I personally have noticed a difference. I’ve got two of the Sage Performance Taper II’s and I love 'em. I got the first one to replace an older line and the first day I fished it I was blown away. They have a long rear taper so they shoot well, but also mend and roll cast like a dream. Went back a couple of weeks later for another to go on the 5 wt. I haven’t weighed them, but the fly shop told me it’s a standard weight line.
One other thing. I believe a CLEAN inexpensive line will outperform a DIRTY expensive line. I have now been cleaning my lines every few trips and it makes a big difference.
I always say, It’s the fly line that makes the “unit” It can make a low end rod feel great and a high end rod feel like crap. Trying to figure out the proper line for your particular rod isn’t always easy but the best thing to start with is the line wt they suggest. I personally prefer DT lines but they are getting harder to find every year. I have my own theory on that, and it has little to do with performance. (It’s all marketing.) Cortland 333 was the gold standard back in the 1950s- the early 60s. They were the leaders in fly line. It’s still a very serviceable line. So depending on when you gave up fly fishing way back when, you may be very happy with something in that price range. At least that is going to be your benchmark. Then Cortland 444 (DT Classic Peach) came out (in the 60s)…and that was the gold standard and it is still the benchmark line I compare other lines to, now. It’s a good place to start if you don’t have a clue what you like or don’t like but want to take a step up from the lines you were using in the 50s. I still sware by this line, but I am trying many others now, just to see what I like and don’t like about them…and sometimes it’s just what ever the choice was when I needed a new line at that very instant. Fly line choice has gone NUTS in the last few years. Personally, I think it’s just a way to get more market share and yeah…you can feel the differences from one line to the next. It’s mind boggling and everyone has there favorites…but I still think the best place to start is that Cortland 444 Classic price range. Keep in mind the other companys…They all make nice lines in this price range. SA, Rio and AirFlo are all in my arsenal. Brand really doesn’t matter that much, if that is a price mark you are comfortable with. If you don’t have a lot of casting experince with a lot of different lines or equipment, you won’t know one from the next. I can cast the $15 dollar fly lines just fine, but they do feel less satisfying and they break down more quickly than the higher end lines. I like those for practice lines on rods I’m handing to someone else to cast on the grass with. On the other hand, I’ve got a Hook and Hackle Brand fly line on a fly rod I built for my grandson and I like it just fine. In the end, they all catch fish…and if you are on a budget…go with what you can afford. They all work. It’s not the tool that makes one a good fly caster/fish catcher…it’s the skill of person using it. You can cast a broomstick and still catch fish.
Many have mentioned cleaning their lines; I have even invested in a line changing station that allows the line to come off of the reel easily and be replaced easily for cleaning. While fishing from a boat I have adopt a surface casters resource in using a stripping basket. There are just too many places to get the line caught while fishing from a boat. This protects my line from sharp edged etc. Once you get a nice line youi need to take care of it is spot on.
when you fish world class such as myself flyline is the utmost importance…you are getting off easy even at $65 per line…try sharkskin line at $100 a pop…when fishing becomes truly important the small amount of money spent on lines does even come to a drop in the bucket…even with the simplist of fish I could never used such cheap line…you are robbing yourself and the experience…it the same as having a ferrari and complaining the tires are too expensive…I guess it goes back to what you are trying to accomplish on the water…you can only get out what you put in so to speak…BTW I never clean my flyline…for one thing it seems to help it deterorate faster in the sun and 2ndly the water is gin clear
If I lived where you do bonefish I would be buying the Sharkskin too. Around my place, there’s no point. I sware the water eats fly line here, like it etches the bottom of my canoe. I also don’t have to cast much further than 60 ft at the outside so high performance isn’t something I need to pay for.
Hopefully I’ll get the boss off his hiney in the winter and we’ll get down to the warm weather for a couple of months someday… I’m still dreaming I think. :roll:
Then I’ll need to worry about pounding out those long casts.
Well, I just returned from 3 days in the eastern Sierras and now understand why so many of you said that more expensive line is worth the extra cost. After reading all of your responses, I bought a Cortland 444 WF5 line and it definately was worth the extra $30 (particularly with a gasoline bill of $130). It lifts off the water quite easily and mends easily as well. I’ll use my cheap line for back yard practice and the Cortland when it counts. Now, if only I could figure out how to cast into strong winds!
Mato, ‘high performance’ also means half the effort to make any cast. Right, the effort to make a twenty foot cast with a regular will line will produce a thirty foot cast or more. I have four of the lines and still have not fished to anything 100 feet away.
