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Fly Line Manufacurer Review

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CaryGreene

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1 min ago, Killiefish said:

 

You mean as sold to another company?? 

 

Some of my favorite lines for single hand spey and THOH with tips.  Also the Bermuda lines and Bermuda shorts. 

Yea sold to another firm - heard that ffrom Scotty at Compleat Angler's in Darien....

 

Very nice fly lines indeed. They just have a gap in the 330gr to 400 grain window.

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19 hours ago, FisherPan said:

Thank you so much for this excellent review and for taking the time to test and write this out for the rest of us.  MUCH APPRECIATED.

Great to have you in the thread FisherPan & welcome. Glad you're likin' where we're at so far. 

 

19 hours ago, FisherPan said:

I've been researching the optimal full intermediate line that I can grow into for my first saltwater outfit (9'9wt T&T Exocett) to be used a majority of the time for wadable shore fishing - beach, jetties, backbays etc.  This weekend will be my first foray out on the salt coming from river fly fishing.

Excellent rod to learn on and grow into! I'm a big fan of 9wts for general fly-rodding. The rod looks like this? All that nice, buttery soft Portuguese cork, OOH-LA-LA!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzdCRh_9SAU

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19 hours ago, FisherPan said:

I have lined it with the Sonar Titan Full Intermediate for surf/jetties/backbay prospecting work, and after casting at the park, am definitely feeling what you are saying about how the line is a bear to cast, it gets really unstable once I have more running line out the rod tip (is this normal?).  It shoots a lot of line however.  I've got a 50lb>30lb>20lb>swivel>15lb fluoro leader in 4 : 2.5 : 1 : 1 ratio and I am using a tightly rolled clouser-weight short tight roll of paper to simulate real world conditions.  I am doing about 55-65 feet max now on average but am still trying to dial my casting stroke in for more line speed/distance...so this could just be my (lack of proper) technique.  And this is under very gentle wind conditions.

 

Looks like we're working with the Sonar Titan Full Intermediate for surf/jetties/backbays..etc. I'm assuming you're using the 9wt version of the below line (not a 10wt or heavier?).

62e337afdefe4_Screenshot2022-07-289_28_00PM.png.fe6b169c374e7201eaf74d24ac521202.png

 

If so, you're basically learning on a specialy compact head fly-line designed to deliver large flies. Not the line I would have chosen for you at all. To answer your quesiton here, yes, once the 33 1/2' Head is in the air and you essentially have only the fine, level running line supporting it - the more running line you have out as you cast back and forth, the "jankier" this line line will cast. 

 

On casts inside of 40', this line will flop a big fly to the target. It will feel distincly weird at all distances inside of 40' also by the way, because of the Janky compound taper, which is HIGHLY front loaded. It will shoot okay as well, our to 70' but the further you try to launch it, the sloppier the resutls will be. This is NOT a great distance casting line. 

 

Also, your leader butt sounds way too light. What material are using and what is it's diameter (in inches please). 

 

20 hours ago, FisherPan said:

Here is my confusion. Your glowing review of the SA Camo intermediate and its properties makes me really keen on trying it out.  However in comparing the head weights of both lines (SA SONAR Titan: 360, SA Camo Intermediate: 395), I am noticing that the Camo Intermediate is a whole 35 grains heavier...so if the 360 grain Titan is already feeling clunky, and as you said heavy, wouldn't the Camo intermediate 'overload' my rod if I have the full head out?

Yes, the glowing review of the SA Camo Intermediate. A line for intermediate level casters and up. Holding 50' of head in the air is easily doable but, it will require some practice to be able to do that. If your stroke isn't loading the rod, you'll struggle. That said, most beginner saltwater casters can handle lines with 40' heads just as easily as they can as those with 30' heads. 35 Grains is NOTHING. Barely noticeable. Therefore, here's my recommendations:

1. Focus WAY less on Grain-Weight and WAY MORE on the right taper that will help you form smooth, easy loops. Choose a line that has enough oomph to put a few bigger or medium sized flies out there pretty easily and ADJUST to a proper leader that will facilitate optimal turnover (I'm guessing your current leader is too wimpy, but we shall see once you reveal what material you're using). What would be ideal for you is a line with a smooth, uniform taper. 

