Fly Fishing Lines: A Fly Fishing Tip


by Stanley Stanton - Date: 2007-02-06 - Word Count: 558 Share This!

In this day and age there seems to be a different fly line for every piece of water in the lower 48. For example, one of the major fly line manufacturer offers at least 16 different types of fly lines, salt water, and fresh water; weights from 2 to 15 different colored lines, lines with different sink rates, plus anything a fly fisher could possibly want for in any type of fly-fishing situation. All fly lines are designed to get the fly to the fish; however, those wonderful fly lines can cause you problems if you don't know how to fix them.

You may find when you put a new fly line on your fly reel that the line is twisted and sometimes even dirty. If you have ever tried to make a long cast with a twisted fly line, you soon found out that it is next to impossible because those twists will hang up at the first stripping guide. Please don't worry, there is an easy fix. Strip all the line off the reel and remove it from the backing, allowing it to lie in a straight line preferably on the lawn. Next, use mild dish washing detergent and warm water to make a wash clothe nice and soapy. Find the approximate center of the fly line. While firmly holding the fly line between the folds of the soapy cloth with one hand, pull and strip the line through the soapy cloth with the other hand working your way towards one end of the fly line. If you have held the soapy cloth tight enough, you should see the line coiling up as you walk along pulling the line through the cloth. You may have to repeat this process three to four times to get all the coils and twists out of one end of the line.

Now repeat the process to the other end of the fly line and get the twists. This is more than just cleaning a fly line. Then, do the entire line several times, working from the reel end to the leader end using a wet cloth to remove any residual soap. If your fly line came with a line conditioner, now is the time to apply it as per the manufacturer instructions, otherwise don't put any type of dressing on the line because of possible damage it may cause. When you are finished, you should have a clean, straight fly line and one that will cast and fish like it was designed to do.

If you tend to wet fly fish the same river from the same side for several weeks over the course of the summer, you may find that the twists will return. One reason is the flow of the water "rolls" the fly line along a small amount, creating a little twist every time you fish the fly down and across the current. Also, certain fly casting methods will also cause some twisting. So, at the end of three or four days of hard fishing or when you get line twists, you will need to use the soapy cloth method to get your fly line clean and twist free. Fly lines are just tools that we can use to get the fly to the fish, however, sometimes it is up to us to "tune" them up so they work properly.


Related Tags: tips, leader, water, salt, fly, a, reel, line, fresh, methods, casting, wet, lines.fishing, cleaqning, dressing

Stanley Stanton: Oregon Fly Fishing Guide and McKenzie River fishing guide, Visit: http://www.oregon-fly-fishing-with-stan.com For trout fly fishing tips, how to fly fish information, plus guided Rainbow Trout Fly Fishing, Steelhead Fly Fishing, classes for beginners and advanced fly fishing and Oregon Salmon Fishing. Email: stan@oregon-fly-fishing-with-stan.com

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