Would you please give me your opinion of any Rio fly lines, if possible specifically the Rio Grand (I feel like I’m talking about a river in Texas, yeehaw) or other trout lines? Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dean
Jeeze Dean, they are a sponsor of ours. That tell ya anything?
Dean,
I have fished RIO Grand, RIO Clouser, & RIO Mainstream & love 'em. My experience with RIO lines is excellent & you just never hear complaints. You will not be disappointed with a RIO line.
I fish RIO Grand on my Sage VT2 6wt, & it casts & handles very well.
I may catch heck for this, but I fish a 7wt RIO Clouser line on my 8wt Cortland rod. I wanted the Clouser line for heavy/weighted flies, but didn’t want to overline the rod. Figured I would get the advantage of the Clouser line without compromising the rod. I may be dead wrong, but so far so good…at least for me.
Mike
I used several different Rio fly lines last year and was very happy with all of them.
I especially like the Selective Trout, Nymph, and Versi-Tip lines.
What size and applications are you talking about? I might have some lines that you could test drive before you spend the money to buy one.
I’ve got the Rio Grand WF5F on a reel and a WF7F in the box. If you’re talking lines for fast action rods I also have the Windcutter II in 5,6, and 7 weight that might work for you.
Dean:
Another huge Rio fan here although I’m more of a Rio Classic guy.
You do realize that the Rio Grande is an overweight line designed for faster rods?
I’m a big Rio fan. I’d say most of my fly lines come from Rio.
The Grand, as Bamboozle pointed out, is an overweighted line. It’s about a half-size heavier than a normal AFTMA rating. So, a WF5F would be more like a WF5.5F. Kinda like the Scientific Angler GPX.
I aquired an old 6wt Powell Tiboron that I was ready to break over my knee and heave in the river because the thing cast like a 2x4. The Grand saved that rod. Overlining by a half weight solved the problem.
You need to match your line with a specific rod and a specific fishing purpose. So, it’s hard to answer questions about a particular line out of context. But, in general, the Grand is a great line if you’re trying to cast big flies a mile with an ultra-fast rod.
If you’re trying to sneak dries over the top of spooky fish, the Grand probably wouldn’t be your first choice. You’ll feel like you’re casting with an armadillo in those situations. Maybe that’s why they named it after that river in Texas. YeeHaw indeed.
Dean,
I to am a big fan of Rio lines. My lines of choice have been the Selective Trout and the Nymph Line so I don’t have any experience with the Grand series. But I only have good things to say about these lines and their performance. I particularly like the DT Selective Trout on my 3 wt. Really a slick line with great control, floats high all day. Rio makes some great lines.
Dean -
Another Rio fan here - but Rio did start in Idaho Falls, which maybe means I’m associated with them somehow ?? ( They are still here, although now owned by Sage. )
I’ve used several Rio lines and like them all, except the sink tip, but that is me, not the line.
Agree on the Selective Trout DT for a 3 wt. Hard to beat. Can’t recall what I have on the 5 wt, but another good DT Rio product.
Just looking at the Rio website last night for a WF line to put on my new Sage Fli 9’ for 7 wt. The Grand is a possibility, but I think the new Gold might be a better choice. I think the Grand may be a little much for the Fli.
Be interested to see what others have to say, although it might be too late since I am on my way to Jimmy’s in a couple hours. I suspect he will suggest the Gold.
John
P. S. Just got back from Jimmy’s. Turns out the line I had on when I demo’d the Fli 9’ for 7 wt yesterday was a Rio Grand.
It turned over a tandem of ( two ) weighted size 6 stonefly nymphs and indicator quite nicely, and is, according to Jimmy, suitable for dries from big hopper and stonefly patterns all the way down to smaller dry flies. I ended up with the Rio Grand.
I have two, and I imagine that number will grow in the future. I have a Rio Gold on my #1 5 wt and a Clouser 6 wt. I have not fished the Clouser yet, but have great reviews from a couple friends for local smallmouth fishing.
-wayne
Wow and Yee Haw Indeed!
I appreciate the comments about the SPONSORED lines. :o) I have heard nice things about them too. I have used the GPX, which as was stated, is about a half line weight heavy and like it and was hoping that the Grand would be similar. I am not worried about presentation but rather being able to chuck those big ol’ flesh flies on the Kenai River with a 6 or 7 weight for rainbows and some nice beads and egg imitations on Quartz Creek with a 4 weight so it sounds as though that might fit the bill. My experiences have been that a line about a half weight over will roll cast rather well too??? I will be trying them. Arctic, thanks for the offer of being able to “pre-chuck” your lines. We need to go grayling fishing before too long.
Going to the Sportsman’s Show in Anchorage this weekend? I’ll be tying flies at the Alaska Fly Fisher’s booth on Sunday afternoon and then helping to tear it down. Come by if you can and say howdy.
thanks to all,
Dean
I was going to ask about the context for which you were considering the line and you mentioned it in your last post.
I bought a 5 wt. Rio Grande this past summer and it is fine for the windy conditions on the Rio Grande River in Colorado (San Luis Valley) when you want long casts. I would not recommend it for shorter casts on the small creeks I frequently fish.
Alaska Dean, you may want to try the Clouser line for the heavier line weights. I use it for GL Steelhead and it works excellent. It casts heavy flies, heavy rigs, indicator’s etc., very well. It also mends excellent. I use the Grand on my 4-6wts, and it works very well, too. If your using faster rods, it would be my first choice.
Another Rio fan here. Currently, I’m back in the SA camp, but it’s through no fault of Rio. Their Selective Trout is a STANDARD, great stuff.
It just so happens I’m a line junky…well, it’s cheaper than being a rod junky which is an addiction I’m recovering from…new lines make an old rod perform very differntly so maybe I’m not recovering at all. At any rate, both SA and Rio are fantastic companies with fantastic lines, can’t seem to go wrong. The Rio…my experience has been their lines are more supple than SA and perhaps shorter in lifespan. YMMV. Then again, I’ve got a 5wt Selective Trout going on 3 years old and it’s in fine shape. Just a few thoughts, love Rio lines…
Hey Dean! I went to the show tonight! I spent most of my time around the Mt. View Sports area. The only real fly fishing vendors were Mt. View and 3 Rivers. Kenai Cache had a few things. I didn’t see any fly lines on sale although I did see the Rio Grand line at Mt. View. I think they were making deals where if you bought a rod and reel they would throw in a free fly line. However, Mt. View had some coupons that you could use at the shop to get 20% off on fly lines through April 8th. That may be your best bet. 3 Rivers had some fly lines on a shelf too, but there weren’t any signs that said they were on sale.
I went to the ADF&G seminar on Susitna River rainbow trout. Their radio tracking data is always interesting. I also went to a lake fishing seminar by Dave Atcheson. It was enjoyable talking lake fishing with him after the seminar.
I bet that the Clouser line would work well on those big flesh flies. I’ve got it in seven weight on a Bauer MZ3 reel that has a drag that will stop a train. I use the Rio Nymph line for fishing beads. A four weight for Quartz Creek??? I caught a 26 inch dollie that I thought was a salmon on Quartz Creek along with several 22 and 20 inchers one day. I use more than a four weight there. You hook so many sockeye there that I don’t want to risk breaking a four weight on them. I do catch 20" rainbows with my four weights in lakes though.
It seems to be melting pretty good these days. If this keeps up we will be fishing in the Valley by May 1st. The grayling should be hungry!