line cleaning

What is the best way to clean my line?

Thanks alot
Chris Radding

I use Armorall cleaning wipes to remove dirt and grime, and then use Armorall protectant wipes to finish the job. This seems to work well.

Andrew

Mild soap (not detergent) like Ivory liquid and water. Rinse well, dry with a clean dry cloth. Dress with any of the available commercial line dressings (I've used Loon, Wulff and SA, all worked fine) If you have an Orvis Wonderline or an SA w/AST, the mfr used to recommend against dressing, just clean them. Both companies now sell a product specially designed for these lines, but I haven't tried either one.

Taking care of your lines will keep them in good shape for years. I have some lines that are 10 years old and still OK. The ones I use a lot (50-60 outings/year) still last for at least three seasons. When I fish highly alkaline water (spring creeks, some lakes) I always rinse the line with cool tap water as soon as possible (assuming the tap water is not itself alkali, of course) Take care not to leave them in the car on a hot, sunny day. That film you notice on the inside of your your car windows is from the plastic on your dash. The same thing happens to a fly line exposed to intense heat, the plastic coating breaks down.

After I am done fishing for the day,I wipe the fly line with a sudsy cloth rag, as I pull the line off the reel into a bucket with warm (not hot) clean water.

I then rewind the line, running it through a clean dry terry cloth towel.

I let the line air dry before placing the rod/reel assemble into a rod container. I do not close the rod container for a couple of days if the rod will be going into storage.

If the rod is going into storage, I will wipe the line, after it is completely dry, with a manufacturer's recommended line treated pad (on a clean line, the pads last a for a couple of line cleanings).

Manufacturer's recommend their cleaner, because it was made specially for their line.
I do not use line cleaner on my car, so why should I use car cleaner (Armorall on my fly line?).

~Parnelli

The late Leon Chandler, "Mr. Cortland" wrote a terrific piece for us a couple of years ago on line care: [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/begin/101/linecare.html:6a2b2]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/begin/101/linecare.html[/url:6a2b2]

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

thanks for the advise. You guys (and girls) are a ton of help. Basically i wash it with soap and water, then i dress it with a manufactured coating. i will do that a soon as i can get around to it.

Thanks again

Chris

Hey Steven,

Steve, I don't understand your apparant disdain four using Armor All products to clean and protect lines. Don't think of Armoral as just a car care product, look at its wider uses. Heck, if we thought feathers we just to used to cover birds, or tinsel was just for Christmas trees, we'd be missing out on a lot of great flies.

Cheers,
Andrew

Andrew,

The Armor All question comes up periodically in various discussion boards.

Here are links to an article and following bb thread on this question from a few years ago.

[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/ldy/ldy110501.html:8bfdc]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/ldy/ldy110501.html[/url:8bfdc]
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/001812.html:8bfdc]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/001812.html[/url:8bfdc]

I've heard reps from Rio and S.A. recommend against using armor all and similar products to clean their lines and I believe the late Leon Chandler said the same for Cortland lines.

[This message has been edited by tailingloop (edited 27 February 2005).]

Steve,

It looks like I owe all here an apology. After reading the articles suggested by Tailingloop I have a new found understanding as to why one should NOT use Armor All products to clean and protect flylines.

Thanks, Tailingloop, for providing me with that information.

And Steve, I stand corrected. Thank you for the advice given in this thread. I guess this dog needs to learn a few new tricks.

Andrew

I've used just about everything to clean my fly lines. The worst luck I've had is with the SA cleaning pads. Basically, those just grind the dirt into the fly line and tear off the finish. Cleaners seem to work ok, like glide and armor all, but they don't seem to get the line clean. The best by far for me is mild soap and warm water and a soft rag. It gets as much or more dirt off as any other method without grinding it into the plastic coating. After washing I rinse the line really well 3 or 4 times, filling a sink w/ clean water and draining. The thing about soap is if you don't get it all off it will attract dirt worse than the line itself. Once the line is clean I let it dry for an hour or so then apply Russ Peak's or SA or glide dressing and wipe off the excess. I find that if I'm religious about doing this every time or two I go fishing the line lasts about 50% longer than it would if I used any other method of care.

I encourage you to try different methods to see what works best for you. It may be that the conditions you fish under are different than mine and you may find another method works better.

Good luck,

-John