Bonehead move of the decade

O

outsider

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May 28, 2010
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I just sucked up my 6 weight (weight forward) line with a vacuum cleaner. Don't ask how I did it..............so pissed off.

Anyone cut the front 6' off a weight forward line and use it? How did it cast?
 
Thats funny, 6 ft shouldn't hurt it.

Here is another tip....

#1 Never, Never Never, strip all your line off a reel to shorten the backing length with a cat in the room.

Another, once I was trying a neighbors rod that he wanted to sell. I took it in my yard (alone) and stripped off a bunch of line and started feeding it through the guides. Didn't see my cat at my feet....When I pulled the tippet through and began casting the line shot out and landed in a lump at the end of the driveway. The cat had chewed it in half about 15 ft in from the leader.

I tied the leader to the line end and spooled up the cut off piece and put it in my pocket. then I took the rod back and told him I would have to think about it.... Hahaha

I ended up buying it but never told him about the cat mishap.



 
Maurice,

Here's the irony in it. Last night I was cleaning this line and I said to my wife "look at this fly line. I bought it in the mid eighties and it has one very minor blemish. It floats like a bobber and it's as straight and supple as the day I bought it".

The other ironic part is I was cleaning my fly tying area tonight so my wife wouldn't complain. Outsider's Law: every good deed deserves a bad ending.
 
I've ruined fly line with a vacuum as well. I didn't see the leader on the carpet next to my rod rack.

Another tip: If fishing from a boat and you switch rods without reeling in all the line from the first rod, DO NOT start the trolling motor with the fly line still in the water. Especially if you don't have oars in the boat to get back to the launch to untangle/cut line from the prop.
 
6' off the end of a weight forward line? Ruined. During the 2011 Catskill Jam, similar accident happened. Gochs had housekeeping suck up entire fly line, 100 yds of backing and broke the top 8" off his rod.
 
I could see a few inches missing off the tip not really effecting the workability of the line but IMO six feet would ruin the front taper. I would buy a new line.
 
The "tip" section of a line is typically around 5'. Then it runs into the taper. So 6' would really make a difference in turning over the end of the line. I'd get a new line.
 
I haven't been FF long enough to suck up my line with a vacuum yet but, but believe me, when I do I'll be able to add it to the list of other bonehead things I've done over the years.
 
Like last week when I backed my car into a ditch because I was too busy checking out a hole.
 
Krazy Glue to the rescue. The cut was about 1/4" long down to the core of the line. But the cut piece was still attached to the line. So I carefully applied a very tiny amount of Krazy Glue, let it set for half a minute, then quiclky squeezed the cut piece back into place. Playing with fire, because I could have glued my fingers to the line. Squeeze for a fraction of a second, then retract my fingers. Kids, don't try this at home. Below the cut was a rough area on one side of the line, so I applied a little Krazy Glue there. And yes Cathy, the leader tip was the hidden culprit.

Fished it today and it worked! No hinge point. Hopefully I can get another decade out of this line. The frugal fisherman personified.
 
Haha, I've almost driven off the road checkin out holes. My wife has no idea how I've never been in an accident.
 
lv2nymph wrote:
Haha, I've almost driven off the road checkin out holes. My wife has no idea how I've never been in an accident.

You can add me to this list too. :)
I have a few scratches on the bumper, from backing up to check a spot out, but no dents.
 
Here is another tip....

#1 Never, Never Never, strip all your line off a reel to shorten the backing length with a cat in the room.
LOL. I've untangled a pelican from a birds-nest of discarded line on the beach. Had to use a t-shirt to cover it's head for my own safety not his! Stank real bad.
 
outsider wrote:
Krazy Glue to the rescue. The cut was about 1/4" long down to the core of the line. But the cut piece was still attached to the line. So I carefully applied a very tiny amount of Krazy Glue, let it set for half a minute, then quiclky squeezed the cut piece back into place. Playing with fire, because I could have glued my fingers to the line. Squeeze for a fraction of a second, then retract my fingers. Kids, don't try this at home. Below the cut was a rough area on one side of the line, so I applied a little Krazy Glue there. And yes Cathy, the leader tip was the hidden culprit.

Fished it today and it worked! No hinge point. Hopefully I can get another decade out of this line. The frugal fisherman personified.

I admire your ingenuity and frugality but is it worth taking the risk of losing a prize fish due to catastrophic Krazy Glue repair failure, versus the cost of buying a new fly line??
 
whheff wrote:
lv2nymph wrote:
Haha, I've almost driven off the road checkin out holes. My wife has no idea how I've never been in an accident.

You can add me to this list too. :)
I have a few scratches on the bumper, from backing up to check a spot out, but no dents.

My wife was in the car and responded with the typical dramatic "I'm gonna die" noises. Scratch my bumper and packed the hitch with mud. Another day in the life of a Clearfield redneck such as myself.
 
salmonoid,

No fish will ever pull this line apart at the repair. If the cut would have been around the circumference of the line or into the core, I wouldn't have repaired it. I gave it a stress test. And the Krazy Glue won't degrade. I use it to attach butt material to my fly line, and they don't come apart, even after decades of use. But I do appreciate your concern.
 
FUNNY POST

Driving and checking out holes almost sounds s_x_a_ (phill in the missing letters) Were you guys intitsacated?
 
Losing all my fly line to the vacuum was the single worst thing that's happened to me in fly fishing.

I'd get a new line because I'd always doubt my repair job or feel the missing six feet would have some kind of effect on my casting. And it's a reason to get a new line!
 
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