Lines.
- This topic has 13 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated May 22, 2008 at 2:56 am by
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Hey guys –
I am about to saddle up for another big technology article in my ongoing series with American Angler. So far, we have covered breathable wader materials in “Breathing Underwater,” bamboo fly rods in “Choosing Cane,” fly reels and specifically fly reel drags in “Brake Jobs,” switch rods (as much a technique piece but I’ll include it) in “Switched On” and the R&D process at Simms and Orvis in “Reinventing the Wheel.” Shew! All the aforementioned are available still either here in the Articles section or over on AmericanAngler.com.
So now the question is, what do we know about lines, and what don’t we know? What kinds of questions would you like to see addressed in an article on lines? I am given some pretty fair leeway with these pieces to assume the reader is already fairly knowledgeable and take the discussion to a higher level. Some of the stuff we talked about in Brake Jobs and Breathing Underwater is way out of the ordinary for a fishing magazine.
I basically figure we all know that lines are made of plastic, over a core, and that they have bubbles or weighted dust cooked in to make them float or sink, respectively. Tapering is interesting but it isn’t really the subject of the article (for one thing, it’s largely self-explanatory). I’m more interested in deciphering marketing gobbletygook (“Agent X?” “AST?” “Wonderline?”) and in figuring out what kinds of advancements have been made and are upcoming.
What kinds of questions would you pose if you had the ear of all the manufacturers? Throw them out there and I will do my best to integrate the consensus into the article (and I may be able to answer some here that don’t make the printed version due to length).
Zach
Differing technologies between companies would be interesting. From what I understand it really boils down to 3M and Rio. They make most everything for everyone.
I still dont quite understand all the Teeny stuff.
Looking forward to the article. Whatever you do…dont overhype the Sharkskin. It really isnt all its cracked up to be and the technology that they claim is new…really isnt.
There is a show on Discovery Channel called…”How its made”…would love to see them do fly lines…
1. Why does the tip on my floating line seem to sink, even with new lines?
2. What are the differences between line shapes with respect to their physics and performance.Line.. meaning terminal tackle.. so why not cover leaders, tippet, bite tippets etc…
I rarely buy “the newest line” I generally buy last years model… for about 1/2 to 1/3rd the price… does line technology really follow some sort of moore’s law?
Cortland lines seems to be typically thicker in diameter than SA. Don’t know about Rio.
The thickness of the line really makes a rod cast different (wind resistance of the line while casting), yet this issue is never really discussed.Jay
Hi Zach,
You might consider asking how far have we actually progressed in 100 years with flylines .We have come a long way with differing materials and tapers and special lines for this that and whatever. 🙂 but in a practical casting and fishing sense 100 year old silk lines still have thinner diameter and are the appropriate weight.
To my mind tecnology is great but it has not taken on board the challendge to make a thin diameter line of correct weight and has forgotten the basic importance of such.
This slimness or small diameter of silkZack, maybe you could throw out a few questions about line weight and taper for fact action rods? It seems that most of the best selling rods are fast or very fast action rods and that people tend to overline them or use one brand/taper of line to make them work. I tend to buy a fast of “stiff” rod a then overline it one size to get it to load the way I like. I have found the Clouser line that Rio makes does the job of casting a big fly a long way. It’s 1/2 size heavy and the taper is just right for turning over a larger fly with ease. Then there are the Sage tapers that are made for the BASS rods. The more I fly cast the more I think instead of new buying rods I think we as fly fisherman should be buying or a least test casting a bunch of lines. In a perfect world I think the fly line companies should send out to fly shops one line in every taper and weight so that we could go in with our rods or a new off the shelf rod and try out all of the lines that we want and see how they work on the rod that you have. There is some thing to be said for grain weighting rods. When I purchased my new 8 weight Xi2 I talked with Bob Story at Feathercraft about lines for a long time and he had a lot of info about what line tends to work with this rod or that rod. I tend to think that somebody who cast a lot of line and rod combos would be good to talk to as well. As we all know matching to line to the rods is a big step in make your outfit cast well.
Why don’t floating lines float? That’s what I want my floating line to do the most! Not cast 90′ or be so slick you can’t hold it.
It might be interesting to know who is sleeping under the same roof e.g. Sage/Rio
There always seems to some interest in where things are made.
Is there a proper way to dispose of old lines.MS
Zack,
I would like to save the fortune I spend on lines and have flyshops have more “demo” lines in more styles and weight. Usually shops have a 5 and an 8 in some old line that nobody knows the brand of. Also, why do different line tapers change the feel of a rod so dramatically.
Ausable
Zach,
Most, but not all, will agree that the modern plastic line is a wonderous thing. I would like to hear about the early days at SA, when Leon Martuch , Clare Harris, and Paul Rottiers founded the company and when they introduced micro baloons and such. I think Bruce Richards or Jim Birkholm would be good people to talk to. I am afraid that if someone doesn’t write it down, it will be lost to us.
Forget about taper. It’s all hype anyway. Once you get past weight and WF, the rest is mostly sales IMHO.
Bob
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