I bought a few items this past week just to check them out and see what all the fuss on the Bear Pit Fly Forum was about.
First the lines: I bought a 5wt WF "Gold" which is pretty much indistinguishable for a Rio Gold that costs 4x as much. Alex tells me he bought some of these from China and they were marked "Real Gold" :D Good line.
Also bought a 4wt Gold DT which is odd in that it is 3 coloured. The centre is dark grey one end is white and the other green. Nice line but I'd say it's at least ½ a weight light.
Also bought one of the CNC reels. A blue Avid model. Nicely made but probably a touch flimsy and when I look at my much bashed 15 year old Vosseller DC3 I just know there is no comparison and no way the new reel would stand up to that kind of knocking about. Nice reel though, very light and good for £50. The drag is a bit "on or off" which is a feature of cheaper reels.
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Incidentally last season I bought one of the cheap Maxcatch DT3 lines to use with my split cane rod. It too was very good, light olive, and cost about £10 or so.
Have had my eye on one of the maxcatch sink tips for streamer fishing. Heard wuite a few recommendations for the gold line recently
I'll be honest Scott, I don't really like buying stuff from the murderous and dangerous Chinese regime, but at the same time Rio charging a £100 for a fly line that probably costs less than a tenner to make is taking the piss. I base that on the price I used to buy my lines for from 22M.
I notice Mike Barrio's lines are much more expensive than they used to be, but Mike is now importing from the USA and that has its own costs. It seems covid has destroyed the UK fly line manufacturing base. I admit I have not always seen eye to eye with Mike, but his stuff is good and who would you rather support -a local businessman or Genghis Khan?
It's so difficult now to even know where goods come from. I think we desperately need a new law that makes it compulsory for retailers to clearly state country of origin of all the goods they sell. Amazon is classic, no country of origin listed. I bought one of Mike's lines the other day - it clearly states on his site they are made in the USA. The rod I bought from Sandy is made in Scotland with USA blanks. If I buy from Amazon - which I do - I have to assume the goods are made in communist China.
I bought 1 of those gold lines last year for wee alan's reel....ok for the money but you know the difference if you cast it, then a top end line. I agree that the prices are out of order on SA, Rio, Orvis lines though
I took a punt on the gold line. Boredom through the winter and little to lose price wise. Just spooled it, and it lays out a nice straight line.
What I did notice was the stretch on the line, much more when compared against the Cortland lines I have on other reels.
Anyone found the same or have experience on the pros and cons of a stretchy line? Like does it affect casting or hook ups?
I've only had my line out on grass and I can't say I noticed any issues. It cast very well. That said I'm a pretty average caster and it may be that a top caster would notice the stretch.
That's me Fred. A bang average caster. I've just put the longest leader I can cope with on the line, might as well see if I can turn a fly over at my limit.
Been using a rod last season and a half that might, and it's just a guess, do well with a slightly heavier line that this Maxcatch is supposed to be.
Far as stretch goes, perhaps it will assist in keeping a trout on. Every little bit helps.
Quote from: east wind on February 07, 2022, 02:42:14 PM
Far as stretch goes, perhaps it will assist in keeping a trout on. Every little bit helps.
That could certainly help.
Got round to trying the Gold fly line. Floats fine and straight, casts well and turned my fly over in the usual Scottish wind.
The stretchy concerns I had didn't affect me and I landed a couple of decent trout that had the reel turning over.
Pretty damn good for around £20. Cheating rascals that these Maxcatch people may be but I'm tempted to buy some more when I look at the cost compared to the top end stuff,
I haven't tried Maxcatch lines or reels but I have bought and used a number of Mike Barrio's lines and found them to be excellent. Only issue I've had is with the colour change between the cream running line and olive head not being easy to see. However a quick run over with a permanent marker sorted that out.
Best thing about Mike's lines is the advice he gives on lines selection. I've asked him about the best line to suit a specific rod a few times, have followed his advice and never been disappointed.
I fished with a #4 wt Maxcatch Gold DT yesterday and found it was fine.
I've bought a few lines from Mike recently and found them excellent. His MK 2 lines are made in the USA - I don't think the UK has much left it the way of line manufacturers post coivd which is really sad.
Oddly enough I have just finished spooling one of Mike's Small Stream lines and I'll take it out tomorrow if it's a decent day.