Recently one of our club members, Les, sent an email to Bruce Richards of Scientific Anglers/3M (printed with the permission of both parties).
Hi Bruce,
My question is whether it’s a good idea to store infrequently used fly lines in my freezer? I heard somewhere that the lubricant weeps out of fly lines at room temperature and over time the amount decreases and eventually causing the lines to become brittle as they deteriorate. Storing them in the freezer seems like a way to stop the leaching action. What does SA think?
Les
Hi Les,
I’m glad you enjoyed the classes, it is a fascinating subject. Is storing fly lines in refrigerator or the freezer is a good idea.
Plasticizers do leach from lines as they age, and the warmer they are the faster it happens. If stored cold, they will last a lot longer then we will!
Bruce
Bruce Richards
Scientific Anglers/3M
Having read this, I had a thought and I needed to check with Bruce to get his permission to print this information in a newsletter and on some fly fishing websites, I called Bruce. I asked him if the fly lines were frozen would there be any danger in cracking them when you first removed them. The answer is No. The lines are not going to crack. I guess I should have known this since I am one of those people who will fly fish when the air temperature is near the Zero mark and the water temperature is just below freezing.
By the way, I mentioned to Bruce that I was glad Scientific Anglers/3M was a Sponsor of FAOL. Never hurts to mention that to the sponsors.
[SIZE=4]So, going to store your lines for a long period? Put them in the refrigerator or freezer. [/SIZE]
who’s bruce richards?? pr man?? scientist?? does sa have any actual test results of freezing fly lines?? his answer says “cold”. well, how cold is cold?? 40 degrees is cold, 32 degrees is frozen! at what rate do the plastisizers leach from the line??
Thanks for posting that Sagefisher. Good to know. Another excuse for steelheading… “Honey, I’d love to go with you to visit your mother but I have to chill down my fly line. Listen you can hear the plasticizers leaking (makes hissing sound).”
Peregrines’s quote: "“Honey, I’d love to go with you to visit your mother but I have to chill down my fly line. Listen you can hear the plasticizers leaking (makes hissing sound).”.
I have a feeling, Peregrines, that if you try that one, you’ll be able to preserve ALL your fly lines at one time… merely tell your bride that one, then simply lay your lines, on the bedsheets, between you and her that night. You’ll have NO PROBLEM with the fly lines dropping down to the “below freezing mark”, in very short order!!
Please, let us know how it works!?!
This from an “Old Plastic’s Guy” (:rolleyes:)! Ever notice the film that builds up on the inside of your car windows even though you don’t smoke! There is a lot of vinyl used in auto interiors and that film is the plasticizer leeching out while it’s parked in the hot sun at Wally World!!
Hey Jack, my vehicle sits at wally world almost every day, ( cause I like work there…lol)
and I ain’t had no problems with my SA line… then again, I ain’t looki’n for none…
ive already got to much stuff in their. my mom would probably throw them away. but it sounds like a good idea. i wouldnt freeze a extra spool will line i hardly use. it might be a good idea for me if i get a line i dont plan on using for a while to throw it in their untill i get ready to use it.
I never have a problem leaving my lines in the car even during our 100+ degree Texas summers because there is always so much slime and dirt and muck and schmutz on my lines that the lubricants couldn’t leech out even if they wanted to.
I’ll bet that’s not too good for the lines either, huh?
Joe
—sagefisher—