 

2. The Camo Intermediate is NOT the line I'd chose for you - though I do love it. I would 100% go for the Airflo Cold Salt Intermediate. It has a 40' Head and a nice, smooth, uniform taper that is plenty beefy enough to work in harmony with the correct Leader. It should be perfect for what you're doing. 

 

20 hours ago, FisherPan said:

Do you, under such circumstances simply keep more of the head of a longer head line in the rod tip to "dial it in" for your rod's casting sweet spot and shoot the rest for distance?  Or do you aerialize all of the head and change your casting stroke (how?)?  Coming from freshwater, I rarely have to cast more than 40 feet so casting for distance is really new for me)

Yes, you can do that if you're casting a line that has a 50' or longer Head and and your target is in closer than 50'. You'll have to make a few more false casts to inch your way out to whatever distance you're going for, but short, smooth, quick strokes make easy and fast work of situations like this. Not bothersome at all and, if you're casting further than 30' - lines with longer heads are much more accurate and you can drop a fly right on a fishe's head. You can't really do that consistently if you're shooting 20' or more of line. 

 

Once you find your rod's sweet spot - the amount of weight it seems to like, then you will want to let the line rip. Once you get past the sweet spot, results suffer - this is true of all rods. We slow the stroke down when that happens, to mimimize the issue. 

 

In olden days (LOL) <snickering> we used Double Taper lines when trout fishing. The lines were made of silk and the rods of bamboo. A given rod could hold a given amount of line in the air. To make a longer cast, the caster simply slowed the stroke down, putting less momentum in to the line. The mass of the line meanwhile, increased proportionately to how much line a caster was carrying. This provided plenty of load. Using a fast stroke with lots of power would be counterprodctive becasue it would cause greater lengths of arealized line to bend the rod too deeply and the result would be excess tip wobble and corresponding loop instability at distance. 

 

Slowing down and or using less power is how we put less stress on a blank once the sweet spot is being taxed. If you've ever yanked a surf rod with a lure that was a bit too heavy for the rod, you can feel the rod literally buckle under the weight. Blanks snap if the mass of the lure is significantly too heavy and the caster doesn't adjust. Fly rods rarely snap. But problems do nonethess perseist if you don't adjust. 

 

The Exocet isn't a lightning fast or overly stiff blank. It's actually pretty forgving. This means you can make a lot of timing errors (within reason) and the rod will still be somewhat friendly. That said, when you start using lines that respond to your stroke and put a serious bend in the blank, becasue they may be too heavy, this means that your stroke is pretty good and that you might want to dial down a bit in Grain Weight. 

 

For example, in my hands, with an Exocett 9wt, I would like to be no heavier than 260 Grains with the Weight of the Full Head. This means that I would use the 7wt Sci-A Titan line on that rod. Could I use the 8wt Titan line? Yes, but I would need to back off a lot on my stroke. Could I use the 9wt Titan line? ehhhh, yea, but at that point I really have to dial down. Otherwise, I'll get too much bend in the blank and I won't be able to keep things under control and optimal. Would I worry about it, using the 9wt Titan? Nope. Not really. It's only going 75 to 80 feet anyway, who cares? Might be an invitation to relax and toss some big flies. 

 

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However, in your hands, the 9wt line might be working great, or, who knows, you might actually prefer the 8wt Titan. 

 

My guess though, is that it's not really the line's weight. What you don't like is the taper of the line and the Head Length. You want to carry some more line in the air and shoot longer distances. 

 

What I don't know is, how advanced is your stroke - coming from a freshwater background? Have someone take a video of yourself casting. All we need is two or three casts. Have the person shoot from a side view, looking directly at you. Then, have them ove to a view that's further out, looking towards you. No need to follow the line. Have them fix on you throughout the video.

