line lubricant

[old bw]

Is line lubricant an "extra" or a necessity?

I was practice casting yesterday without much difficulty, but when I tried it again this afternoon I couldn't seem to get line out properly. I had taken the time to straighten line and leader, and I even double checked to make certain the line was through all the guides right, figuring I might have made some novice mistake in threading it. I could haul line in, but couldn't seem to shoot any.

If line lubricant is, indeed, necessary, do you find you must apply it several times during a day's fishing?

[Ken Smith]

old bw,
I've found that applying some "dressing" on your line before each day of fishing really makes casting easier. It makes the line slick and shoots through the guides much easier. I'm sure some of the experts on this board, which I am not, could give you a little more info. I've never fished long enough in one day to need to apply more dressing during the day's fishing. Although I'm sure it wouldn't hurt.
Hope this helped,
ken

[old bw]

Thanks, Ken... Being new to the game I didn't know if it was something in my casting technique (or lack thereof), or the line itself. I had the same problem with two rods. I didn't have much practice time on either one, but I had not had that problem until the other day. I was wondering if it could have anything to do with having thrown both in a pool. Pool chemicals? Could they have damaged the line? I'll clean 'em up and try again.

[jeffg]

You'll laugh at this, but armor all works Very Well. It seals the
invisible cracks in your line, cleans your line, keeps line from freezing in your guides, and it makes your line shoot through the guides. Sounds wacky but it works

[cocoon]

I'm not going to laugh at the use of armor-all as a line lubricant. I don't think that polluting the fisheries any further is funny.

I imagine that there are cleaner alternatives.

[Milton]

Another advantage to dressing your line is that it makes it float better, which makes it easier to mend and get a good drift.
What I like to do is apply dressing to the full length of the line the night before I go fishing, and then a couple of times during the day I'll grease the first twenty feet or so with Mucilin (they have it at the Fish Hawk).

[Steve D]

Jeff & Others,

You might want to think again about using Armour All. I've talked with folks from Cortland and SA and all have said that Armour All will shorten the lifespan of your line and to keep the stuff away from your flylines. The reason it seals the cracks is that it starts to dissolve the line's outer coating and it doesn't take many "treatments" before it will do some real damage to the line.

They recommend using a product made specifically for flylines. Of course they recommended their own company products but also said that anything made specifically for flylines will work just fine. Personally I like to give my lines a once or twice a year cleaning with warm soapy water (they tell me Ivory Soap is as good as any) then polish them with Loon Line Speed. No problems casting and shooting line.

[Drifter]

Fellow Fishheads,

While we've got a good "line" thread rolling, I gotta question:

What is considered an average life span for a premium fly line. I try to keep mine clean and allow to dry after usage. They start showing cracks after two years of use. Is two years about right, or can I do something different to increase my mileage?

The Drifter

[Woolly Bugger]

Good question Drifter, I also have to change lines about every two-three years. That's about 70-110 days of fishing. One of my "bad" habits has been stepping on the line. Ouch!

[Loren]

Well, thanks a lot guys. I threw away my Armarall and bought Cortland's line cleaner/dressing (it's the only one the shop carried). At $7 for a small bottle, this better be good stuff! I tried it last night and tested it on a couple of bream today. It helps! I didn't realize that dressing is needed so often.

Loren

[Mr T]

Loren -- Don't dispair. There's no question that periodically dressing your line will probably help with casting but I'm using some 40-year-old Cortland weight forward line that hasn't been dressed in years and it's still in good shape and casts well. 'Course, it's had a 25-year sabbatical and now only gets used three or four times a year but it hasn't gotten brittle nor has it cracked. Perhaps it's held up because I occasionally dressed it with Cortland line dressing years ago, but more than likely, it's been because of limited use and good storage conditions, i.e., stored in the dark in a cool and dry location.

Mr. T