I?m looking for opinions on who make the best fly line dressing to improve the lines shootability?
Thanks,
DickM.
What have you tried and how did it work?
I?ve tried Glide, SA?s, Lazer and Russ Peak?s formulas so far. I find that I like Glide the best but am always looking for options for more shootability.
DickM.
Dear Dick,
I kind of like Kraft “Zesty Italian”, I tried Marie Callanders “Chunky Blue Cheese” but it made a big mess. :lol:
Seriously though, I have tried a number of line cleaner/dressing products and my favorite so far is the Umpqua Glide. It comes as a kit with a small blue plastic box with felt pads and a bottle of Glide cleaner. You apply the Glide to the felt pads and close the box around your fly line and reel it through the cleaner.
I used to use a product by a company called Wilson Creek that worked great but I can no longer find it. It came in a small bottle similar to what Gink comes in and it was pale blue in color. You just put a dab or two on a felt pad and ran your line through it. It worked great, but like I said I can’t find it anymore.
I don’t do the thorough cleaning as often as I should so in the meantime I just use those pre-treated felt pads that come with Cortland fly lines. I think they do a more than adequate job of getting the major crud off your line and improving it’s floatability and castibility.
Best Wishes,
Avalon 
“Zipcast” isn’t bad but it has to be put on again after a few times on the water.
I have and still only used Glide. If it ain’t broke…
i like POO GOO…
Wilson Creek Greased Lightning, Cabela’s still sells it…Tried glide with the line box…tried pretty much all I could find…wilson and SA AST lines are what I think make for the smoothest shooting line possible…just my Opinion though…
Some swear by Armor all…Truthfully… I’ve not tried it…but wilson creek looks like it’s nothing more than Armor all with a light blue dye added…smell’s like it too.
Ah yea, the old Armoural thing again Not on my line you won’t! :shock:
Give Zipcast a try, I do believe you will like it. It has no silicone therefore your line never gets gummy or sticky. Teflon is part of the ingredients and that is what makes your line very slick. Yes you do have to reapply every other or every outing depending on the type of water you are fishing, but a little goes along way and it is very easy to apply.
Dot
Another vote for Zipcast. Nothing I’ve ever tried makes a line cast better and farther than it does.
Joe
Maybe this is a dumb question but:
How often do folks that use ANY line dressing expect it to last; a whole season? It IS something that is ON the line, not necessarily IN it so it HAS to wear off EVENTIALLY; doesn’t it? That water we fish in may have something to do with it.
Those pesky dry flies I love to fish don’t float as great as I always want them to unless I dry them and re-apply floatant; sometimes after EVERY fish.
I don’t use any “shooting aids” on my lines but I do clean them after every outing 'cause I don’t expect them to stay clean and high floating all season with one cleaning.
Maybe it’s a bit of a pain doing the cleaning or the Zip Cast thing but at $50-$60 a pop; I think it’s worth it to spend 5 minutes or less cleaning or treating the 50% or less of the fly line you use after each trip so it performs the way it should.
JMHO
I have tried several products and settled on “Silicone Mucelin” green label not red label. It is a paste with a felt applicator disc. It allows me to make 20’ longer casts and outstanding roll casts. It does this by making the line to sit on the surface not float near the surface. It does this by surface tension not the density of the line. Cabelas, Dan Bailey, Little River Outfitters (Towndsend TN) and others have supply. Remember only get the green label silicone version
Tom
And yet another vote for Zip Cast! I for one clean my line at least daily when fishing. When reeling in the last cast of the day 
I clean/treat the line with Zip Cast and the next day I am ready to go!
I have used Glide, Renew and a few other cleaners/dressings, but none seem as slick as Zip Cast.
Albolene hands down. Use it on dry flies and the fly line. That stuff will float a lug-nut. $12.00 gets you a lifetime supply. Use it on my hands in the winter to shed water. Once greased the orelocks on my boat with it. Lasted all summer.
fishbum
I have been pleased with Glide. Somehow I came across some of SA’s line cleaner and it seems to work well also. I may be anal, but I clean and condition my line after every outing.
Another vote for Zip Cast. I’ve tried every line cleaner I’ve ever found, and nothing is quicker and easier to use. It takes me two minutes to treat a line with Zip Cast, and it is so quick and easy, I actually do use it each time I put my gear away for the day. No buffing, rinsing, or mess involved. Just hold the rod butt with the reel still attached while stripping the line off the reel as you pinch a pad saturated with Zip Cast on the line. I strip the line on to the tailgate of my truck, and then reel the line back in while pinching the line with the other side of the pad. It only takes three or four drops of Zip Cast on a 1 inch pad to do the whole line. It doesn’t matter if it only lasts a day or two, as I clean the line after each day of fishing. Sure is nice to start the day with a clean. slick line every time!
Zip Cast can be purchased from the following FAOL sponsor:
i’m different than everybody else i love the loon kit with fast cast and streamside cleaner with the sheepskin pad that velcros to the rod grip.
love that stuff improves shootability tremendously even on my mastery series gpx sa line
I like the Glide but I feel the Kusse performs better.
Not to Hijack a thread, but a question that goes with it. When you dress your fly line do you consider that cleaning it? For me, cleaning it involves a mild soap and water solution and a rag with a little bit of surface texture to it. Then I dress my line. Am I going too far. Should I simply dress the line and call it a day?