drumat26
Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2013
- Messages
- 133
How often should I change my fly line? I use my 5wt almost exclusively anymore but I do have a 6wt and 4wt that I use in different situations. Thanks in advance?
afishinado
Moderator
Staff member
If a line is stored properly, fly lines usually fail from use, for the most part. A fly line that begins to show cracks and does not float well are signs it needs to be replaced.
The 4 & 6 wt lines that are older, but not used very much may very well still be usable.
F
Fishidiot
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2006
- Messages
- 9,960
Good advice above regarding cracks and floating.^
Nevertheless. . .I think it depends to some degree on your own philosophy about gear. I use stuff till it's threadbare (except waders, I can't stand leaky waders) and find I get adequate use far past the point that many anglers would have replaced the gear. I have lines on my reels that are several years old and I fish 'em hard.
Last summer I had a pro-guide using one of my rods briefly and he shook his head and muttered that the line was shot and needed to be changed. I just chuckled to myself. That line works fine for me - I'll keep it clean and treated and probably get at least another year out of it, maybe two.
Really all depends on your expectations and personal point of view.
Nevertheless. . .I think it depends to some degree on your own philosophy about gear. I use stuff till it's threadbare (except waders, I can't stand leaky waders) and find I get adequate use far past the point that many anglers would have replaced the gear. I have lines on my reels that are several years old and I fish 'em hard.
Last summer I had a pro-guide using one of my rods briefly and he shook his head and muttered that the line was shot and needed to be changed. I just chuckled to myself. That line works fine for me - I'll keep it clean and treated and probably get at least another year out of it, maybe two.
Really all depends on your expectations and personal point of view.
Swattie87
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 5,827
When they get cracked and don't float you now have a free (or at least no additional cost to you beyond its initial purchase as a floating line) sinking streamer rig! I put my beat up lines on my WW or Winter Brookie reels where I'm often fishing subsurface anyway.
L
lestrout
Well-known member
Yo dru
I track my ffishing stats, and macros in my Excel automatically calculate how many hours I put on my lines. I find that the total of ffishing hours is a better metric than the number of years on a line. I am still ffishing lines that are decades old. The plasticizers in the vinyl based lines these days are not as fugitive as some of the oldies.
I get a minimum of 300 hours out of a line, and some are pushing 600 hours.
I track my ffishing stats, and macros in my Excel automatically calculate how many hours I put on my lines. I find that the total of ffishing hours is a better metric than the number of years on a line. I am still ffishing lines that are decades old. The plasticizers in the vinyl based lines these days are not as fugitive as some of the oldies.
I get a minimum of 300 hours out of a line, and some are pushing 600 hours.
