fly line cheap or expensive?

[roho1]

fishing steelhead fly line prices range from 20 to 100. Is there really a need for the overpriced line.thanks for any info

 

[IdratherbePhishing]

this is just my opinion in fishing both expensive and non exp. Everyone says the non expensive casts just as good as pricey lines. I have to disagree. The cheap lines do what they're supposed to do on pretty much every single stream. But the expensive lines are def smoother and cast further. And on a big stream another 10-15 feet is well worth it. But for the cheaper lines, different brands seem to be better. Like I used the cabelas cheap 20 dollar line and it was just terrible. And ive fished 30 dollar Rio that was great casting line.

 

[Shock]

Just my opinion but I think that a fly line that is not going to be used for dry flies or emergers does not need to be expensive.

When steelhead fishing, you are not going to be casting very far. Just look for a reasonably priced line that stays soft in cold weather. Maybe consider the above mentioned $30 Rio line.

Shock

 

[Fuller24]

I agree with shock 100% especially if its Erie trib steel where 90% of fishing is indicator nymphing with a very slight chance, probably less than the other 10% fishing streamers.

 

[krayfish]

Base on responses I've seen on here, you will likely be told it doesn't matter. Why spend $75 when you can get line for $8 ??

I am on the opposite side of that fence. If you are fishing more than 20 days per year or casting more than a 8' roll cast, do yourself a favor and get a decent line. It's very possible that changing from Brand X level line ($5.95) to a Rio or SA line will greatly change how your rod casts. I didn't care for a rod and was going to get rid of it and then changed line. Now I like the rod.

Buy a $5 line if you ....
* fishing a trickle of a brook trout stream
* nymph in close where you don't really care if you line floats or not
* chuck weighted streamers in small to mid sized PA streams


Buy a good line if......
* it's in your budget
* fish on top or like to mend line
* want a product that will last more than 20 trips before it sinks / cracks
* you cast at any distance (30-50')

When fishing for steel and mudsharks....it doesn't matter. They will run you against so many rocks that your line will get destroyed very quickly so go cheap in that situation.

 

[N8ureboy]

I noticed a major difference on the first cast. Dont cheap out on the line. You can get SA GPX for around 60 to 70. the garbage i bought at cabellas for 40 was horrible by comparison and in retrospect a waste of money.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear roho,

The absolute value of flyline resides entirely within the mind of the user.

If you think a $ 75.00 or $ 100.00 flyline makes you a better fisherman then it probably will, but it in all likelyhood your success won't be the result of the new flyline.

More than likely it will be the result of increased confidence in your casting and fishing ability, and while that might be imaginary it does translate at times to the real world.

If you fish harder and smarter with a new line it's not unreasonable to give some credit for your increased success to the line. It won't necessarily be the truth, but what do you care if you feel better about what you are doing?

The best flyline made is the Cortland 444 Peach, presently known as the 444 Classic. It was the best line in 1987 and there hasn't been a significant development in flyline technology since then.

The worst flyline I have ever used is the 3 weight line I mistakenly gave to Dave Rothrock. Old Lefty here on the board, last May at the Jamboree.

I handed him a reel from my bag that I thought was spooled with a "quality" 4 weight line as Dave was preparing to cast a bamboo 4 weight that was a knock off of a Payne 100 or some other classic bamboo rod.

Dave proceeded to cast 90 or 100 feet of line, leader, and backing rather easily with that knock-off rod. Little did he know that I had mistakenly handed him a reel spooled with a $7.00 closeout 3 weight line I bought from Denver Discount Tackle.

It was an honest mistake, I have two spools for the same reel and I gave him the wrong one. It didn't stop him from casting that "junk" line as far as it or a "quality" line could reasonably be expected to be cast.

I don't like the line because I can't cast much more than 60 feet with it, so obviously the line is bad, right? ;-)

Buy whatever line you care to buy and go out and fish with it. If you work at the fishing the line won't be your impediment to increased success, I promise you that.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Fuller24]

I consider cheap fly line to be in the $20-$40

 

[StarvinMarvin]

cabelas had 80$ sage fly line for 30$ take a look

 

[boychick]

A good line is worth the money. A good line will cast better, farther, and last longer. That said, if your indicator fishing for steelhead, you can get away with a cheaper line, it will work fine for lobbing a heavy nymph rig upstream.

 

[Kill3ducks1deer]

I bought a fly line for my one rod, cheap fly line, didn't feel like paying a lot of money, I regretted it so much. I ended up getting new line because I couldn't cast as well with it.

 

[Pittflyguy]

I would weigh in on this in a different way. Sometimes is is not just the "quality" or price of the line but getting the right taper and grain weight for the rod and casting style. I think the CORRECT line and correct leader can make a relatively inexpensive rod cast really well. Conversely, you can put the WRONG taper, weight, and leader on a Helios 2 and it will cast and load like #censor#.

Here is an example... You go out and spend $80 on a WF fly line that has a heavy head meant for shooting distance. If you are doing long mends over multiple currents, you will most likely struggle. The same $80 fly line in say an easy mend or steel head taper will still cast well and mend fantastically due to the longer belly of the line.

It's true, cheap lines don't shoot as well, float as well, or last as long. If you are having your kids throw to blue gills in a pond, cheap line is great. If I am going to invest in my gear, my trips, etc... I am not going to skimp on one of the important components that gets my fly in front of what could be the fish of a lifetime... IMHO.

 

[DJBerg]

i really think taper is probably my biggest factor in line choice then "slickness" additives. for my rods that i do want to shoot a long way out there, taper is super important and the slickenss factor is nice as well for the extra 5-10' you get on a mega hauled cast. but that really depends on again taper and how much presentation you wish to sacrifice. the heavier the front part of the taper the farther you can chuck it. but chuck it is exactly it. yet on the other hand my 3wt rig has a risen line on it no slick additives but a great short game taper places flies very well(or as long as my cast is proper), but i would bet that taper is really long and very thin in the front, vs my rio avid trout that is a rio grand line with out the additives yeah i can definitely cast it farther, but the presentation goes down hill a lot vs that risen line. and that's a $55 line vs a $12-18 line. huge price change for very simaler polymer lines but very different taper profiles.

if you want a short game line look at the profiles of the cheaper lines and chose, if you want a long game line look at the pricey stuff's tapers and chose. that's my $.02 good luck man