I usually soak them in some warm sudsy water, rinse and follow up by running them through a commercial ‘line dressing’ tool(two felt blocks in a little plastic case.)
The problem I am having is that there is still a lot of gunk on the line. They seem to get clean only on the top and bottom that are in direct contact with the felt pads. The sides still show a lot of grime.
These particular lines are of a light color, maybe they just show more dirt? The lines in question are RIO Windcutter brand and are light yellow in color.
My wash/rinse is like yours but I then hang the line between a couple of trees in the back yard and work it over with a terry cloth towel. This gets rid of most anything the wash/rinse cycles missed.
I find the bulk packs of cosmetic discks at wally world,To be much better than my stupid little green box thinger…ya might want to check them out…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
When I do a real job on my lines (like this afternoon), … terry clothes or any rags will do for the cleaning.
I use the green box thingy just as an applicator for the Glide. A while later, … I’ll buff the line (seeing as I finally read the instructions on the bottle )
Sorry Castwell, I had no idea that writting barbed sarcastic comments was so time consuming.
If only you had the time to read my query more carefully you would have noticed that it specifically asked for a method to clean the gunk off of the sides, not just the top and bottom of a fly line. Information I was unable to find in the archives.
My thanks to those who took the time to share their kowledge and posted useful information. I will try the terry cloth or cosmetic sponges…It’s this sharing of knoweldge and experiance that makes FOAL such an inmportant resource to me.
I clean my lines with soap and water then i use glide line dressing. After you wash them put the glide on I use a piece of flannel to apply it let sit a couple of hours and them take the flannel and rmove it repeat the glide again if needed. Glide really works I have tried others like russ peaks never had good luck withit but this glide I have and it doesn’t get the build up after time.
The last time I tried to help somebody I got my “toot” in the ringer butI’ll be more specific this time around…
Maybe there’s better ways…I’m a bit slow…but SA sells this little bottle of “stuff” including a pad.
Ya put the stuff on the pad, draw yer line through it (which means ya fold the pad around the line…works well on “round” lines…sorry Ken…couldn’t help but do that…) then draw said line through a clean cloth.
That’s it. Doesn’t matter which way ya face either :-)) G
Jeremy. …with due respect to ALL posters, this was meant tongue-in-cheek so if ya git offended I don’ wanna hear 'bout it! But…it works!
Kengore,
Interesting that you are having trouble with a Rio line. I have a Rio line (Rio Grande I think it is called that I also can’t seem to get “clean” It remains discolored despite trying most of the things described above.
It seems to work OK but looks kinda gross. I don’t seem to have this problem with my SA lines.
Regards,
Keith
“Time’s fun when you’re having flies.” Kermit the Frog
I happen to have a round railing around my deck…you can figure out something else …but I run my lines back and forth from railing to railing and accomplish two things at once…stretch the line tautly and secure to remove memory… then walk back and forth along the line doing your favorite cleaning method.
On one side of the SA cleaning system is a micro-abrasive pad. Run the line through this several times to ‘sand’ off the grime and worn out surface coating. Then apply the silicon dressing. Or Glide. Or whatever you prefer.
If your line is still dirty, or heaven forbid ‘gross’ looking, it’s because it’s wearing. They lose their color (look at the color of line that rarely gets used compared to the front 30’). Quickly too if used heavily. They start to crack during this color loss. Real small ones, at first, that the dirt gets trapped in. One reason why it looks dirty. Then they age further to the point being ‘brittle’ and the cracks go to the core. Time for a new line at this point.
Plastic lines don’t last forever.
William
[This message has been edited by inland (edited 31 August 2005).]
I use Rio Square Lines exclusively and as per THEIR recommendation found in the instructions that come with the line; I wash my lines with plain soap WITHOUT detergent. I wet a sponge with warm water and soap it up with Ivory bar soap and pull the working section of the line through the folded sponge about three times then once through a sponge with water only. I then pull the line through a clean rag to dry it.
Also as per their instructions I then apply a THIN coat of Poo Goo which is a 100% silicone floatant with a rag. I do this after EACH use. It takes me about 10 minutes start to finish and my lines look great, shoot great and float like a cork.
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