Your favorite line brand
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What’s your favorite line brand and especially WHY?
I like SA lines, especially the XPS because it’s so supple even in cold conditions. Orvis Wonderlines (Orvis lines are made by SA) have been a favorite of mine too but they have some memory problems in cold conditions. Both SA and Orvis lines casts excellent. SA lines are pretty durable. My Orvis Wonderlines are going 5+ years now. But again I don’t fish 100+ days a year…
I once tried Cortland 444 SL some 15 years ago and I hated it right away because my favorite rod back then (Loomis IMX 8ft #4) felt completely different with this line. The rod became much slower due to the bigger diameter (= more wind resistance) of Cortland lines vs SA’s. I’ve never touched Cortland since.
I recently bought my first Rio lines: Selective Trout and Mainstream. I like the suppleness of them but not sure about the way it makes the rods feel. Maybe I’m wrong but I think Rio lines also have slightly bigger diameter than a typical SA line?
Jay
I really like last year’s clearance line, mainly because it’s cheap. I use alot of the Orvis lines as well and I usually find them for veeery cheap and they seem to last forever.
I have really enjoyed my Orvis Wonderline, I have a first gen on my 3 weight and it is has a memory problem. Good part for me, I generally don’t have out much line so that is not a problem.
I have had good luck with my Cortland 555. I do find that I have to clean it more but that could just be because it gets fished more
Maybe I’m wrong but I think Rio lines also have slightly bigger diameter than a typical SA line?
It’s interesting you mention this, because it’s something I’ve been wondering about with Rio’s whole Agent X coating system. Bear with me, I was never a very good math/science student. This is probably obvious to some, but I had a “well, duh” moment a few weeks ago when I was reading one of their advertisements.
Rio claims that their new coatings allow them to produce a fly line with a lower specific gravity (layman’s terms: SG = a way of describing density compared to water). Specific gravity is a function of mass and volume. So according to AFTMA standards, a fly line needs to weigh X in the first 30 feet. If Rio decreases the specific gravity of a fly line then they need to increase the volume of the line to meet AFTMA standards.
So, Rio lines would necessarily be “larger” than a line with a higher specific gravity of the same mass. The real question: Is this a good thing?
Back to the original question,
I’ve used and liked both Rio and SA lines, although I’ve switched to mainly using Rio lately because I’m tired of the tips on my SA lines sinking. I haven’t used the new SA lines that are supposed to correct this, so I can’t comment on them. I still don’t think that Rio’s come out with a line I like as much as SA’s XXD (now Mastery Expert Distance), although the Steelhead/Atlantic Salmon line is really close.
Interesting anecdote – I talked with Rio’s SE rep at the Charlotte show last weekend, and asked him if all of the Agent X/SFT technology was built into the new Sage fly lines. He said that Rio wasn’t going to hold back and cripple Sage’s lines, so other than the taper designs there shouldn’t be a practical difference between Sage and Rio fly lines. Not directly from Rio, but he seemed to speak as though he knew it as a fact, and I’d imagine it would be cost prohibitive to manufacture lines without Agent X/SFT.
My favorite used to be SA, now it’s Rio. The main reason being the Rio’s float right out of the box.
I’ve not noticed if the Rio ST is thicker than the equivilant SA Trout nor have I noticed its affecting presentation.
I’m sitting here with a box of new Rio Windcutter on my desk. I’m anxious to find out if it’s an option to my SA Expert Distance.Zach, you might want to know Rio lengthened the head on the Nymph line according to the rep at the Charlotte show last weekend. Can’t wait to see how that works out!
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