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3. Broken fly line

I have a floating fly line that i have only used 5 times and it is split.does anyone know how to fix it.

You must have a defective fly line. I have never heard of a fly line that split. When you say it "split" do you mean it split linearly or circumferentially? There is no really effective means to repair your line, especially if it is a floating line. Once the outer finish has cracked or split water is going to invade the core and make the line sink. Take it back to the store where you bought it.

I bought Río floating line two years ago and noticed last hear it has cracks in it, what'd I do wrong?

Conditioned end of first year and middle of last.

You may have not done anything wrong. Fly lines do not last forever. Especially if you fish a lot and use them in temperature extremes. I go through at least one or two lines per rod, a year, depending upon the amount of use each set up gets. And I am pretty fastidious about taking care of them. Dirt and cold weather seems to be especially hard on lines for me. As far as the line "splitting" I would need a better description of what that means as to give any sort of advice. But as Wbranch says, it may just be a defective line. It happens...

Eric, how do you care for your lines? I seem to go through spells of cleaning, then not cleaning (i.e. forgetting to do it). One thing that works well for me is pulling the line through a piece of old cotton sheet after using some kind of line conditioner or cleaner. That seems to get the dirt off very well, or at least it appears so from the dark lines left on the sheet material. I usually go 5-7 passes, or until the marks left on the sheet are very light or non-existant. One problem for me is I have to do this in a room that none of our four cats is occupying, or things get very complicated.

I've posted on this before somewhere Strmanglr, but I cant find it. Luckily I won't have to retype most of it as it pretty much said the same thing Eric said. There are three factors involved:

1. The type of water you fish.
2. How much you fish.
3. How you manage your line.

If you fish a lot of freestone 3 times a week, you probably won't get a season out of a line no matter how careful you are. If the angler always has line trailing about, the line may not last the week on this type of water. Some of the water I like to fish is lava rock lined, and there you have to be extremely careful about all your gear. I use gear that's about had it across the board for those places, from waders to fly lines.:) I fish enough that the finish seems to go before cracks become a problem, but like Eric said, I'd have to see your line because there are cracks, and then there are cracks.

Louis -

I'm fastidious about cleaning my lines too, but for performance. I may do it 3 or 4 times a day, depending on water clarity . The best stuff I've found to make this practical is the little bottle of slime that SA sells along with those little micro pads. The reason is they both seem to work best when the line is wet. They are in my vest or shirtpocket so that all I have to do is run the pad down the line several times, rub in the goo (no need to rub it off) and I'm back in business. Unless a line is clean it won't mend or feed into drifts well, tends to sink and won't pick up as cleanly/softly, and won't shoot as well. I hate fishing with dirty lines...

Yeah I clean my lines using those sa pads as well, but since I use rio lines I use their brand of line cleaner/conditioner. And like Kurt I do it more for performance than anything else. The limestoners around here are pretty boggy and muddy along the banks so my lines get dirty fast. I don't think it hurts to soak a line in some warm water and then wipe it off, and then condition it with whatever the manufacturer recommends. I use two separate pads, one to clean and the other to apply the line conditioner.

"I bought Río floating line two years ago and noticed last hear it has cracks in it, what'd I do wrong?

Conditioned end of first year and middle of last."

I seldom get an entire season out of a line unless I clean it at least once after every other use. Now I buy the least expensive line that has decent floatation qualities because I just can't afford to shell out $150 a season for two lines, and often double that because I fish a #4 & #5 a couple of times a week.

Towards the end of last season I needed a new line for my 5 wt and the local shop I frequent was out of my current favorite. I picked up a Cortland 444 they had on special for under $40, if I remember right. They have virtually disappeared out here on the Coast. Too bad. I had forgotten how well they fish...

I've had fly lines for several years. Cracks mean nothing to me. Maybe I'm not a very good fisherman, but I have no problems fishing nymphs. I really don't notice a difference between a new or cracked line. I fish an average of 50 times each year. If I'm fishing dry flies, they float, and I catch fish, then that's all I care about. I'm not cheap, but I have a hard time paying the ridiculous prices for line 2 or 3 times each year.

What are the performance characteristics of a cracked line? This is a serious question. Please explain.
Thanks,
Bruce

Bruce,

"What are the performance characteristics of a cracked line?"

1. They absorb water and sink. I hate to see the first 1' - 3' of my line sink.

2. The cracks impede casting. The interrupted surface hangs up in the guides.

Kurt and Eric,

I have and use the SA pads too, but after I've made several passes through the bed sheet pad. The cotton sheet cloth seems to work the same way the SA pad does, taking off lots of gunk, but is less abrasive. And I've been using the SA cleaner/conditioner. Thanks to all for this thread; perhaps it'll get me back in the groove of more frequent line cleaning. Last season was hit or miss, mostly miss. I blame it on the cats.