 

Then upload it to YouTube and either post the link here or send it to me. I can further assess how the Titan line is performing and what you may or may not be doing. Also, what freshwater lines are you used to and on what rods?

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10 hours ago, gman1253 said:

Yea sold to another firm - heard that ffrom Scotty at Compleat Angler's in Darien....

 

Very nice fly lines indeed. They just have a gap in the 330gr to 400 grain window.

Agree - and also a gap in head lengths. They only make compact shooting heads it seems. 

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7 hours ago, CaryGreene said:

Agree - and also a gap in head lengths. They only make compact shooting heads it seems. 

They redesigned their web site -- look around. I believe that the Triangle Taper Signature line has a longer head.  The original TT is around 40 in 6wt or heavier....

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4 hours ago, gman1253 said:

They redesigned their web site -- look around. I believe that the Triangle Taper Signature line has a longer head.  The original TT is around 40 in 6wt or heavier....

Yes, I evaluated the website in this thread. It's one of the worst websites in the industry.  The Signature Series is a freshwater line and it only goes up to an 8wt w/ 36' Head.

 

The original classic is also a freshwater line and it's available up to a 9wt (40' Head).

 

My evaluation is based on the lines they recommend for Northeast Saltwater use. In the summertime and in shallower estuaries where water temps are heated by the Sun and therefore warmer, you can get away with some of the tropical lines in the summertime. However, the freshwater fly lines you are talking about aren't recommended for saltwater use by the manufacturer (as I detailed in the thread).

 

Wulff's saltwater fly lines are presently exclusively designed as integrated compact shooting heads.

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13 hours ago, CaryGreene said:

Agree - and also a gap in head lengths. They only make compact shooting heads it seems. 

Agree that the head lengths are short, especially the Ambush lines.

On 7/28/2022 at 8:33 AM, gman1253 said:

 

Very nice fly lines indeed. They just have a gap in the 330gr to 400 grain window.

The Ambush lines actually are used with tips so to get to 330g or 400g one can add polyleaders or sink tips.  This is what they weigh and the base head length in the realm of 330 to 400:

 

AMB 7 F 20′ 265 gr.  Add a tip of 65g = 330g, or 10ft of T-7
AMB 8 F 20′ 290 gr.  Add a tip of 75-80g or 8-10ft T-11
AMB 8.5 F 25′ 325 gr.  Add a tip of 75-80g or 7-8ft T-11
AMB 9 F 24′ 350 gr.  with tip, close to but likely over 400g
AMB 9.5 F 25′ 375 gr.  with tip, over 400g
AMB 10 F 24′ 400 gr.  with tip, over 400g

 

   

 

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6 hours ago, CaryGreene said:

Yes, I evaluated the website in this thread. It's one of the worst websites in the industry.  The Signature Series is a freshwater line and it only goes up to an 8wt w/ 36' Head.

 

The original classic is also a freshwater line and it's available up to a 9wt (40' Head).

 

My evaluation is based on the lines they recommend for Northeast Saltwater use. In the summertime and in shallower estuaries where water temps are heated by the Sun and therefore warmer, you can get away with some of the tropical lines in the summertime. However, the freshwater fly lines you are talking about aren't recommended for saltwater use by the manufacturer (as I detailed in the thread).

 

Wulff's saltwater fly lines are presently exclusively designed as integrated compact shooting heads.

They’ve now redone the website and they show all the specs on each line, 30’ head weights, full head weights and taper profiles including handling section, it’s now probably the most informative of all the line makers, amazing!

JC

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On 7/28/2022 at 10:10 PM, CaryGreene said:

I'm assuming you're using the 9wt version of the below line (not a 10wt or heavier?).

@CaryGreene Thank you so much for the detailed response!!  Yes I am using the 9wt version of this line. 

