[Mike Barrio]

Hi folks

Something that I find very interesting, is how folk work out which fly line suits their rod and their personal casting style best. We have all seen threads where somebody asks for advice regarding which line they should use on their rod.

We have studied this a lot at the fishery and I frequently see folk turn up with a new line which somebody has told them will be perfect for their rod ...... only to find they can't get on with it and sometimes can't even cast with it

So, what is the best way to work this out? Going out and buying all the recommended lines to try them out is an expensive exercise. This is why I started the "try before you buy" with my demo lines at Haddo, but this is not possible in many places. Speaking to other anglers when out fishing and asking if you can try a cast with their lines on your rod is possibly an answer

You will often read that "that line" has too short a head, or "that line" has too long a head etc ..... but this is only because it doesn't suit that particular anglers casting style or the conditions that he fishes in and some of us prefer to underline a rod, while others prefer to overline ...... there is so much to take in to consideration

What therefore, do you think is a good way of finding the right line for you personally and how do you know when you have found it?

Best wishes
Mike

[Jim Eddie]

Mike

You are 100% correct it can be an expensive trial and error , can't think of a better way of doing ot then your try before you buy  failing that if a mate reccomends a line , ask to borrow it and have a cast with it before you go out and buy one.

 

Jim

[Ben Dixon]

With a bit of experience accurate taper information such as that provided by Rio can really help to narrow things down a bit, that is providing the reader knows exactly what impact a short rear taper or long front taper will have.  Even then it can still be a bit of a minefield particularly with DH rods, hence the stack of barely used Spey lines I was trying to offload recently 

Best way is definitely to try before you buy, take the rod along to a game fair or store event where many manufacturers usually have lines available to try would be my advice and then try a shortlist of lines on the rod and cast the rod as you would when fishing. 

Cheers

Ben

[Rob Brownfield]

Mike,
Funny you should post this topic. I have been using one of your WF 5 floaters for a while now on a Fulling Gold Medal rod and it worked a treat. Love it! Really made the rod load and you could get good distance and good presentation.

BUT, I bought a Zero G off of Ben (tip flex) and rushed home and had a cast with the Barrio line. Oh dear. What a disaster! Just would not load the rod at all and eventually I gave up.

I bought an Airflo 40+ 5 weight and what a difference. The rod is totally tranformed and you can really feel it load up.

What is interesting is this particular rod got a reel slating in a recent review (no feel, would not shoot etc) whilst the mid flex got top marks. Makes you wonder if it was not the line at fault rather than the rod.

I also have a Partridge Dry and Delicate and that line got great reviews yet I find it terrible to fish with and its been sat in a bag for a year or so.,...might try it on the ZG, may work

Good post mike!

[stickleback]

There's so many variables between rods and casting styles IMHO it really has to boil down to pretty much buying with your fingers crossed  , or if you're lucky enough managing to try before you buy  .

Cammy

[Sandy Nelson]

BUT, I bought a Zero G off of Ben (tip flex) and rushed home and had a cast with the Barrio line. Oh dear. What a disaster! Just would not load the rod at all and eventually I gave up.

I bought an Airflo 40+ 5 weight and what a difference. The rod is totally tranformed and you can really feel it load up.

What is interesting is this particular rod got a reel slating in a recent review (no feel, would not shoot etc) whilst the mid flex got top marks. Makes you wonder if it was not the line at fault rather than the rod.

This might also be an indicator of the fact that many of the tip action rods are geared towards casting, yet the midflex will let you cast and fish so is fundamentally more useful. (The reviews are often more indicative of the reviewers ability rather than the rod)
The actual weight of a flyline has a lot to do with it too (not just its aftma weight as they have quite large tolerances).

To me, a tip action rod is looking to have a lot of line aerialized  in order to start doing what it does best, great on large waters,  the more middle action rods are designed to
Load with less line in the air, this goes on right down to very slow actions where the rod is almost preloaded and you can literally cast with the leader.

Its horses for courses as usual

If you have a basic knowledge of the specifications for a line that you like, then it would make buying another one a tad easier, Barrio, Rio and Scientific anglers provide this kind of information on their sites, but i guess it does require a wee bit of understanding about what your line is doing when YOU cast it.
try before you buy is the best option where available, if you are a member of an angling club then perhaps that would give you access to more people of like minds and a few other lines to try.

Sandy