With fly line you sure get what you pay for .
Is there a lot of proffit involved in the production of the darn stuff?
Probably enough to disgust us all if we knew how much.
Is the quality of the angling experience worth putting that proffit into some ones pocket
You better believe it.
Any one noticing a patern to many of my threads will come up with the idea that Im a very cost conscious (aka tight).
The least that Ive spent for line was $6.00 for Orvis “Green Mountain” line. Absolutly the worst trash that Ive ever used. Great stuff for tying up tomatoes. Id have been better off getting a six pack of bad beer , cause it would have been less frustraing .
A previous reply mentioned “Shark Skin” line.I got to cast some one day and it was the best line that Ive ever gotten to cast,wonderful stuff. Get some of it if you can afford it.Costs about a hundred bucks and its great stuff (no I cant afford it).
Dont skimp on line 'cause its a bad investment.
Spend the money on the line period. Good line will wake up an average casting rod.
I purchase three rods every season for my clients use, they will be in the mid-range price and I buy the best line I can get. For many years it was Rio, this year I am trying out the Sharkskin, so far so good.
I will put 200 days plus on each of these outfits and I will clean the line a couple times a year, so to say thay see hard use is putting it mildly.
As a side note: I have used the orvis battenkill mid arbor reel on my loaner rods for four years and they are still just fine. (I have never cleaned them)
By the way, the new updated orvis mid arbor will be even better. Have been casting a 10’ 5wt Helios rod, wow! lighter than my scott 4wt. and not tip heavy.
With me it has got to perform and be durable period.
The best thing you could do is take your rod to a good flyshop and cast a few different lines. You will discover you like some lines better than others. Some lines have memory problems that cause them to tangle. Some sink at the tip. Some don’t present the fly with the right amount of force or delicacy. It doesn’t seem to have a lot to do with how much money they cost.
The problem is that the sort of flyshop that will let you try different lines generally won’t sell bargain lines. They tend to sell the > $60 ones.
I am a Rio fan. Not that I can afford them. I fished with a guide the first time in my life…on the famous San Juan. My Cortland Peach kept losing it’s float in the last five feet. Clean it, dress it…and in a little bit it starts sinking in the moving water. The guide said here, put this reel on. It had a 5wt Rio Grande on it…and I fished for 8 hours and it never sank the whole time. The sinking float became a non issue…and I was thinking more about fishing…than my darn line sinking. I am sold on Rio.
It’s fascinating the amount of differing opinion on here. I really find it hard to believe that people are saying that they can’t tell the difference between a $10.49 line and a $60 line! Perhaps if you are fishing with a $10.49 rod you can’t tell the difference… As pointed out by the San Juan-ers: spend the money on a good line and/or look for a good deal on a last year’s model good line and you will spend more time fishing and less time trying to fish (ie managing your cheap line). Save money on waders or flies or clothes but if you can’t get the line to the fish, and therefore the fly, drag free with no mending problems, you are wasting your time.
AZ
You both have it dead on. “I” don’t know how to fish that famous river but my guide knew. I caught fish ALL DAY LONG. One point switched to dry’s and I got a 20" one. I don’t know the reasoning why…but my guide said that was a big one for a dry. Another guide was near us all day. Finally said to my guide how’s it going? I was excited and butted in and said fantastic. I must have caught 35 by now. Come to find out the other guide and his customer had ZERO> I then hooked into one and landed it in front of them. The customer on the bow standing up…his mouth just dropped open…and he never said a single word. Just stood there in dis-belief. My guide then said he wish he had known they had a bad day. He would have just said it’s been a slow day. I said do you San Juan guides have some kind of code to protect each other? He said oh no. They would of stuck it to ME good. He just isn’t that way and would have down played it. Anywhooooo…Bubba…I see in you profile you are indeed a guide on the San Juan. Well, give you one guess why MY guide is no longer available for me to hire. Pls shoot me your business number. I don’t think you were the guide that was doing so poorly. And…you know my guy is never going to be a guide there again.
Sorry for long post friends. Just wanted to say AZCat and Bubba got it right on.
Better line will make a big difference, esp. on rivers like the San Juan, Fryingpan, Taylor, etc. where a drag-free drift is a must.
My best day ever in over 20 years of flyfishing was on the SJ when all of the guides were doing poorly. Not sure why (maybe it was that the nymphs were tied by me and unfamiliar to the fish), but sometimes it is just the smallest thing that can make all of the difference.
Putting cheap line on a good fly rod is like putting re-treds on a Porsche. I’ve always been told, rod first, line second, reel third. At least for trout.
