Surf fly lines

Fishing Saltwater Fly Fishing
1

Hello again,
I’ve been trying to get ready to hit the surf but caught a mean cold that has me coughing my lungs out and feeling really bad, plus the fires here in SoCal haven’t helped much. I am trying to figure out what line to get, everybody tells me I gotta get a sinking tip line for a good reason, a floating line would be tossed around in the waves and I won’t be able to have keep any control of my fly. I must say I experienced this myself and this convinced me to get me a fly line for the surf.
I found several options I like to post here and I hope to get your as many opinions as possible.

Everybody tells me my best option is this, if I gotta I will buy it but I’d like to consider other fly lines first.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0000984317466a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=scientific+anglers+stream+express&Ntk=Product_liberal&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

another Sci Anglers line for almost half the price.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0064490320833a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=sinking+tip+fly+lines&Ntk=Products&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

Yet another sinking fly line
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0064492320843a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=sinking+tip+fly+lines&Ntk=Products&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

I guess this would be my last option but I’ve heard that if I want to seriously fish the surf I can’t use something like this.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0037441319386a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=sinking+tip+fly+lines&Ntk=Products&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

Thanks a bunch in advance for all the help.:smiley:

2

Martin,

Of those, the Streamer Express is the best option. The 10 or 15 ft sink tips will provide the same challenges as the floating line.

This is a good alternative but about the same price.
www.rioproducts.com/product.php?recKey=46

Also the Cortland Precision 30’ sink tip with intermediate running line and Orvis Depth Charge lines.

All four have intermediate running lines.

The Teeny “T” series are around $10 less. They have a floating running line and are popular with many anglers. They were a standard for years before the Streamer Express and similar lines came out.

This is the best option on a budget at just less than $40.
www.rioproducts.com/product.php?recKey=136 as is available at Bob Marriotts and other So Cal flyshops.

I use an interchangeable shooting head systems. Setup cost for the shooting line and one shooting head is about the same as the lines above, but extra heads are a 30-35 bucks and can be purchased in floating, intermediate and different sink rates. This system costs less than 3 or 4 different full length lines but is a bit more complicated to set up.

3

Unless the surf is deep where you are fishing you dont need any sinking lines.I use an intermediate most of the time and a floater the rest of the time.Either line will serve you well.I will use a sinking shooting head on occasion but thats when I want to go long distance past the surf.Most of the fish I catch are feeding in the wash and a heavy sinking line is just giong to dredge the bottom.A shooting head system is a better option than a sink tip line.You can get heads from floating to fast sinking and they are easier to cast than a sink tip line.

4

Sinking lines are by far the most commonly used lines for southern California surf fishing. For the nature of the typical surf and the gradients typical on many beaches they are the best choice. Most of the local species are bottom oriented feeders and we want to keep the fly on the bottom and a sinking line helps keep it in the zone longer. A sinking line is also less likely to get fouled in kelp stringers or eel grass floating on the surface. There are some situations where an intermediate or floater is useful but that is not the typical situation. These would typically be shallow gradient beaches with surf less than 2ft. Over 15 years of fly fishing the local surf I use sinking lines about 80%, intermediate 15% and floating 5%.

5

I don’t like to buy stuff just because but it seems like my first option was the best option.

I really appreciate the help.

P.S. My next post will be about stripping baskets :rolleyes: