator 696 with the same line. I was also getting better distance and accuracy with less effort casting the same flies with the 6wt AS line and Boost Blue vs. the 8wt CQS XP and Redington Crux 890.

 

[Stonedfish]

I'm looking to replace my replacement Arctic Silver compact 6 intermediate. This is my second one that's had the coating on the running line fall apart in under 30 days of use. I really like the line but the durability just doesn't work for me.

Short list includes the Cortland compact and the SA I/2/3. I have the CQS in a 5wt and a CQS XP in 8 but don't love them. Hopefully there won't be too many $100 experiments to find the right line!

Rod-wise, I'm using the Echo Boost Blue 690 which, for my casting style, beats the pants off the Redington Predator 696 with the same line. I was also getting better distance and accuracy with less effort casting the same flies with the 6wt AS line and Boost Blue vs. the 8wt CQS XP and Redington Crux 890.

Adam,
I have this line if you’d like to try a different line designed for sea trout. It is a full intermediate. I used it a couple times but it just wasn’t what I was right for my rod.

Vector - Full Intermediate

The Vector line is a real rocket of a WF line. It is made for one goal only, and that is to make casting long lines as easy as possible - meaning a great line for coastal or still water fishing where casting distance is a factor. The head is made for loading quickly, which will help any caster...

ajensenflyfishing.com

The asking price is one 6-pack of IPA.
If you decide to pass, that offer will be good to anyone else who wants to stop by and pick it up in North Seattle.
SF

 

[Long_Rod_Silvers]

Adam,
The two lines you've shortlisted look like pretty different tapers to the AS. Sweet lines, yeah, but different. You might like the rio predator, it's a bit more along the lines of an AS, longer front taper, short back taper. It does have an extra 4' on the head compared to the AS.
If you want to give one a rip I've got a 270 grain (total head, 240 grain 30') F/I/3 I throw on my 6 that you can try. It's not the intermediate though....it bombs on my Winston 6wt. PM me if youre interested in a test drive.

PS I can't beat @Stonedfish offer, I'm gonna want this line back!
-Matt

 

[adamcu280]

6wt? Sure! What's your ipa of choice? I'll be in your neighborhood this weekend!