[acercon3]

Looking for some ideas for my Helios.

Line needed  is mainly for overhead casting in the  estuary  so must be able to punch into wind when required and shoot for distance. If it can take polyleaders so much the better.

Any ideas what may suit ?

Alan

[Hamish Young]

Rio Outbound, maybe a Loop Opti Stillwater or perhaps the Orvis Freshwater Bass Wonderline Generation 3 (that's a mouthful  ) of the three I would buy the Outbound first every time, although hardly a delicate line it's made for the job.
If you want something that can be used elsewhere (you did say mainly estuary) then the Outbound is a bit brutal and the Loop or Orvis line might be a better choice. Wulff nymph taper is another possibility.
Of course, you could just rig up a shooting head
Although that will suffer going into a wind which is where an integrated shooting head (like the Outbound) will be a smidgen better.

H 

[Graham Ritchie]

An Airflo 40+ wf7.

[Iain Cameron]

recently bought a Rio i-Line (11g) that i use on my helios 9ft 5# - it's been hellish windy everytime I've been out recently, but the line seems happy and shoots into the wind (though a bit splashy on touchdown if i'm too exuberant). But I'm very happy with it, and would recommend it too

Hamish, any idea how the i-line would compare with the Rio Outbound?
cheers
iain

[Sandy Nelson]

Alan

as Hamish says the outbound is a bit brutal, great for large bulky flies and wind
I use one for casting poppers. Personally if you are using it in saltwater the I'd be looking at a Rio Redfish
it is a fantastic casting line and can really punch a decent sized fly into the teeth of the wind.
I've tried loads of different lines for salt conditions and reckon this is about the best non tropical line I've tried.
If the UK was 15' warmer you could also look at the Rio Bonefish line it's the best saltwater floater by far but is quite stiff
unless it is warm.
GAC are often good for Rio lines

hope that helps

sandy

[Ben Dixon]

Hi Alan,

I'd go for the Rio Outbound, it is all I use for salwater fishing in the UK.  It like a 7' Rio trout polyleader so much that it casts better with one and to really tone it down more, stick on a 10' trout polyleader.  THe other option and a bit cheaper would be the Airflo 40+, the outbound is a nicer line but the 40+ is a fair bit more durable which can be important if you are fishing from rocks or anywhere near barnacles.  Don't let rumours of memory in Airflo floaters put you off, that issue has gone.  I cast one of the latest 40+ lines a few months back and it was very impressive.

I'd forget the Opti, it crumples into a wind worse than any other line I've ever cast and also very expensive for hammering in the sea.  Orvis bass line is not bad but the head is very short similar story with the nymph and the I line, all a bit too short for my liking if distance and wind are issues (unless space is very limited).  None of these lines are designed with your purpose in mind really, all good lines but they wouldn't be my choice.   Longer heads are better in a headwind situation than any of the short shooting head / brick on a string style lines. 

How much space do you have behind you, were are the prevailing winds relative to where you are fishing and how far are you needing to cast on average to get to the fish?  Do you need to go directly into the wind often or will you usually be fishing across it?


Cheers

Ben

[acercon3]

Thanks guys for your recommendations.

I had the Outbound in mind originally but wondered what other options may have existed . I'll probably go with my first thought and am heartened to hear that it performs with the versileaders.

Ben , I note that Rio do an Outbound Short (30 ft head) and the standard Outbound ( 37.5 ft head). I do not require the Short from the perspective of turning over heavy flies and reckon that on its own that this could be a blunt instrument. Would the polyleaders calm this one down enough to make it worthy of consideration?

BTW the line will be for almost exclusive use in the Ythan Estuary.

Thanks for all input

Alan

[Ben Dixon]

The short is good for closer stuff with limited space, deep wading and big flies the short head turns over very quickly and pretty hard, to get any distance with it your haul & release timing has to be bang on or it will dump in a heap.  For what you'll be doing the std outbound would be a better bet and the longer one is better into a wind.

CHeers

Ben

[Hamish Young]

Hamish, any idea how the i-line would compare with the Rio Outbound?
cheers
iain

Now that's a good question..... in all honesty I can't say. I have an I-line and I like it hugely for single-handed spey type stuff but haven't used it enough back to back with the Outbound 'conventionally' to really say with any conviction which I'd choose. The 'Oracle' (otherwise known as Ben  ) would probably be better placed to comment.

Did you have any particular thing in mind Iain or just a general comparison line to line

H 

[Ben Dixon]

Outbound is a front weighted line, good for distance, load at close range and throwing nasty gear.  I line is a more rear weighted line with a longer front taper and a much shorter head ~28' vs 37'6" for the outbound.  I line is designed to fish between about 30' and 75', and it does this very well however if pushed outside its comfort zone then it is not happy, try checking or slowing the running line on the I line when you shoot, it will improve the presentation and a decent balanced tapered leader will help.  I line rolls & Speys well, Outbound rolls & Speys like a bag of spanners IMO.  For me, an i line is a better general purpose freshwater line than the outbound.

Cheers

Ben

[Iain Cameron]

ben - thanks for the comparison between the lines. your comments tally with my first impressions of the iLine. it certainly is happy fishing within the range you stated, and to be honest, for freshwater, that's plenty enough distance for me! agree re the need to check the line on the forward shoot - it's so eager to fly that a few times i've put too much into the fwd cast, and the line has bounced back. been a great line for casts where there's not much back cast room. still nae sure about the bright colour mind you...

iain