 

I've loved the Single hand Exocett since I first saw it and casted a friend's rod casually but never had a use for it because I had been very fixated on trout, then as I was researching the kind of saltwater fishing I might enjoy the stars aligned and I found a used one with minor boat rash so I jumped for it.  I was expecting it to be much heavier coming from a 3wt and 5wt...but am really surprised at how light it is.

 

On 7/28/2022 at 10:10 PM, CaryGreene said:

If so, you're basically learning on a specialy compact head fly-line designed to deliver large flies. Not the line I would have chosen for you at all. To answer your quesiton here, yes, once the 33 1/2' Head is in the air and you essentially have only the fine, level running line supporting it - the more running line you have out as you cast back and forth, the "jankier" this line line will cast. 

 

On casts inside of 40', this line will flop a big fly to the target. It will feel distincly weird at all distances inside of 40' also by the way, because of the Janky compound taper, which is HIGHLY front loaded. It will shoot okay as well, our to 70' but the further you try to launch it, the sloppier the resutls will be. This is NOT a great distance casting line. 

NOWWWW i get why it feels so janky.  Yep.  I was MAX able to get the fly out to 70' but let's just say I was hoping none of the people who saw me in the park was a fly angler!   My all out casts averaged 60' for the casting session in very mild breeze.

 

On 7/28/2022 at 10:10 PM, CaryGreene said:

What material are using and what is it's diameter (in inches please). 

4 : 2.5 : 1 : 1 Leader Material - Seguar Blue Label Fluorocarbon, double uni knot joined.  The material is nice and stiff and the finished leader is easy to hand cast on its own with tightish loops  and lays out clean (not sure if anyone serious tests this way lol).  

 

50LB:  .028 in (simple clinch knot to the fly line loop (habit from Euro Nymphing set up)

30LB:  .020 in

20lb:   .016 in

<micro spro swivel Size 10>. Clinch knot on both ends.  Very tight connection...no hinging detected.

15LB: .013 in

 

The max diameter is their 80lb one at 0.032 in.  Which I did not pick up a roll of.  Turnover of a tightly rolled up piece of paper similar weight to a size 2/0 clouser seemed to turn over ok.  Fly consistently landed at front of leader, but did not lay out straight, not sure if because of fly line or leader or my lack of skill.

On 7/28/2022 at 10:10 PM, CaryGreene said:

Airflo Cold Salt Intermediate.

Ok will pick it up.  THANKS!!  Cool thing is if I like it the floater has exact same grain weight and taper.  I am assuming I should just look for a fast sinker with similar profile and grain weight.  I am looking at picking up a hot weather intermediate line to go fishing Snakeheads and Peacock bass in Asia...and Asian Arowana....and it looks like the airflo saltwater might work in a pinch....air temps there is 95 degrees?

 

Arowanas - beautiful creaturesAsian Arowana (Scleropages Formosus): Ultimate Care Guide – Fish Laboratory  Aquatics

 

 

On 7/28/2022 at 10:10 PM, CaryGreene said:

In olden days (LOL) <snickering> we used Double Taper lines when trout fishing. The lines were made of silk and the rods of bamboo. A given rod could hold a given amount of line in the air. To make a longer cast, the caster simply slowed the stroke down, putting less momentum in to the line. The mass of the line meanwhile, increased proportionately to how much line a caster was carrying. This provided plenty of load. Using a fast stroke with lots of power would be counterprodctive becasue it would cause greater lengths of arealized line to bend the rod too deeply and the result would be excess tip wobble and corresponding loop instability at distance. 

This is gold thank you.  This paragraph is packed densely with insight for this rookie.  I am imagining that based on what you are saying here...if one slowed the stroke down that also means less line speed?

 

On 7/28/2022 at 10:10 PM, CaryGreene said:

My guess though, is that it's not really the line's weight. What you don't like is the taper of the line and the Head Length. You want to carry some more line in the air and shoot longer distances. 

Its just the clunkiness of the whole experience when compared to my long head SA Amplitude Infinity camo floater on my 5wt 9'6" Radian.  So you might be right.  It's much less satisfying to cast even if I do manage to 'get it out there'.  No precision.  I got no reference point though because I don't think i have ever fished beyond 40' in the rivers (the PHD level fish on the Delaware might be forcing me to sharpen up my skills tho - I swear they spook if you look at them wrong)

 

I don't think I am a good caster.  Have been stuck in this cycle of Euronymphing (which relies on a 4x thin 20' Spanish leader, no fly line out the rod tip, which demands a completely different cast), and Tenkara for bluelining on small streams, which is netting me A LOT of fish, but downside is I have not been practicing my long game much and it is getting monotonous.  I am hoping going out on the salt would FORCE me to get good at the long game. 

 

Thank you so much for all the guidance so far. (I will post a video when I get past getting the basics consistent, would be silly not to take up an offer for instruction.)

 

 

Edited by FisherPan
clarification
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18 hours ago, JonC said:

They’ve now redone the website and they show all the specs on each line, 30’ head weights, full head weights and taper profiles including handling section, it’s now probably the most informative of all the line makers, amazing!

JC

Sieriously Jon? Okay, I'll disagree - with respect of course. You're a great poster here, always have been. 

 

I've tried to remain very manufacturer neutral in this thread, but how on God's green earth can you rate Royal Wulff's, "Redone website" as, "Amazing?" No offense to you and I'm happy you love it, but compared to what else is out there, Royal Wulff has one of the worst websites. 

 

There home page looks like this:

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A Saltwater fisherman then easily identifies Saltwater lines and clicks on the obvious picture that says, "Saltwater." 

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Then up pop the lines, several of which appear to not even have images.

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(in otherwords Jon, the website appears to be only partially completed, as if someone in Wulff's marketing department mosied down to the Roscoe Diner and decided to hop in the Willowemoc and fish a BWO hatch instead of coming back to the office to at least complete what is a bare bones, dearly lacking website to that each product for sale at least has a picture of some kind for a consumer to look at). 

 

So, we click on the first line that pops up. There is no picture of the line's taper there is no description of the technologies that set this line apart from other lines. I

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Is the line made from Silk? Braided Horse Hair? PVC? Polyurethane? Does it have a coating? What's the core made of? What is the core's breaking strength? Is there a line ID imprinted into the line? Is the handling step weighted or unweighted? 

 

Believe it or not, this website is a million times better than their old website. YES! I agree with that. But MANY potential clients will want to know a hell of a lot more about a product when they comparision shop. 

 

Are there other manufactuers with poorly designed, dearly lacking websites out there that are on par with Wulff or possibly even worse? Yes. Orvis and RIO are less informative in some ways, and more informative in others, but all three companies have websites that detract from potential sales. 

 

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

Imagine a middle school math teacher, exisitng on a limited budget, is looking for a new fly line. It will be his first D/C line. He fishes mostly Massachsetts saltwater, mostly Monomoy, Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay. His main concerns are (1) picking the right grain weight, (2) Durability, (3) Shootability, (4) Sink Rate of Head and Running-Line. 

 

He Clicks on Wulff's website. <click>

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He clicks on Saltwater <click>

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Then he sees this page:

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He clicks on the Striper Fast Sink option. <click> ...up comes this page:

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Concern 1: Picking the Right Grain Weight - No problem here. The line is available in five Grain Weights. (product assortment is extremely skimpy, but hopefully one works for him)

 

Concern 2: Durability - SOL (not stripersonline, the "other" SOL) no info available. Does this line even have a coating? What's it made of? Our math teacher begins wondering. He is far from certain that this line, with a price tag of $100, is a wise purhase. Will it last? 2 guys in his fishing club say the lines are great. But there are no product reviews to read. Can this line handle Stripers, Albies, Bonito, big Blues , Chub Macks, maybe a 40lb Tuna in the fall? There's apparently no techonlogies that go into how the line is made either. "How will it be two or three years from now?" our math teacher wonders. There's no product catalog available. = Math teacher is skeptical. 

