Fly Lines

[scottrum]

I am wondering how often do you change out your fly lines? I have some on my reels for over ten years. Is this new shark skin line worth the price?

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear scottrum,

I change out a fly line when it gets damaged. Sometimes that happens accidently like when I step on it while wade fishing. :-(

Most of the time I just wait until the tip section starts to get rough and/or cracked and dried out before I replace it. That can take years depending on how often you use a particular line and how much care you take when cleaning and storing it.

As far as maintenance is concerned occasionally I will clean the entire line with warm soapy dishwater, rinse it, and then towel dry it before I treat it with Glide or some other similar product.

During the season I try to clean the line with one of those little felt pads you get with Cortland lines before I start fishing each day.

Doing those things seems to make my lines last a good long time.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[afishinado]

scottrum wrote:
I am wondering how often do you change out your fly lines? I have some on my reels for over ten years. Is this new shark skin line worth the price?

scottrum,

Unless you store the line is high heat and/or humidity or extreme cold fly lines don't degrade over the time frame of few years or even 10 years. Fly lines actually wear out from use. In other words, you can wear out a fly line by fishing it 50 days in a row or by fishing it 50 days in 10 years.

If your line is beginning to crack or discolor, doesn't shoot well because the surface is rough, or it doesn't float well, it may be time to buy a new one.

As far as sharkskin, the pluses are it floats well and shoots well. The minuses are it makes noise when rubbing against the guides and it is a little rough on our fingers, especially when stripping streamers. Some say it accumulates dirt, but I can vouch for that, others say it lasts longer than regular lines, but I can't vouch for that either.

There are plenty of good lines out there. Buy a decent one from a known manufacturer and you shouldn't have a problem.

HTH.


BTW, follow Tim's advice (above) about cleaning your line and it should last you for a good many fishing trips.

 

[gfen]

Leave it in your car in the sun year round, or on the rod rigged under a snowfall on your roof, and generally fish the hell out of it for a year and it'll end up looking like that.

(i have no idea if that'll share right or not)