Hey guys, I picked up an Orvis Wonderline WF3 for my favorite little 7.5-footer about a year and a half ago, to replace a Cortland Clear Creek WF3 that had lasted 4 or 5 seasons before it began to sink on me. Well, I'm wondering why I paid $70 for this "Wonderline" because it started to crack and sink after one season of use! WTF?? Any recommendations on a good durable line? My nearest fly shop (Tawas City) recommends some of the higher-end Rio lines ($75 range). I wouldn't have a problem paying this much for a line if I can get several season out of it like the Cortland Clear Creek did for me.

Jonathon

"I blame it on the cats."

Years ago when I was still living with my folks I bought a Cortland 444 and took it out of the container and laid it on my bed in preparation of putting in on my reel. I walked into the kitchen for a few minutes and when I got back my parents Siamese cat was sitting on the bed chewing on the brand new line! He had already bitten it in half about four feet from the tip and was working his way down further. I still have that mental image today of that damn cat chewing on my line LOL.

BTW there is a seller on Ebay who sells a fly line from Canada called Aquanova or Aqua Nova. I buy these for all my streamer work and he charges between $15 & $25 for the lines. I'd buy them in lighter line sizes but the only color he seems to ever offer is hot yellow or chartruese and I just don't like colors that loud for dry fly work.

Here is the link;

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=aqua+nova+fly+lines&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313&_nkw=aquanova+fly+lines&_sacat=0

Bruce -


Like I said, Bruce, there are cracks, and then there are cracks. Some appear like tiny spider veins and aren't as bad as they don't penetrate beyond the surface. You wouldn't even notice them but for the staining they take on. Other cracks go through the surface, even to the core. They are the bad ones. If your line is sinking after a little bit of fishing, clean it right there on the spot. If it still sinks after that, it is waterlogged and you have the bad kind.

Louis -


I don't know Louis, lens manufacturers recommend microfiber and discourage the use of cotton cloth. The former does a far better job of keeping the dirt it collects from abrading the surface you're cleaning. The pads feel much stiffer because of the foam backing, but I don't think that has anything to do with being harder on the lines unless the pads themselves aren't cleaned occasionally.


And there's the "rub" with home cleaning isn't it. We have to put up with fishing a dirty line the next time out because most have better things to do when we get home from a long and tiring day. Besides, if we show the energy to clean tackle, we might be asked to take care of other chores! :)

Jon -

Why don't you just buy another Cortland? Do you MI boys have the same problem we do out here with their availability?

Hmm, I'd want some controlled testing to prove that. The SA pads are actually designed, if I remember accurately, to be abrasive, buffing away a teeny tiny bit of the line's finish to refresh it and allow the lubricants to reach the surface. You may be right about the cotton, but it appears to remove a lot of dirt, and that helps to keep my SA pad from getting totally gunked up quickly, so until I find it's wearing away any more of the finish than the SA pad, I'll probably stick to the sheet first, then the SA pad. But I'm open to any carefully controlled studies that might be done.

At the bottom of this post, see the link to Dan Blanton's words on fly line cleaning. I'm quoting one of his sentences below:



That SA pad may be more abrasive than you think; it certainly isn't microfiber. Rub your finger across it, then across a piece of cotton sheet. Or better still, rub your lens with the SA pad. :) Blanton also notes that the abrasive pad strips away grime and allows the silicone in the finish to "weep" to the surface.

http://www.danblanton.com/tlcflyline.html

I've seen cortland before, can't recall where but I know it's around in MI.

Sounds like you guys have changed out lines way more than I have, it also sounds like I don't need to spend a lot on line. Is there really much difference?

Kurt, if I get down to the nearest Cabelas (Dundee MI, several hours south) I may just pick up a new Cortland line. It sure seemed durable, lasted me at least 4 years of intense fishing (at least 60-70 days a year of flycasting). Otherwise I might order one or see if my local flyshop can get one for me.

Jonathon

Ah! Good points, Louis. Come to think of it, you've jogged my memory and now I seem to remember something along the same lines myself. I think it is (or was) advertised as microfiber, but you're right, it certainly feels different. They must have done something to the fabric to make it that way. Perhaps impregnated with a buffing compound? Maybe that's why thy don't mention cleaning them. Hmmm... maybe my pad use contributes to my preference for SA lines over Rio... I don't know - perhaps that kind of polishing is good regardless of floating line. What I do know is that the system works for me. My lines stay clean and handle well because it's quick and easy to do. Good thing I never used the pad to clean my glasses or camera lens, though!:)

As for clear lines, I just rub them down with a little medicinal I always have on hand for bug killing and other purposes... You want that line to sink and line treatments are taboo.

I'll check out your link and get back.

I don't know why the link won't work, but I've deactivated it, and if one cuts and pastes it in to a browser it seems to get there--at least with Firefox.

http://www.danblanton.com/tlcflyline.html