Fly LIne

[cruzfly89 0]

hey guys, just wondering how often do you clean your fly lines? I know people say to clean it after every trip, but to me that seems like overkill. I clean mine when i get a chance to and do not really notice a difference in its shooting ability or the way it floats. A lot of the small stream fisherman i fish with clean their lines all of the time. They say it shoots a lot better and cuts down on the false casting.

[Piker20 0]

Depends on where I've been fishing. If the line has been in contact with salt or sand or grainy gritty banks I clean it afterwards under tap water and strip it to the backing before winding back on through a cloth with some cortland floating stuff, if its a floater.

If I'm fishing a 'clean' venue it prob don't get touched till my winter tackle tarting session I tend to have in the slow dark days.

[invasionqt 0]

I clean it when it seems to need it. I primarily fish floating lines so when they don't go through the guides well or don't float well it is time to clean. Depending on the line size I will clean 20 to 60 feet because that is about all I fish. I have never used any floatant rejuvenation treatments.

[Piker20 0]

I only use the floatant stuff as it came free with the line. I don't think it helps but it can't harm. Wouldn't buy any special.

[Beadheads 0]

I check my line every time before I go fishing. Cleaning it can be as simple as a wet cloth and a very mild dish soap solution, some people even use Amoral or Rain X to coat their lines. But they do have other fly line dressing available in market for doing such a job, it comes down to personal preference and budget.!

[perchjerker 0]

Not cleaning your lines periodically can rapidly lead to guide replacement; especially the tip top. There are microscopic single celled plants that inhabit our waters known as "diatoms". They secrete 'pill box' type exoskeletons (shells) that are made of silicon, and are glass like. They can stick to almost any, if in fact not ANY surface; i.e.; rock snot, which is a diatom. These organisms on a line can rapidly turn it into a miniature 'jeweler's file, and in conjunction with the sand grains and normal 'grit' that accumulates on a line, very rapidly "file" through a snake guide. And they will be a casting impediment.

 

The White Cliffs of Dover,England are massive diatom 'shell' deposits. This stuff has been quarried/mined for centuries for one of the finest (grain size as well as effectiveness) known abrasives.

[Piker20 0]

Anyone that keeps chickens or turkeys or similar prob knows Diatoms as Diatomaceous earth. It kills and keeps clear coops of red mite lice spiders etc. by cutting through their bodies due to its diamond like surface. I was always told that damp or wet it is not effective but if it dried on your fly line it would certainly ruin the line and rings.

[Flyman416 0]

I've heard of using fabric softener to un-twist/kink normal mono. could it also work for fly line?

[perchjerker 0]

I've heard of using fabric softener to un-twist/kink normal mono. could it also work for fly line?

 

Typically, just stretching both the line and mono briefly between your hands will straighten both. The mono will take more effort. As Gary Borger said, when he told a group of us about this method, after you get it stretched, just tell it that it has lost it's memory. Conveying this message to the material allows for sufficient time to do the trick.

[JSzymczyk 0]

Clean lines work better. Periodically I clean my lines with Armor-All or 303. 303 seems much better but it is more expensive. I also like the old Scientific Anglers silicone line dressing. By periodically, I mean whenever I feel like it needs to be done.

[cruzfly89 0]

does the silicone line dressing help it float better?

[Piker20 0]

does the silicone line dressing help it float better?

 

Think its supposed to. I used a spray silicon meant for use on plastic curtain runners and the like. It helped the line shoot and seemed to help keep it subtle. Can't remember who but someone told me to only use it on floating line. Use dilute washing up liquid on sinkers.