Putting a new small stream setup together

BrookieChaser

BrookieChaser

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Aug 6, 2013
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First off I don't want this to come off as an advertisement or anything of the sort. I have no affiliation with the companies, I just like their products from years of use.

I thought I would post about the new small stream setup I'm working on. I'm kind of excited about it. Actually it will probably replace my 5wt for all my dry fly fishing (which is 99.8% of my fishing).

I recently came across an nos Sage TXL 363-3. I decided I would couple that with the Galvan Brookie 2-3. All I'm waiting on now is the line. Which is on order since my fly shop don't carry Rio and I wanted to give their line a shot since I've historically used SA.

I didn't see anything on the Brookie reel and thought I may be able to add some insight once I get to fish it.


 
Which line did you go with? I have a trout lt wf on my mystic 3wt and love it!

And it seems like both my rod and that sage share the same characteristics, and I cant say enough about the line on my rod. The only thing else I wanna try on my 3wt is I also have the trout lt dt line i have yet to spool up, maybe ill do that this weekend.
 
Rio Perspective WF3. I was going to go with the Rio Gold but they were sold out. So I bought into the marketing hype and decided I'd give the Perspective a try and bought the last of the 3wt they had.

I'd be interested to know how the different line works out for you. I couldn't remember what line this rod was designed for. I knew I didn't want to line it heavy (GPX or Grand). I'll be honest I probably have a lot to learn about fly line.
 
well, my personal theory on this new line vs my line taper wise seems that they wanted to shorten the game up a little bit on the trout lt line. what i mean is the lt line is a very long front taper at 28', but has the most energy loss via less and less mass as it unrolls while casting. but that energy loss will give that super fine or soft presentation. but you will sacrifice ability to throw heavier flies with a nice presentation aka cone heads and other larger subsurface stuff. also that light front section of the lt lines make the short or close casting game a bit harder, though i think a more wind resistant fly like a sz14 wulff is a great hybrid for the short game because the wind resistance of the fly makes you work the rod a bit more.

where as example the rio gold line has a 5' front taper, 22' of body and 12' of rear taper. giving you more forward mass, longer casts and the ability to move larger flies.

now back to the new rio perception that you have seems to be a hybrid of both the above lines and seems like it would be awesome(other than the price tag). a shorter head in all weighing in at exactly 135gr @ 36'(3wt line) with a longer front taper than the gold @8' but far shorter than the lt still giving you a better presentation than the gold but the ability to cast larger flies than the lt.

and another detail difference between the lt and the perception is the total head weight of the lines, the perception is 135 gr for the full head weight where the lt line is 170gr @ 42.5', but the fly line weight standard of 130gr at the 30' mark, so it's by afma rules a 3 wt.

and i would believe this all "trickled down" form the spey/double hand lines. they are now skagit, scandi and skandit.

skagit- short heavy lines, usually minimal taper, to chuck the biggest fly, but worst presentation.

scandi- really long taper line for smaller flies and more "technical presentation"

skandit- a few years back or so, some guys started hybriding a lighter skagit head with a lighter skandi tip to make a great presentation of larger flies. by using the heavy weight of the skagit and the longer tapered front tip of the scandi for the presentation.

though really the triangle tapers have been doin this for a good while one day i'll get to cast some of their stuff as well.

and depending on where you are located, would you want to meet up and cast all three lines on our rods just to see what we both think?

Oh yeah and as to the line you chose for your rod, I think you're gonna be happier than a pig in poop!

 
I'd love to read your reviews of the new Rio line. I'm thinking about new line for a couple rods but hesitate at the cost.

I went with SA XPS for my 2 wt(TFO Signature) and 4 wt (Gary Borger LT) rods and I'm not thrilled with it. I actually put an old Orvis Clearwater line on the 4 wt and like it better but for some applications (dry fly, small stream) I''m afraid the presentation will suffer.
 
The sales spiel for the Rio Perception is its lack of core stretch. I don't think we can really compare single hand lines with double handed lines because the mass is in the complete opposite direction of the head. The one single handed line that seems more likely to be compared to a spey line is the LT which is described as a rear loaded taper which lends itself to roll casting. Just my .02
 
DJBerg, thanks for the insight into the different lines and how the different configurations transfer to the caster.
I thought the Trout LT reminded me of a triangle taper when I was reading about it. My shop tried to push me toward the Wulff Triangle Taper but I didn't think it would quite fit my needs to a "T". I don't do a whole lot of roll casting unless necessary. Also the majority of my flies are size 12-16.
After reading your explanations I'm happy with my line decision in theory, I hope that plays out once it's on the rod. I know the price ain't that friendly, but I've been searching for one of these rods for awhile so I wanted the right line for it. In reality it was only $15 more than the Rio Gold.
I'd have no problem meeting up to cast the lines side by side, but based on your location listed, we are a good distance away. I live in south central PA.

CathyG, I'll make sure to put a review up once I get the line and get to fish it, since I now know a review will be useful to someone.

808, yes the low-stretch core was the main marketing ploy for the Perception line. I guess I'll find out if it's true or not.
 
I got the line today. I put the backing and new line on this afternoon and took the new rod out to explore a new section of stream.

I'll make a separate review thread in the gear section on the Rio Perception line.

First fish on the new setup...

 

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