What Line ?

[ELKHUNTER]

I will be picking up my first bamboo rod shorty. It is a 5/6 wt and I will be fishing mostly dries. I have a Cortland 444 classic line I can use with it but I thought I would ask those of you with more experience with bamboo what you would recommend.

Rocky

[nowindknots]

Sylk works great for me.

Jim

[Fly Goddess]

I have a 7 ft Battenkill 4wt. and I agree with Sylk. I also like the way Orvis Superfine loads up on it, but the Sylk is a little less money and works fantastic. Personally I prefer WF over DT or TT on my boo. Tried both but, the WF loads up much nicer.
What kind of Boo did you get?

[Photojoe4]

I've heard wonderful things about the Sylk lines (as well as the SILK lines), but have yet to try them. The Cortland 444 seems to work well for me. I use a DT 6wt on my 9' Monty, and it casts real nice. Course, now I'm gonna have whole bunch of rods to try out lines on, so I may be changing my opinion here shortly

Regards,
Joe Martin
Salem, OR

[ELKHUNTER]

Fly Goddess I am buying a Horrock's Ibbotson "Beaverkill" from akalooker. It was just too hard to resist. This will be my first bamboo rod and I can't wait to try it out. My next purchase ( I hope ) is going to be one of Chris McDowell's Blitzen River Rod Company bamboo rods. With any luck I will have the money saved up and have the rod before next spring rolls around.

Rocky

[Fly Goddess]

I am not familiar with Chris McDowell's Blitzen River Rod Company bamboo rods.
I have however heard of "H. I". A little heavier bamboo, but from what I have read, put a heavier reel to balance it out and you will probably like it.

[Jonezee]

PhotoJoe - When you get your lot, I would be interested in purchasing one of your surplus rods. I sold and old Monty years ago and wish I still had it. I am looking for somthing that will throw a 7 or 8 wt line and be suited for larger flies.

I use Cortland 444 peach WF on an 8 ft Irish bamboo rod and am very happy with it. I have some vintage level silk lines that I experiment with and of course they do no perform like the new lines IMO. And then again, it all depends on the circumstance. Good luck, Jonezee

[Avalon]

Dear Elkhunter,

You can do alot worse than Cortland 444 "Classic" on your bamboo rods.

It's all I have ever used on mine and I have been happy with it. I have tried the Cortland Sylk and liked it as well, but I haven't replaced a good old peach colored line with it yet.

Best Wishes,
Avalon

[tea stick]

I have never fished the Cortland 444 classic with bamboo yet but intend to make it my next fly line. I've heard good things about it and for what it's worth, it's John Gierach's favorite line with boo, so you'll be with some pretty good company.

As for the Cortland sylk lines, most people seem very pleased with their sylk lines but some people report having bad experiences. It seems that they do very well with cool conditions but not so well when the temps heat up a bit. I would still consider one if I planed to fish in a cool climate and and cold water.

My $.02 worth

[spike-2]

FWIW, I've used the Sylk on my 3wt Montaque and was suprised how well it did even in a little wind. My local shop owner suggested it as a favorite of the guys in our area using Bamboo.
Dave