fly line

[Brian50]

Do you guys clean your fly line and if you do how often.

 

[tctrout]

Not nearly enough...if I clean it twice a year (warm water and soap), that is one lucky line!

TC

 

[Luke]

Once a year whether it needs it or not

A little more often if the few feet at the terminal end is sinking.

 

[RCFetter]

Once maybe twice a year. Before I started tying, 3 to 4 times a year.

 

[hooker-of-men]

Luke wrote:

A little more often if the few feet at the terminal end is sinking.

What does this mean? Gunk (that's a technical term) built up on the end of the line?

I've never heard this and the tip of my line is currently sinking. I thought it was cracked or otherwise taking on water, but it looks fine. Maybe you've solved my problem?

 

[Luke]

There can certainly be a lot of reasons for floating line to sink at the tip other than just dirty, but I generally find that cleaning and dressing helps.

Some more good information here.

Prior Thread on PAFF

 

[Swattie87]

Never. Just being honest.

I have relatively new, good condition lines on my reels that I primarily fish dries with and need to completely float. When a line starts to get older, dirty, cracked, beat up, whatever or otherwise, and the tip starts to sink a little, I retire it to my Warmwater reel or my reel I sometimes fish small streamers with where I don’t mind (and may even want) the line to sink a little. You’ve made yourself a free sink-tip at that point and extended the use of the line a good bit.

At $40 or so for a decent fly line, and using the above retirement process, it just usually isn’t worth my time to clean it. I have 4 fly reels, and maybe purchase one new fly line a year…probably more like every other year. With relatively frequent use, no cleaning it, and in the absence of acute damage to the line, it seems I usually get 2 or 3 years of use before needing to rotate a floating line out of the starting lineup.

 

[Chaz]

Not too often, thanks for the reminder.

 

[brookieaddict]

I clean mine every time i fish, it improves distance, reduces surface drag, and prolongs the life of the line. Don't forget to clean your guides too.

 

[troutbert]

How do you clean the guides?

 

[JG63]

^ take 'em to church Dwight and hope for the best! You know how guides always lie about catch rates ..