Simple repair for cracked-in-half fly line?

[jdaddy]

outsider wrote:
I swear I don't know how a fly line could be in that condition in that period of time. I take care of my lines and they last for decades, with constant use.

When I get home, I pull the line through a soft tissue in both directions. Always a dark residue on the tissue. Then I pull the line through a Cortland cleaning/dressing pad.

Tonight I cleaned 2 lines that were used this past weekend. One was a 444 that probably is 30 years old. The other ia a 444SL, almost as old. Not a crack on them, and they still float great.

On the flip side some people would have a higher utility for their time and find replacing a line every 5 years to be acceptable. It's clear that you enjoy these habits you have formed.

 

[outsider]

Enjoy it? Not really. I was taught to take care of equipment, and it will take care of you. It takes a whole 2 minutes to properly care for a line.

 

[buffalo7]

Send it back to the factory and ask them to recoat it. If it was double taper you could turn it around.

 

[gfen]

Its funny, I actually have no issue with the line, except for where a few hunks fell out.. I've also kept that line in generally good shape, but its now being reduced to fulltime car duty.

I guess I just pound on it harder than I realized. Also, the worst damage is isolated to about 20' in the middle, I need to pull line out and see just where that hangs to figure out what did it.

I now must refuse to retire this line because I'm contrary.

Wonder if SA would refund me, though. That's not a bad thought at all...

 

[nymphingmaniac]

I don't understand this conversation/thread.
The line is damaged beyond use. A new one can be as low as 10.00 (although I wouldn't pay less than 30 for a line)

 

[pete41]

I don't understand this conversation/thread.

O.P. having fun--but some nuggets show up.

 

[whheff]

Do you have any Softex? You can give that a try.

 

[Squaretail]

I now must refuse to retire this line because I'm contrary.

Now you're leaving the flyfishing behind and moving on to something else.
Be careful where you wade Gfen. Be very careful.

 

[pete41]

Well,if its only the middle that's in really bad shape make a couple or one shooting head out of it.Just whats needed for the LL and all those brookie streams.90 foot dry fly casts should let you catch something or somebody.

 

[buffalo7]

nymphingmaniac wrote:
A new one can be as low as 10.00 (although I wouldn't pay less than 30 for a line)

I'll sell you a $10.00 line for $30.00 anytime you want one. I've been useing a $12.95 line from Wal mart. I'm useing it to find what line weight to use on a rod I built on an unlabeled blank. It's Cortland Fairplay. It's not to bad for the price.

 

[gfen]

Squaretail wrote:

I now must refuse to retire this line because I'm contrary.

Now you're leaving the flyfishing behind and moving on to something else.
Be careful where you wade Gfen. Be very careful.

Being cheap? Man, I'm an expert in that field.

-shrug-

I'll replace it next year, its spending its final year relegated to roasting it a car, though. If I can find small enough heat shrink, that's the answer. Failing that, probably some flexament under thread, with a touch on top.

 

[MKern]

Aren't lines only rated for 200 hours of fishing.

To make a line last more than 5 years is amazing, IMO.

I always thought that was a "every couple of years" expense.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

agreed mike. The line ages even more quickly if you like to strip streamers and throw heavy nymph rigs.
I should probably replace mine every year, but I am too cheap and do so every other year because I fish three lines- mostly two different ones.

I stand by my comments. a 10.00 line does not match the quality of a 30-50.00 line.
I noticed you said "I'm useing it to find what line weight to use on a rod I built on an unlabeled blank"
I didn't see a reference to you taking it with you on that weekend trip to remote location and using it regularly on the stream.

 

[gfen]

nymphingmaniac wrote:
I stand by my comments. a 10.00 line does not match the quality of a 30-50.00 line.

You sure about that? I'm not up on modern manufacturing processes, but I'm willing to lay down a good assumption this is all offshored anyways and when that giant machine isn't turning out line for Company A, it turns out like for Company Z.

Maybe it lacks fancy stuff like AST HyperFloatZipAssist formulation, but the whole of fly fishin' existed for many years without alot of that stuff.

The cheap lines by guys like Allen, Hook and Hackle, LL Bean, Cabela's and the like show us someone is getting this stuff for cheaper, to say nothing of the companies that sell factory seconds for $10 per, which I'd been tempted to do more than a few times.

IMNSHO, the difference between a $10 Walmart Cortland line, a $30 Cabela's Cortland, and a $40 flyshop Cortland line are probably minimal, after all taper is taper and lots of people still seek out stuff like AirCel and swear by it versus "modern" lines.

And the performance benefit between a $40 Cortland line and a $100 Sharkskin line aren't ground breaking enough for this guy to care about.

 

[pete41]

I suspect many oldsters would agree that the longevity factor of fly lines seemed to decrease over the past half century-slicker finishes,yes-longer life ,don't think so.I agree with Gfen on this.
Prices up,quality down.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

"And the performance benefit between a $40 Cortland line and a $100 Sharkskin line aren't ground breaking enough for this guy to care about."
You won't get an argument form me about this point. Not different enough to justify the price. I think they are different, just not worth the extra $

I do differ on 10 versus 40 lines though

 

[MKern]

I too think the difference between a $10 line and a $40 line are great.

However, the difference between a $40 line and a $100 line are minimal when it come to fishability.

 

[outsider]

pete41 wrote:
I suspect many oldsters would agree that the longevity factor of fly lines seemed to decrease over the past half century-slicker finishes,yes-longer life ,don't think so.I agree with Gfen on this.
Prices up,quality down.

You may be correct. I have a 444 that is outlasting the old original Orvis CFO that it's on. The gears are worn on the reel but the line has no cracks and floats.

 

[buffalo7]

nymphingmaniac wrote:
I didn't see a reference to you taking it with you on that weekend trip to remote location and using it regularly on the stream.

I'd use it anytime, I never found a line that lived up to its claims. All the floating lines, the maker will just about tell you it's unsinkable. I never had a line yet that wouldn't go under at the tip when useing a weighted nymph in a good current, but sometimes I feel that's to my advantage, it helps get the fly down. fishing dry flies, I never had a line pull my fly under. The only time I had a line that I stuck with was back in the either Cortland 333 or 444, or Scientific Anglers Aircel or Aircel Supreme days, I used Aircel Supreme. I always got a couple years on it than turn it around being double taper. Sometimes it would look like gfen's line before I turned it around. I just about lived on the trout stream back than, so it was used hard. I do live on the trout stream now and don't fish as mutch as I did then.

 

[littlelehigh]

next year when Allen lines are 20 beans each instead of 10 your gonna be kickin yourself.

FWIW I didn't even notice her legs was to busy admiring her chest errr shirt