What flyline brand would you go with small stream streamer fishing

[scs_browntrout]

Im going to use a 5wt 7.6 rod fishing the Letort Yellow Breeches Big Spring I have been window shopping I cannot see paying $129 for top brand flyline what ideas do you have going with a wf floating smaller streamers 2 inch and smaller even jig nymphs and lastly leader formula's I will build my own not sure but probably at 6-7 foot starting I guess .015 maxima and taper down not sure if tomput a 3x flouracarbon line to it.


scs

 

[BrookieChaser]

I'd look seriously at Cortland's lines. I bought the cheapest ($40)(true-to-weight) line that I could find for an underlining experiment and I've been impressed with the line.

 

[jeffroey]

Check sierra.com frequently for some unbelievable prices on really fantastic SA line closeouts. I've picked up a number of WF GPX and MPX lines for under $30.

That said, one of my favorite go-to small stream setups is a Barrio Small Stream line - a heavier, shorter WF taper - with a 6' leader base built using a recipe from Joe Humphreys. All the Barrio lines come from the UK shipped express included. They have an Airflo feel for a fraction of the price. They ship fast and really impressive quality and feel - high value IMO.

For the leader base, check out this video: https://youtu.be/L1xo8xVAiao

Look around 2:48. May or may not work for you but it might be a good place to start. There also a longer George Harvey 9' dry fly leader recipe in that same video that works well also. I tie them using maxima ultra green.

 

[scs_browntrout]

jeffroey & BrookieChaser

Thank you for the info!

 

[tomgamber]

For the value, Cortland is hard to beat.

 

[scs_browntrout]

tomgamber wrote:
For the value, Cortland is hard to beat.

What style would you go with? nymph/streamer most of cortland is in the $90 range. I got my eye on Barrio Flyline in the UK.

 

[tomgamber]

https://www.cortlandline.com/products/trout-all-purpose

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/cortland-333-classic-fly-line

check and 333 fly line. Not 90 bucks. You can get 3 of them for that. Personally I like the DTF. Others may suggest a WFF for streamers. I roll cast A LOT.

 

[troutbert]

scs_browntrout wrote:

tomgamber wrote:
For the value, Cortland is hard to beat.

What style would you go with? nymph/streamer most of cortland is in the $90 range. I got my eye on Barrio Flyline in the UK.

Cortland 444 is a real classic fly line. I've had good luck with it. It costs $60.

I buy the double taper, so when one end wears out you just reverse it and essentially get two lines for the cost of one.

I use it for dries, nymphs, streamers, wet flies, everything.

You don't need a special line for streamers vs nymphs vs dries etc.

Just keep the same line on there and make changes at the "business end." I don't even change leaders. I leave the same base leader on there, and just make adjustments to the tippet.

Simplify!!!

And if you have a fly rod longer than 7 1/2 foot, I recommend using that instead of the short rod.

 

[afishinado]

troutbert wrote:

scs_browntrout wrote:

tomgamber wrote:
For the value, Cortland is hard to beat.

What style would you go with? nymph/streamer most of cortland is in the $90 range. I got my eye on Barrio Flyline in the UK.

Cortland 444 is a real classic fly line. I've had good luck with it. It costs $60.

I buy the double taper, so when one end wears out you just reverse it and essentially get two lines for the cost of one.

I use it for dries, nymphs, streamers, wet flies, everything.

You don't need a special line for streamers vs nymphs vs dries etc.

Just keep the same line on there and make changes at the "business end." I don't even change leaders. I leave the same base leader on there, and just make adjustments to the tippet.

Simplify!!!

And if you have a fly rod longer than 7 1/2 foot, I recommend using that instead of the short rod.

I do the same as TB ^ (but my do-it-all line preference is WF)

For trout fishing, I use the same line and leader butt (I make my own furled leaders) and just change out the business end to tight-line or Indy nymph, or fish dries, wets or streamers.

I can easily change over to any technique without carrying or going back to my vehicle to change line, leaders, reels or spools or even rods.

KISS principle for me too.

It leads to greater versatility on the stream, more fish in the long-run, as well as more fun fishing and less fussing around.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear scs,

My suggestion to you is similar to others you have received. I like Cortland lines, a lot.

I would look at Hook and Hackle.com for lines. They often run specials and while I cannot tell you I know this to be true, many people say the Hook and Hackle branded lines are the same as the Cortland 444 Classic lines, just in a more muted somber color than Cortland's peach color.

I have probably a dozen or so reels spooled with Cortland 444 "peach" and Hook and Hackle line and I can tell you for practical purposes that the lines are pretty much interchangeable regards of which rod I am using. They both just work.

You need a $ 100.00 fly line for trout fishing even less than you need an $ 80,000 F-350 to get to the stream.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Fly-Swatter]

You need a $ 100.00 fly line for trout fishing even less than you need an $ 80,000 F-350 to get to the stream.


scs

So true! :lol:

 

[moon1284]

I use DT lines almost exclusively, but i do not like them for streamers. I prefer a gpx type taper. I also don't like to fish streamers on anything less than a 7 wt.

However this winter I fished letort when it was off color and used sparse muddlers in size 8 and 10 and 444sl dt5f worked well on a glass 8' 5wt. That was almost exclusively roll casting. To me its not really a streamer until its size 4 or bigger.

I'd still say get a gpx type taper.

 

[bigjohn58]

Believe it or not I've been using a lot of the cheap ebay lines. When they stop floating or get cracked I just buy another one. Affordable to replace whenever need be. If its being used in small streams with lots of cover the line is going to get ruined fairly quick from my experience.

 

[Bamboozle]

scs_browntrout: Pick whatever brand fly line you like, but I've fished streamers on the named streams a million times and never felt the need for anything other than a regular tapered DT or WF line, especially on the Letort where you won't be slinging a whole lot of line.

I'd start my leader with a heavier butt section, like .019 or .020, keep it short (6 -7 feet) and use a short 3X or even heavier tippet and you'll be fine.

 

[falcon]

Purchased a Cortland 4wt 444 Modern Trout WF 4 for 60.00 and free shipping. The line is .5 heavy for a faster 4wt rod (it will cast a true wt but slightly heavy is better). Great line profile with a long rear taper for loop stabilization. Recommended.

 

[bigjohn58]

falcon wrote:
Purchased a Cortland 4wt 444 Modern Trout WF 4 for 60.00 and free shipping. The line is .5 heavy for a faster 4wt rod (it will cast a true wt but slightly heavy is better). Great line profile with a long rear taper for loop stabilization. Recommended.

I had that exact line in 6wt. It somehow snapped in half my first day of use and right out of the box would not float. They did cover it under warranty but even after sliming it up with floatant it still would only float for 2 or 3 casts. I ended up getting their peach double tapered line in the warranty. If you look at reviews I wasn't the only one who experienced the sinking problem. I double checked the line box and it was weight forward floating.

 

[falcon]

The breaking issue must be due to defect. I did hear of floating issues but I have not experienced it. We will see as the line gets more use if floating is a problem.