 

Concern 3: Shootability - SOL - Not sure if the line shoots well. Does the running line tangle? What's it's diameter? Our math teacher has purchased lines from other manufacturers in the past and, though he got them in bargain bins and they were decent lines, the running lines were too thin and they constantly got tangled. They were made by RIO, so that's why he's on the Wulff website. He wants to avoid a repeat of that for sure.  

 

What's the core made out of Jon? Anyone? Buhler? (I'll wait)  Is it braided material? It it hollow? Does it stretch? Is it monofilament? Our math teacher is a detail guy. Two of his three boxes remain "unchecked." This is a $100 fly line. He continues browsing, wishing for more information. 

 

Concern 4: Sink Rate of Head and Running-Line - No problem here. But is 6-ips going to compare favorably to the other manufacturers who's sink rates he looked at a few minutes ago on their websites? They alll have 7-ips, some even have 8-ips. In any event, the info needed is there. 

 

Our Math teacher very likely keeps looking. He remains uncertain. A person is more likely to buy when they feel certain. This question I'm going to ask is for you Jon, and our readers. 

 

He next clicks on Scientific Anglers Website becasue a few guys in his club like their lines too. <click> He lads here:

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He then choosed the Product Catalog from one of the dropdown tabs above <click> and lands here:

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Then he begins learning all about the technologies incorporated into the lines:

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Now feeling very educated about what sets the Sci-A lines apart from other companies and also, what specific technologies are in the line he's looking for, he now begins reviewing specific lines. 

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Our Math teacher is very close to buying. Which web site did a better job with this customer, Wulff or Sci A?

 

What would it take for our math teacher to become certain? He appears to be willing to spend big money on a fly line. He's browsing a $100 product. He has visions of himself in his boat, casting his fly line (which he absolutely plans on maintaining and taking care of) three years from now dancing in his mind. He's not made of money. This is a big purchase. One he intends to ultimately make. 

 

Wulff's website still sucks Jon. I'm sorry to say that to you and contradict you, but it does and I'm not one to candy coat sheot. Don't take it personally. I'm just disagreeing with you and I still love your posts! (I truly do too, you always chime in with lots of cool stuff and I know your intent is to help others, like myself)

 

Hopefully we get some answers to the question above. Though its a hypothetical quesiton, it illustrates a typical consumer situation pretty well. Websites are designed to do what? Sell stuff or drive traffic to those that do. 

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Maybe the Royal Wulff people are tuning in....in which case they might feel they have some work cut out for them, and even a decent road map, provided by Mr. Greene.

 

The triangle taper is one of my favorite tapers, and it's able to be trimmed from the front a bit  (up to ~1.5 ft to increase turnover for really large flies).  This was always a selling point for Wulff lines, and there should be some information on this as well.  A Wulff Bermuda lost tip in 9-11wt with the head trimmed back a bit to around 28.5 ft is one of my favorite lines for use with a short stiff leader and big baitfish patterns.  I tend to fish these lines hard, and they hold up well.  IMO, better than most Rio or Sci Anglers lines.

Edited by Killiefish
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3 hours ago, Killiefish said:

Maybe the Royal Wulff people are tuning in....in which case they might feel they have some work cut out for them, and even a decent road map, provided by Mr. Greene.

 

The triangle taper is one of my favorite tapers, and it's able to be trimmed from the front a bit  (up to ~1.5 ft to increase turnover for really large flies).  This was always a selling point for Wulff lines, and there should be some information on this as well.  A Wulff Bermuda lost tip in 9-11wt with the head trimmed back a bit to around 28.5 ft is one of my favorite lines for use with a short stiff leader and big baitfish patterns.  I tend to fish these lines hard, and they hold up well.  IMO, better than most Rio or Sci Anglers lines.

Good insight Killiefish, unfortunately, saltwater line sales are a pimple on the ass of a whale. 

