Fly Line Help

[TroutKilla]

Ive been fishing with a double tapered fly line (came with the reel) and its nearly impossible to dry fly with it cause it just sinks the fly. I found some pretty cheap wf 5wt line on ebay for about $15. is it worth getting the cheap stuff or should i just dish out the money and buy a good line. or any line suggestions would be helpful.

Ryan

 

[outsider]

The fly line sinks? If it does, ditch it or just use it for fishing nymphs and streamers. Buy a decent line and take good care of it. Should last a long time. I show people lines that are 25+ years old, and they can't believe how they float and cast. For my small stream rods, I use double tapered lines and cut them in half, saving the other half for when the first half wears out. I save the extra half in large coils to help prevent coil memory.

 

[henrydavid]

Check your line for cracks. I finally spent some decent money on line before last season, it definitely makes a difference. My $80 floating line with factory loop started to sink, I cleaned it and coated it with super glue and it floats fine.

 

[NorthBranch]

I agree with the other guys. Buy a good line and take care of it. That means cleaning and dressing it frequently with a high quality dressing. I clean & dress my lines after every two outings. Depending on where I was fishing, it's amazing how dirty they can get. Not only will a clean/dressed line float better, it will also cast, shoot and handle better.

 

[Volksnurse]

Don't bother with the no name lines. The ones I bought about a year ago are full of problems- many bumps and flaws in the coating, they don't stay slick very long, and the floating line didn't. Ended up spending more money on better fly line anyway. I'm happy with the Cortland 333 that I just got and it was less than $30...the 333 seem to get fair reviews. No substitute for a really good line, but that'll come too.

TroutKilla wrote:
Ive been fishing with a double tapered fly line (came with the reel) and its nearly impossible to dry fly with it cause it just sinks the fly. I found some pretty cheap wf 5wt line on ebay for about $15. is it worth getting the cheap stuff or should i just dish out the money and buy a good line. or any line suggestions would be helpful.

Ryan

 

[Swattie87]

Ryan - Double Taper (DT) vs. Weight Forward (WF) shouldn't have any effect on whether the fly line floats or sinks...just on how the weight of the line is distributed.

Are you certain you have have a floating DT line? Most prespooled reels come with floating line, but worth double checking probably. If the line is floating, and it's fairly new I'd be surprised if it's cracked and sinking already. Are you actually seeing the line sink and pull the fly under, or is the fly just getting submerged on its own? If it's the latter, try some dry fly dressing and/or giving it a good blow every few casts.

If it is the line, the above advice is good...no need to spend a ton, but get a decent WF or DT floating line. $30-40 should get the job done.

 

[chrism80]

One other thing that might be causing it to sink is if its not sealed at the end. i assume if its a cheap line it does not have a welded loop? which means its open at the end,thus allowing water to seep onto the core. easy fix is to. coat it with super glue. unless of course there's cracks other places or the lines dirty. but if you don't mind spending the money id get a nice wf floating line. i personally like the scientific aneglers textured gpx for an all around line.

 

[MKern]

I'm wondering if he is having drag issues as well. If the line is fairly new, no matter how cheap it is, it should float.

 

[Swattie87]

MKern wrote:
I'm wondering if he is having drag issues as well.

Good call Mkern. I was thinking that too.

 

[flyflinger7]

You could also try switching ends with it being a DT.