im trying to educate myself on what good fly line is and witch ones to stay away from…ive been warned by a couple people not to skimp on line and to buy the best line i can afford…im going to be looking for 4wt. floating line that will be fished in small rivers and streams from a fast action rod…any reccomendatins?
i guess the real question is what do you use and why?
thanks
shaun
Shaun,
I would recommend the Hook and Hackle DT4 or the Cortland 444 Peach.
Why? Because, in my opinion they can’t be beat. Especially for the money. As in most purchases you can’t equate quality with dollars!!!
Although I will say the Cortland is getting a little out of hand, price-wise, as are most fly lines.
If you buy something else I guess you won’t have a comparison.
This is all rather subjective.
I’ve been a bit surprised by the price increase on the Cortland 444, but it is still my fly line of choice. If you fish in cold weather months, you’ll like how it stays more flexible than some more expensive lines.
Whatever line you get, I recommend getting a double taper. Most of your casting will be at distances where a weight forward has no benefit. With a double taper, you can simply switch ends on your reel when the first end gets worn out. So you can get twice as much fishing life from it as from a weight forward.
Shaun;
If you want one of the best for your fishing style go with a Scientific Anglers “Trout Taper ‘SharkSkin’”!! However, I do have a Cortland 444 WF4F you can have. Just pm me your mailing addy. I don’t think the line has ever been fished. It was part of a pack rod 4/5 6 pc combo and I lined it with a 5 wt. line.
pm sent…thank you…i hope you’ll at least let me pay the shipping
shaun
Don’t worry about it Shaun. Welcome to the best flyfishing site there is!!
cortland 444 or 333 if you can afford that if your on a really thin budget get the cabelas stuff.
If you have one rod and the money buy whatever you want. If you have many different outfits, I find that last year’s $69.95 or $79.95 fly line that is on sale for $25 to $35 is just what I need. In other words I buy quality lines that they changed a color on or some marketing type is raving all about the newly tweaked the taper. Last year this stuff was top of the line, but this year changing an inch or two of the belly or front taper makes it obsolete. I don’t need to spend money to be an early adapter. This is just me of course.
Here is just one place that I frequent OFTEN. http://www.mrfc.com/MadisonRiverShopping/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=4 That Sage line is a grand deal.
Rick
I always suggest for a person to stay with a “premium” line. They really do make a difference. With that said, brand name becomes a personal thing and can change depending on the application and rods used. I personally don’t care for the cortland lines. Simple preferance. I prefer Scientific anglers and RIO lines. A few that I like are the SA GPS and Trout taper. I recently got a GPS Sharkskin, and so far like the line. For RIO I like the Gold and the Grand. I’m not saying that there aren’t better lines out there or that I’ve fished them all, but these I have fished and liked. I think a bigger factor is the line’s taper. Decide what you’re gonna use the line for and what size flies you plan on using with it and go from there. Give the manufacturers a call. Tell them what rod you’re gonna put the line on and how you plan on using it. Tell then what size flies you’re gonna fish and what temperatures you’re most likely to encounter. They’ll gladly suggest what line they feel will function best. They want you to be happy with your line, because then you’ll buy more of their products. A little time invested in a phone call can go a long way towards a happy pairing between rod, line, and angler.