Fly Line Care
Fly Line Care Most modern fly lines contain lubricant additives in their coatings and need only occasional cleaning using hand soap and water on a cloth to maintain their casting and floating characteristics. On the water, wiping with a damp cloth is helpful. Commercially available lubricants will also add distance to your casts and can be applied to a wet line, although they work better if they are applied before your line gets wet.
Fly Line Memory All fly lines have "memory" — most often seen in the form of coils when line is first stripped from a reel, especially in stiffer lines made for warmer weather and distance casting. Taking the time to stretch your line in your hands after pulling it off of the reel will improve your casting distance and make it less likely that the loops of your fly line will tangle in the water or the bottom of the boat.
Many casters unknowingly put twist in their fly lines because their backcasts are canted to one side, making a fly rod tip travel in a circle as they complete their forward cast.
Fly Line Twist Many casters unknowingly put twist in their fly lines because their backcasts are canted to one side, making a fly rod tip travel in a circle as they complete their forward cast. Bulky flies can also spin and add twist. There are two effective ways to remove fly line twist. One is simply to spin the fly line between thumb and forefinger in the opposite direction of the twist. The other is to false-cast a number of times while consciously reversing the direction of the circle made by the rod tip (e.g. overhead backcast and sidearm forward cast).
Watch Those Chemicals Keep sunscreen and bug repellent away from fly lines and flies. Most products will break down the PVC coating of fly lines, and most fish are very sensitive to smell.
Warm Weather Fly Lines When fishing in hot, tropical conditions use stiff fly lines with hard coatings designed for the heat, they will work much better than comparable freshwater lines. But don't expect these lines to perform well in cold weather, where softer coatings make a line more castable.
Sinking Fly Lines Sinking and sink-tip fly lines enable you to reach fish in fast and/or deep water where floating lines would keep your flies too high in the water column. The key number to be aware of is their sink rate, which typically ranges from 1.5 to 9.5 inches per second. The faster and deeper the water, the faster the sink rate required.
General
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