I need a new fly line

[greg s]

I fish an 8-1/2' St Croix mostly having kind of retired the 7-1/2 HMG Fenwick last summer(really). I use a 5 weight for everything, and have a sink tip on an extra spool, so I need a floating line. I have used both DT's and WF's. Rio seems the hot line these days. Glad to hear opinions. This is a good place for that.

 

[lightenup]

I fish an 8-1/2' St Croix mostly having kind of retired the 7-1/2 HMG Fenwick last summer(really). I use a 5 weight for everything, and have a sink tip on an extra spool, so I need a floating line. I have used both DT's and WF's. Rio seems the hot line these days. Glad to hear opinions. This is a good place for that.

I use RIO. Seems good. I also have a faux silk line from Terrenzio..when cared for, it not too hard, it out performs the RIO line. It floats high and mends very easily. Its pricey, but also out lasts the plastic line by years.

 

[falcon]

All 5wt lines even within brand (ex Rio) are not equal. Some are a line wt heavy and can have a shorter or long head. You need to know your rods taper and stiffness along with your casting requirements to achieve a good match.

 

[Trout Guy]

I’ve tried a bunch of different brands of lines in the past couple years, and currently use mostly RIO lines now.

RIO trout LT (half line wt lighter) is great for surgically placing small dries to picky fish, I have this on my 10’ 4wt.

I have Rio gold on my 8’6” 5wt Helios ZG and is the best all around line I’ve used on that rod. Dries, streamers and Indy rigs. It cast them all great!

My 9’ 5wt Clearwater (primarily nymph) rod has the RIO Grande line (half line at heavier) on it. I originally bought it for my Helios but it was way to heavy for accurately casting dries at longer distances, for me at least. However it is good for roll casting nymph rigs and is a great back up general line if I bring someone else with me who doesn’t have a rod.

I have their 3wt Avid line on my 7’6” st.croix 2wt and it casts as good and far as I need it to. A little less smooth in the hands than RIO’s better lines but it works fine for small streams.

The Orvis line currently on my 7wt is trash. The head dives casting streamers and won’t turn over steelhead Indy rigs for shit. Will be getting Rio for this next year. Not the first Orvis line to disappoint me either lol

Id also stay away from ARC fly lines, they have a zero stretch core and if you get tangled on something and yank the line hard it can snap. Happened to me this spring with a brand spanking new line.

Scientific anglers also has decent stuff, I’ve just had a couple lines prematurely dry out and crack on me, but it may have just been from heavy use.

If your going to be doing a little bit of everything, then the Rio Gold will be your best bet all around line.

Fly rods are like golf clubs, every one has its own purpose, and the line should match that to maximize the rods performance.

 

[falcon]

I use Rio Gold on most of my rods (Sage One, Hardy Zenith) which are med fast to fast. Rio Gold is about .3 heavy with a long head and performs well. I believe Grande is a full weight heavy.

 

[Trout Guy]

I believe Grande is a full weight heavy.

You are correct, I got my line weight approximations from the bottom of a bottle of wine last night.

 

[lightenup]

How did people even fish before all these different "set-ups" and special lines. Mid flex rods, full flex, fast, medium slow fast, medium fast slower but still quick...and the different lines....Holy crap. I can't keep up...
I use a RIO gold on my 5 wt..... I use my 5wt. Winston medium speed rod for almost everything. The RIO gold line preforms very well. I use the silk line on a 3wt...it also preforms very well.

 

[falcon]

Ed Jaworowski had a good article in Fly Fisherman several issues back about choosing a fly line.

 

[cingras53]

I use a Sci Anglers on my Scott g905. I also have a Wulff Triangular taper 5 1/2 weight loaded on another reel that I was using on my Scott Radian. That casts well.

 

[greg s]

These are great answers, and I appreciate them. This will be used for pretty much everything, and will be on a CFO III. The rod is a fast action.

 

[NJpatbee]

I have been using the Cortland 444 DT Peach line for decades for the small and mid sized waters I frequent and never found a reason to switch. Full disclosure - I rarely have needed to cast more than 50 feet of fly line so I cannot speak to the WF and shooting tip lines.

 

[Vance]

I have been using a cortland 444 peach in color for ever. I have one in we. And one in double taper and love them both. Bill themailman

 

[Pete]

Another vote for Cortland 444 peach, nothing fancy, just a good general purpose line.
I've used their double taper, weight forward, and "bug" tapers, but recently I've been favoring the weight forward.

Once when I complained about a "bug taper" wearing out prematurely (I was probably stepping on it), Cortland replaced it free, no questions asked.

 

[falcon]

I too use true to weight DT fly lines on my moderate action rods (WT and IM6 Winstons and DT lines are made for each other).

 

[greg s]

I finally decided what to get. I stuck with a double taper as they have served me well, and most of the time I'm not casting much more than 30' of fly line. I've used Scientific Anglers for many years and they are great, but wanted to try something new, plus I had a $100 gift card to use. I bought a Rio Intouch LT.