Fly Fishing - Fly Line Review

bflyfishrman · Newbie Joined: Mar 04, 2008 Posts: 1

Does anyone have an opinion on whether RIO Gold WF line performs better than SA Mastery GPX Series for 4-6 wt? They're both the same price, just curious if one performs better than the other. Thanks

jeremy · Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:02 pm Post subject: rio vs. sa

hey -- i can't say much about the rio because i have never used it .. but, i can say that i have used the SA mastery series for trout ... it is really awesome stuff .. ya know what i like most, probably sounds dumb .. but, that i can get it in very neutral colors .. i have a hard time fishing any fly line that is an obnoxious orange, neon greeen or bright yellow color ... i like NATURAL colors and it's tough to find sometimes ... but the sa mastery series offers a natural olive color that i really like ... anyway .. it also casts great ... but, that might just be because by the time i get a new fly line .. my current one is so cracked and tattered and barely even fishable anymore ... so, a piece of rope would probably feel great too .. but, overall the sa mastery stuff for trout has been a great trout line ... and i like the natural color

joey · Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:45 pm Post subject:

SA for me thus far. I have no complaints. The most recent line that i have bought is the Orvis Trout Easy Mend. I really like that line as well. I have only use Rio tippet material never the line. Right now I have a spool of 6x that has been fine until my last outing. I found a weak spot in the spool and it was breaking while tying knots. Not a happy camper.

jeremy · Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:20 pm Post subject: hey

so .. let's take this one step further and talk FLY LINES in general .. not just rio vs. SA .. what fly lines to people like for certain applications? .. i think we did a pretty good value added review of the sharkskin stuff .. but their are alot of lines out there for different things .. salt, fresh, float, sink, (let's keep spey out of it cuz that's a whole nother animal deserving of its own topic)

so here goes -- here is what i fish

FLOATING FRESH WATER - TROUT/SALMON/STEELHEAD
SA - mastery series WF floating (for steelhead .. doesn't much matter really though cuz i am nymphing all the time .. so it's not like i am throwing dry flies .. so i think any old line would be just fine .. maybe not?)

SINKING FRESH WATER - TROUT/SALMON/STEELHEAD -
Orvis wonderline depth charge 150 grains or so - again for trout/salmon/steelhead in bigger rivers here in maine where getting DOWN and swinging flies is very productive and also ability to shoot line is advantageous .. i love dry fly fishing as much as the next guy, but not when the trout aren't rising .. and ultimately i like big trout .. so, when they are rising to bugs on service i fish floating .. when they are not ... i go deep .. that's where they are.

FLOATING SALTWATER
SA bonefish tapper

INTERMEDIATE SALTWATER
airflow, i think? .. it's clear that's all i know .. got it from a friend who didn't like it . can't remember what kind it is ....

SINKING SALT
Orvis wonderline depth charge 200/300 grains or so ..

i always roll with 1 reel and 2 spools in freshwater and saltwater .. so i can easily change up between float and sink ..

curious to hear how others roll ...

rhodyflyguy · Newbie Joined: Mar 17, 2007 Posts: 16

Floating saltwater: Airflo cold saltwater
Intermediate: Airflo cold saltwater
Sinking: Sci Anglers Type III full sink or rio striper 35o/400/450