How to Make Fly Lines Last a Long Time

[pcray1231]

Yeah. The bugaboo, though, is that sometimes maintenance don't matter much. That 200 hr figure, for instance, is probably about how long the inhibitors work chemically. If, with the worst care imaginable, there's still little or no mechanical damage at 200 hrs, well.....

You have to consider what the limiting factor is. For fly line, I don't know.

But note that it is uv that matters. At dawn and dusk, you aren't using up the chemical resistance much. At midday on a sunny July day, you are, even if you're just sitting on the bank. So that 200 hrs does depend on conditions.

 

[outsider]

pcray, I do agree with you. Just look at what it does to our skin, clothing, etc. That is why my rods, lines, etc. are always stored away from the sun. I never let my lines sit directly in sunlight, even when I take a break from fishing. They sit in the shade like me. If only we knew years ago what we know today - my body is really damaged by the sun from years past. It is a miracle I don't have skin cancer.

 

[UncleShorty]

Let it in the closet???

 

[dryflyguy]

I also kinda doubt that cleaning a line makes it last any longer. Although I do clean mine rather frequently for easier casting.
I had never got much more than 2 years out of a fly line, before it started to get cracks in the last few feet.
Then I bought a ridge fly line - 5 years ago now - and it doesn't have a single crack in it yet.
Definitely the longest life I've ever gotten out of a line.