 

I doubt very much that any of the major manufacturers give a hoot about anything we are discussing in this thread. (said sadly, but trying to be realistic). So far we've primarily discussed cold water fly lines. 

 

As for your comments, it would sure be nice to know why? Not that you would be able to answer that, but from a technology standpoint, what is it about these lines that are unique? If they hold up great, why? Perhaps that's a story they should be telling?

 

 

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Why?

 

My guess:  braided mono core; good adhesion between coating and core; hard coating b/c line meant for tropics/subtropics.  Beats me...

 

But maybe some of the other, larger  manufacturers try to make their lines degrade sooner so you'll buy more?  This would fit with what is prevalent in modern manufacturing.  Planned obsolescence.

 

The Wulff and Airflo lines I have used have been overall more durable. 

 

Coldwater: Airflo.  Warmwater for me (hands down): Wulff.  Because they last longer, generally.  Specialty line:  Rio or Sci Anglers (or Wulff again for their Ambush lines and heads).  That's how see it. 

 

The bigger manufacturers' lines are fine especially if you have to have a very specific head weight, species specific focus, density gradation or taper, and don't use the lines as frequently or heavily, IMO.  I am fairly immune to marketing BS.  More important is value for cost.  I only buy specialty taper lines on sale, or discontinued, never full price.  Integrated lines I buy are always less than $85, heads mostly less than $30.

Edited by Killiefish
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3 hours ago, Killiefish said:

Why?

 

My guess:  braided mono core; good adhesion between coating and core; hard coating b/c line meant for tropics/subtropics.  Beats me...

 

But maybe some of the other, larger  manufacturers try to make their lines degrade sooner so you'll buy more?  This would fit with what is prevalent in modern manufacturing.  Planned obsolescence.

 

The Wulff and Airflo lines I have used have been overall more durable. 

 

Coldwater: Airflo.  Warmwater for me (hands down): Wulff.  Because they last longer, generally.  Specialty line:  Rio or Sci Anglers (or Wulff again for their Ambush lines and heads).  That's how see it. 

 

The bigger manufacturers' lines are fine especially if you have to have a very specific head weight, species specific focus, density gradation or taper, and don't use the lines as frequently or heavily, IMO.  I am fairly immune to marketing BS.  More important is value for cost.  I only buy specialty taper lines on sale, or discontinued, never full price.  Integrated lines I buy are always less than $85, heads mostly less than $30.

I like the conspiracy theory take, very creative! Scientific Anglers for one seems to be going to great lengths to make their lines last longer. There's quite a bit of information on their website about what they're doing in that department. On one hand, it wouldn't make much sense to create lines deliberately that don't last that long, but who knows? Maybe there are companies out there that are doing that thinking they're going to win in the long run by selling lines that wear out quick and forcing people to buy more lines.

 

Out of the saltwater lines I've used I've gotten very good durability out of Sci- A and Airflo, just my own personal observations. 

 

Back in the '90s the freshwater Wulff fly lines were the least durable of any manufacturer and I thought RIO and Cortland were really good in that department, strictly regarding durability. Fast forward to today, for heavy salt water use Sci A and Airflo IMO are two that will last years even if you fish close to every day during season. 

 

Durability seems to be positively affected but certainly not governed by how well a person maintains their lines.

 

 

 

 

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Just bought the Wulff Striper 400gr. to fish on my 10 wt.  So far, best handling and  integrated shooter ever.  The head has a taper that controls the floppiness, and transitions to a 15'  handling section. Leads to very good accuracy. I put   the backing out of the guides with one false cast and no foot and body movement my first try with this line.  Next weekend will be the real test, throwing tinker mack imitations into the rocks.  There's lots of info on the box, less on their site. I took a risk, seems to have paid off.  I've had to up my game this year,  it's big fish city if you know where to go. This line will help. The box says it's a 35 yd. line, the site says 100'. I'm curious about the discrepancy. It is 105 measured.

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