Fly Lines - Welded loops

[ianmck]

Bought a fly line for the first time in many years this week. A wychwood feather down floater. It has a 'welded loop' built into the fly line material itself. A first for me. Braided loops were all the rage the last time I bought a fly line. Are these welded loops the standard now and are they reliable? I'm hoping they don't create too much water disturbance when casting.

[Wildfisher]

I cut the welded loops off and replace them with Moser Minicons. This makes a much neater loop to loop joint with the Perfection Loop on the leader butt.

I find these welded loops tend to split and hinge quite quickly. 

[Fishtales]

If you cut off the loop seal the cut with some waterproof glue. Don't use a runny one or it will wick up the core and make the end of the line hard and it will crack over time with use.

[burnie]

I use them for Salmon fishing, been using the same line for 10 years now and still great, has 4 different heads and no hinging or any other problems, now it hasn't been used as much as a troot line, maybe 3 or 4 years worth of use in comparison.