Fly lines?

[alba]

As a general question what's everyone's take on this subject.

For the past 6 or so years i've used cheaper end of the scale lines, caimore, wildfisher, and needing a few more now.

Really struggling to find something in the lower weights, what does everyone use?

Majority of trout lines are aimed at stockie bashers boasting bright colours at WF5 and above with a price tag of 40ish quid.

I've yet to see one of these out perform anything i've had previous.

I'm looking for a DT2 and 3 but can find much online?

Cheers

[corsican dave]

cortland sylk?

[sagecirca]

I have been using a mixture of Barrio GT90 lines in WF 3 and 4 weights and for dry fly only I have been using Rio LT WF3 and 4s.  The Rio LT lines are very nice but they retail at 70 odd quid.  The Barrios are less than half that.  Are the Rio twice as good? No they are not.  They are better but only just. 

[Wildfisher]

I'm assuming you are after floating lines. If so I'd spend the extra and buy Scientific Angles or Rio. If you look after them the long term cost of ownership  will be no greater than the offerings from Barrio, SKB etc and the performance is much superior, especially the slickness of the coating and  tip floatation.  However if you are only fishing from a drifting  boat  "loch style"  just buy the cheapest line you can get.

These lines are made by the same maker as Barrio, Northern Sports,  and are 1/2 the price or less. You don't get the fancy box or plastic spool, but the lines are the same quality and you get free backing!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Northern-Sport-Fly-Line-Floating-WF4F-9F-Chartreuse-FREE-BACKING-BRAID-/122433878949?var=&hash=item1c81a0bba5:m:mLdUUKSHQBT3TzoZeUgT9Mg

Search on Ebay for  "Northern Sport Fly Line" there are lots of options. Just like other badge engineering small suppliers  these guys will be buying the lines from the factory for about a  fiver a pop.  They are just a bit less greedy!   :lol:

[Lochan_load]

If you are interested in the cortland sylk dave said about above here's a link to Uttings who are doing them for 32.99

http://m.uttings.co.uk/p117070-cortland-classic-444-sylk-fly-line-30yds-mustard/

They're doing all the cortland 444s at that price, if you look you'll get a 10% discount code online too, I was going to get a scientific anglers on the recommendation of Fred but under 30 quid!

[Highlander]

Can't see by the Scientific Anglers they & Cortland have set the standard for years though they did not make the first PVC floating that was down to an American company Gladding they still stand the test of time.
Like Andy I have at least one Air Cel floater (green) (£20ish) on a reel & it floats just fine after many years of use.

Tight Lines

[rannoch raider]

I've been doing a bit of monkeying around with a few lines lately. Most of my lines are from Rio but I have a few others from Guideline, SA, Hardy and one of the latest offerings from Airflo. I think they are all pretty good lines to be honest but they all perform differently because of different thicknesses and densities. None of them coil up, they're all pretty slick and do what they're designed for.
I recently picked up a very nice 9 weight rod and tried it with a number of 9 weight WF lines . I was very disappointed with its performance. I dropped to 8 weight lines from the same makers as the 9 weights and the difference was incredible. I am a bit fussy about matching lines to rods and while I was very pleased with the rods performance I wasn't crazy about the short head (30ft) WF Rio lines for accurate and reasonably stealthy casting at longer distances. I had a nosey around and found an Orvis line that offered the same qualities as the Rio line but which has a slightly longer rear taper to a WF head of 40ft. This allows more control of a longer head in the air before the thin running line is beyond the rod tip. It is possibly just my style of casting but I find this performs so much better for me.
So, perhaps the manufacturer of your line may not be the most important factor in choosing a line that suits your rod and your casting style. Not all WF lines are the same and I'm sure the same applies to other makes and models of lines :wink:

[arawa]

I fish lighter lines and like Orvis (made by Scientific Anglers which is owned by Orvis). Expensive, but I usually get mine in the end of season sales or with my £25 voucher.
I have a Rio LT which is fine, but I prefer the Orvis/SA tapers.

[alba]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, ive got a caimore WF5 that's been on for 5 years, looked after it never coils and foats to the tip but its a bit beat up now and a few others ive tried have been poor, my small stream and burn lines are all DT I usually cut them in half as I need hardly any line on these waters.