SA Mastery Series - Trout

I have usually used Cortland 444 lines. This fall my 4 wt DT died after 6 or 7 years of hard work. I needed to get a new line and could not find a local shop that had a Cortland DT. So I bought a SA Mastery Series - Trout 4 wt DT. I have only fished it once. It cast fine but the tip refused to stay afloat. I cleaned and dried it but after a short while it was down again. A bit of Loon Aquel would float it for a bit, but soon it would go under again. Is this a problem with the SA lines? Was it because it was under 30 degrees? Have I got a bad line or am I just expecting too much? Any insights are appreciated.

David

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Originally Posted by djo

I have usually used Cortland 444 lines. This fall my 4 wt DT died after 6 or 7 years of hard work. I needed to get a new line and could not find a local shop that had a Cortland DT. So I bought a SA Mastery Series - Trout 4 wt DT. I have only fished it once. It cast fine but the tip refused to stay afloat. I cleaned and dried it but after a short while it was down again. A bit of Loon Aquel would float it for a bit, but soon it would go under again. Is this a problem with the SA lines? Was it because it was under 30 degrees? Have I got a bad line or am I just expecting too much? Any insights are appreciated.

David

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Take it back and get some Rio Selective Trout or Gold. You won't regret it.

My guess is that when you were fishing the very tip of the line where you snipped it to tie on a nail-knot or whatever knot you used, absorbed water up into the core and that caused it to sink. Also since you mentioned the cold, the water that wicked up the core from the unsealed end may have frozen inside, causing it to sink even faster.

Solution, Get some brush-on super glue or sally hansens hard as nails or whatever and seal that tip up. Make sure it is completely dry before sealing it of course otherwise you just trapped moitsture inside the tip of the line.

The line tip should float fine after that, if not send it back and get a replacement.

You would expect tip sinkage from an old floating line but not a new one like yours.

Good Luck!

djo;
You're not "doing anything wrong, or expecting too much", when a brand new fly line performs the way you've described it. Temperature, has nothing to do with a tip section "sinking right away", either.

I've had the same, exact, problems with two Mastery IV lines I own; one, a WF/5/F, the other a WF/6/F.

I don't know, if it has something to do with SA's quality control or, what really. I also have a Mastery DT/5/F that's quite old and it floats like a cork, without my doing a thing to it. Always has. So does my Mastery III, WF/5/F.
I've never cut any of these lines, (although, that's a very good point Flyandtie1 made!), as I always use slip on braided loops, as soon as any line comes from the box, before it goes onto a reel.

Of course, I clean all my lines, on a regular basis, but still.................. my two newer, Matery IV lines, (the WF-5 and WF-6), won't stay afloat very long!? About 10-15 casts and "down they go"! VERY maddening as I'm sure you already know!

I, agree, take the line back and switch for a Rio Gold or even for an AirFlo 7000. Both, are excellent lines and I, personally, like them better than any of my Mastery lines, even my older ones.

Paul :D

Another thing I just remembered, depending on what knot your using, how many wraps, and what pound test, can drag a fly line down with 5 wraps of a heavy pound test. Especially with the thinner lighter lines.

Also with loops, dependig on what glue you use and the amount, that can make tips sink. For an example if you put epoxy on a fly it will sink a whole lot faster than if it had no epoxy on it.

Good Luck!

P.s. Never had any experience with the Rio selective trout, only the Rio Grand and the tip did not sink for a while.

I usually use Rio Selective Trout DT on my 4 weight rods.
Unable to find one locally, I have used a TT line (not impressed... sank), In fact, I bought zapagap on their recommendation, & sealed the tip... still not a floating line.
an SA Ultra IV that sank first cast... SA, through the kindness of their customer service department, replaced it with the Mastery Trout line. Although, I haven't fished it yet, it does claim to have a "floating tip" being sealed with a loop. I usually remove factory loops but this one is small & tight...
sorry to read that this line may be like my recent experiences with spendy lines that do not perform.
I'm waiting to try it out... meanwhile, got a lead on a nice Rio ST DT 4 (unfortunately in chartreuse)....
Later,
an Oregonian

Count me in the other 50% that always has a different opinion.

I have been using Sci Anglers Mastery Trout lines in a double taper ever since Rio discontinued my beloved Classic with the Lumilux coating. I have NO complaints with the Mastery Trout so far except I would LOVE it in white with a Streamlined Loop on both ends.

I can tell you that ALL fly line brands I ever used benefited from use and breaking in to soften the "fresh from the box" coating. I can also tell you that when the water and air temps are cold and the line coating subsequently gets cold; weird things can happen. My best floating lines always act weird when it's cold possibly because the slightly coiled lines "bend" under the surface. When it's warmer and the lines are softer; they float better.

Also; I leave on the small "Streamlined Loop" because I like it. There are as many different opinions of whether water can actually wick up into the tip of a cut fly line as there are opinions of everything in fly fishing. I personally think that if ANY water wicks up; it's as negligible as the added weight of adding glue or anything else to seal the end.

Your mileage may vary...