Capt Insano Emeritis
Legend
Cortland dt …answer -years
Fly line life expectancy
- Thread starter Steve Vaughn
- Start date
Certain fly lines will drive you to therapy.
SF
SF
Capt Insano Emeritis
Legend
For me it has been the most expensive ones
Thread drift, sort of - when I got into the spey rod gig there weren’t as many line options as there are now. The shop where I bought my rod, reel and line me convinced me to buy a Windcutter* with interchangeable tips. The line worked well on my spey rod. A fly shop guy convinced me I needed to upgrade rods so I did. That damn fly line sucked on the new rod. Of course it wasn’t the line it was the telephone pole spey rod but it took me a while to admit that.
* Rio
I used Pliobond for years, but nowadays apply Loon UV cement to form a nice smooth bead over the leader butt to line nail knot. Pliobond works great but requires a long drying period.
Like my streamer max short
The actual therapy comes by selling to line to some other sucker (not a friend of course)....
Pescaphile
Steelhead
One thing I don't like about the new Cortland lines is that they no longer come with those little felt line cleaning pads.
I always liked the convenience of those pads for cleaning the line while astream. No special scrubbing pad or applicator box, no bottle of line cleaning compound, no line lubricant nor any other bulky items to carry -just a silver dollar sized felt pad impregnated with floatant in a tiny zip lock that'd sit in the bottom of my wader pocket until the next time out. Those pads work pretty well and the fact that they make it easier to care for the fly line means you're more likely to do it and more likely to do it regularly. I think that is clearly germane to the topic of maximizing fly line life.
I still really like Cortland lines (especially the good ol' Peach 444) but please bring back those felt cleaning pads.
This. Took me years to figure this out.
They are handy. I have a collection and use the ugliest ones for the worst cleaning afield. Usually I use a damp cloth through the line winder at home when done and clean with the SA kit a couple times a year on floaters. Works to keep freshwater lines healthy. I guess I don't think of fly lines as a wear item like leaders or tippet, or even boots and waders, so I take care of them like the reels and rods, which get a rub down with the waxy red microfiber when done.
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wonders what my reels and fly lines would look like if I ever cleaned them 
I have been using the least expensive wff Rio trout line on most of my rods and some have lasted years and a couple broke/came apart after a couple times out.
I found some Redington wff on a close out and both those have lasted years.
What I notice is that the last couple feet on my wff that is tied to my leader starts sinking after 40 or 50 full fishing days.
When my lines start doing this sinking thing I use some Gink on the line or I use Bio Strick where the line ties to the leader
I never clean my fly lines. I keep the rods clean.
I found some Redington wff on a close out and both those have lasted years.
What I notice is that the last couple feet on my wff that is tied to my leader starts sinking after 40 or 50 full fishing days.
When my lines start doing this sinking thing I use some Gink on the line or I use Bio Strick where the line ties to the leader
I never clean my fly lines. I keep the rods clean.
The Mob on PNWFF is therapy
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I don’t fish nearly as much as I would like…and have only been fly fishing about 10 years. I’ve broken one Rio streamer line a few years ago…mostly buy SA lines the last few years…and only occasionally clean my floating lines…most of my lines are approaching 100 uses, and I don’t think I’ll be replacing them any time soon…
There things to make you feel better on PNW Flyfishing also...
No need for a series of vaccines, or the donning a biohazard suit to drive your car, like Stonefish.
Not living in Soap Lake, like Billy
Not being a Mariners fan, like...well...some
Not needing to be catching humpies for another pic.
Not needing 2 step verification to log in here.
^(This is big)^
Not going broke buying toilet paper.
Not having to root for Russell Wilson.
Just a few, there are many more.
So, for me, I think the answer is that while I've never had a fly line catastrophically fail, I tend to fish them well past the point of good performance. Every time I buy a new line, I'm always amazed at how much better a caster I instantly become....
Fly lines will last virtually forever for most people, but they only perform optimally when they are relatively new (devoid of filth-filled cracks/etc.).
Fly lines will last virtually forever for most people, but they only perform optimally when they are relatively new (devoid of filth-filled cracks/etc.).
I gotta start shopping where you do.
LOL. I think you knew what I meant, but yeah... we all need that shop that sells us all the stuff that magically makes us better anglers.