Questions on Swap Meet Fly Line

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a23fish

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I recently went to a local fly club swap meet/flea market, and picked up 2 fly lines. The first was neatly wrapped in a coil and has a tag indicating it is Cortland 444, WF5F (in peachy coral color). The second one is a chartreuse/neon green Rio Demo Fly Line, also WF5F, and is in the original Rio packaging. Neither one has a loop on either end. So, my questions are:

1. Does it make a difference which end of the Cortland line I attach to the backing? The Rio line has a little tag on one end indicating that end is to be attached to the backing, so that solves that problem but it makes me wonder about the Cortland line. Is only one end the WF part, and if so, how do I determine that?

2. Since neither has any loop, do I simply tie a perfection loop knot in the working end of the line to attach my leaders, or is there a better knot to use for the loop-to-loop connections? What knot should be used to attach the lines to the backing?

3. I noticed that both lines are thinner than the factory Orvis WF5F line I have on my Encounter combo and thinner than the Scientific Anglers Mastery Infinity WT5F line I have on another reel. What difference, if any, will that make?

4. Did I simply fall victim to the old "Wow, that's a really cheap price, I should get it now and figure out what to do with it later" syndrome, or will they stand me in good stead when I wear out one of my current lines? Which may take a while....
 
I recently went to a local fly club swap meet/flea market, and picked up 2 fly lines. The first was neatly wrapped in a coil and has a tag indicating it is Cortland 444, WF5F (in peachy coral color). The second one is a chartreuse/neon green Rio Demo Fly Line, also WF5F, and is in the original Rio packaging. Neither one has a loop on either end. So, my questions are:

1. Does it make a difference which end of the Cortland line I attach to the backing? The Rio line has a little tag on one end indicating that end is to be attached to the backing, so that solves that problem but it makes me wonder about the Cortland line. Is only one end the WF part, and if so, how do I determine that?

2. Since neither has any loop, do I simply tie a perfection loop knot in the working end of the line to attach my leaders, or is there a better knot to use for the loop-to-loop connections? What knot should be used to attach the lines to the backing?

3. I noticed that both lines are thinner than the factory Orvis WF5F line I have on my Encounter combo and thinner than the Scientific Anglers Mastery Infinity WT5F line I have on another reel. What difference, if any, will that make?

4. Did I simply fall victim to the old "Wow, that's a really cheap price, I should get it now and figure out what to do with it later" syndrome, or will they stand me in good stead when I wear out one of my current lines? Which may take a while....
The end with thin level line (running line) should be attached to your backing on the Cortland line (the Rio line is already marked as you wrote).

Use an "Albright" knot (linked below) to attach the backing to fly line.


The lines look "thinner" likely because it's the running line exposed rather than the tapered end which is attached to your leader.

My guess is there is a loop on the front end of your lines to attach your leader.

Good luck.....good fishing!
 
Afishinado - Thanks for the quick reply. On the Cortland line, both ends are exposed, and both look to be the same diameter. Frankly, I don't know how to tell the WF end from the running line end.

For the Albright knot, do I make the loop in the backing and wrap the fly line around it, or vice versa?
 
Compare the lines 6-11 feet from the end. If one is thicker, the other is the end to attach to the backing.
 
If you were to tie a perfection loop in fly line, it would be way too bulky. You will need to learn a nail knot or similar to tie the leader to the line end. If you want to preserve a loop-to-loop connection for easy leader changes, tie a short section of heavy leader material such as Maxima Chameleon or just a piece of the butt section of a scrap tapered leader onto the end of the line then put a perfection loop in that. This section should only be 6" or less when you're all done.
This webpage has a diagram of the taper profile for a WF line. You said both ends appear to be the same diameter. You need to unspool the line and measure the daimeter of the line at several points to tell which end is which. You'll need a caliper or micrometer or well calibrated fingers. Seriously, you might be able to feel the taper transitions if you slide the line through your fingers. I've never tried this, but it may be possible - it doesn't hurt to try.
 
Afishinado - Thanks for the quick reply. On the Cortland line, both ends are exposed, and both look to be the same diameter. Frankly, I don't know how to tell the WF end from the running line end.

For the Albright knot, do I make the loop in the backing and wrap the fly line around it, or vice versa?
As others have posted, check the line diameter beginning at both ends and moving down the line. The thicker tapered end is attached to the leader and the thin untapered end is attached to the backing. Check out this diagram >

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When tying an albright knot to attach your backing to your fly line, the fly line gets looped and the backing is wrapped around the fly line loop. Check out this video >


Good luck, again.
 
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Thanks folks. I appreciate the answers and suggestions. I'll use the Albright knot to attach the fly line to the backing. But I do want to preserve a loop-to-loop for the WF end of the fly line. Should I use a nail knot to attach a new bit of leader to the fly line, or could I use the Albright knot for that too? Regarding the new leader with a loop, could I just use the loop section of an old leader to nail knot it to the fly line, or would it be better to use a new piece of Maxima Chameleon and tie a perfection loop in that after nail knotting it to the fly line? What pound test for the Maxima?
 
You can use an old leader with a loop or one without, then tie a perfection loop on that. If you use Maxima, I would use 0.017" (I think it's 20lb) or the next size up. Use a nail knot to attach it. In fact, I have only ever used a nail knot at both ends of the line. Make sure that if you tie an albright knot to the backing that it can slide easily through of the guides. I've never used an Albright knot but it looks like it would be rather large. What a bummer if the fish of a lifetime takes you into the backing and the line-to-backing knot hangs up on a guide and breaks the fish off!
 
Art Lee's Uni-knot splice works quite well for attaching the butt of your leader to your line.
 
To answer the 4th bullet point you made, I don't think you made a bad decision, at least for the Cortland Peach. It's quite a favorable line and revered by many. I once got some peach 3WF-F line used on a reel I bought online. It was a good pairing for my SAGE MOD 2wt 9ft. Great nymphing setup. I may toy with the idea of getting the Peach line again for some of my lighter rods when my lines start to wear out. That'll be awhile though. Hope your new lines do well for you. Cortland makes some great lines and exceptionally good fluorocarbon, the best fluorocarbon in my opinion.
 
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