Cleaning Line
Fly line is expensive. Some premium styles are over $100 per spool and many more styles are getting close to that. If you want to get the most out of your expensive line, here are a few tips people have taught me over the years.
Clean line is happy line and happy line is a joy to cast. Remember the last time you had brand new line on your reel and how well it cast? The full benefit of the research and testing was paying off. That new line just zinged out in a beautiful cast. But that extra special zing didn’t last long. Before you knew it the thrill was gone, to use the words of Blues Artist B.B King (written by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell).
Dirt happened. Slime and dirt and stuff on your line. In saltwater fly fishing you have the residue from the water and the spray plus some fish scales if you’re lucky. You can even hear the scrape of the line on the line guides.
Obviously, you need to clean your line.
First, every time your outfit is used in saltwater, strip off all the line under running water and then dry it by pulling it through a clean towel (paper or cloth). After the line is off, I rinse of the reel assembly and make sure plenty of water runs over the backing. Once the line and the reel are clean from the salt, I reel the line back on the reel, remove the spool from the reel frame and set it in front of a HVAC outlet so the air blows over it and leave it until the next morning to give everything time to dry.
Then I put my reel back where I keep it- out of direct sunlight and in an area where air can circulate around it. In other words, I never ever put it is a reel case unless I am transporting it. The same goes for the rod- I don’t keep it in a rod tube or sock. (I rinse of the rod, too, after fishing in saltwater.)
After every second or third time of using the line (or when it just look dull and dirty), I do one of two things. One thing I do is soak the line in a mixture of water and Woolite for several hour, followed by a rinse and drying it off by pulling it through a folded paper towel.
The second thing I do every 4th or 5th time I use the line issue a line dressing that cleans the line and helps it float higher in the water. There are a number of products:Umpqua’s Glide, Rio’s Agent X and Loon’s Line Speed. In general, you put it on, let it sit (24 hours is best but 5 minutes is OK) then buff it off. These clean a bit better than just water. But they aren’t cheap.
When to Replace Line
As noted above, if you take care of your line, it can last for several, several years- depending upon its initital quality and the amount of time you used it. I have some line on 10-. 11- and 3-wt reels that I almost never use so are likely over 8 or 9 years old. If I were going fishing for Tarpon on a once in a lifetime trip, I would get new line. But for throwing to a large school of Spanish, it’s good enough for me – except the 3-wt.
But when the line looks dirty and stays looking dirty whenever I wash it, it’s getting to be time to retire it or put it on a beat up reel for practice on the gravel or pavement. (Never throw away line until it flat falls apart- you can always use it for practice. If you are tempted to throw it away, give it to me!)
When you notice you are not getting the distance or accuracy you desire, even after cleaning the line, start thinking about changing it out.
Always get new line if you are getting ready for a destination or once in a life-time trip.
Every once in a while, line makers come out with a really significant new line that you can’t resist. Buy it. Also, there are some specialty lines you need to have on an extra spool for your reel or in you flyfishing bag. For instance, there is cold water line that doesn’t coil up as bad as regular line in cold water. Obviously, you don’t want to have that on you reel during the summer but in cold water times, it rocks.
Notice that I said “extra spool.” Always buy at least one extra spool when you buy a new reel. Yeah, it costs too much. Yeah, you don’t think you will ever use it. Yeah, you will be forever sorry when you don’t spend the extra few bucks and you wind up with a reel with only one spool, Pity, pity. Get at least one extra spool per reel you buy. That way you won’t be chasing me down to beat me into a bloody pulp because you didn’t listen to me.
