I don't fish dry flies very often, but occasionally I will come across a pod of rising trout where I will want to present a fly to them so that it will either be on the surface film or just riding in it. If the fly has any amount of wind resistance I find my presentation with a level line somewhat lacking.
I've been looking at floating lines which might deliver a dry fly with a subtle presentation, but I haven't found one that I wanted to buy until recently. I've used some PVC lines in the past, mainly to teach youngsters how to cast, and they work really well for that, but personally I'm not into PVC lines (made specifically for tenkara or repurposed fly fishing lines). I also don't care for furled lines, never have. I know they work well but they are so heavy and since I fish upstream they are hard to hold off the water.
I do have a nylon twisted line that is made in Japan (Nissin PALS Orange) that is pretty great because it's small in diameter and quite light. I'm able to keep it off the water pretty easily. It transfers the energy from the rod to the fly well and I think it's about as good as it gets for composite lines.
Recently I did buy a line from Japan that I'm pretty impressed with. It is a coated line but it has a very small diameter and is tapered. It has a nylon core for rigidity and energy transfer. It is made specifically for tenkara and although coated is light enough to hold off the water easily.
This line is coated with polyurethane rather than the usual polyvinyl chloride, PVC. Polyurethane combines the best properties of plastic and rubber. It offers high elongation values (stretchability) like rubber and abrasion resistance that's superior to PVC. Polyurethane is naturally flexible and does not use additives to retain its flexural properties. Some European fly line companies have used polyurethane for years, while US fly line manufacturers generally prefer PVC.
This new line I bought is the Fujino Line Tenkara Japan-style Standard 3.6m Tapered Line. It is orange in color, but is less bright than the Nissin PALS Orange. It has a girth knot loop for attachment to the rod's lilian. With my digital micrometer, I measure the line diameter at 0.58 mm near the butt. It then tapers to 0.42 mm at the tip. For comparison, I measure a Nissin PALS #3.5 fluorocarbon tenkara level line at 0.32 mm.
The 360 cm line length is for the coated portion of the line, but the nylon core extends another 60 cm beyond where the polyurethane stops. I cut mine back to 26 cm then added a tippet ring. For reference, the nylon core is 0.2 mm in diameter.
The Fujino tapered line casts very nicely with both full flex and tip flex rods. It has excellent energy transfer and lays the tippet out straight. It isn't as efficient in energy transfer as a furled, twisted or PVC coated line. But then again, it's not nearly as heavy either.
I'm pleased with the Fujino Line Tenkara Japan-style Standard 3.6m Tapered Line and I look forward to using it with 6X tippet and #18-20 BWO emergers, as soon as my streams thaw enough to let Baetis mayflies hatch!
I've been looking at floating lines which might deliver a dry fly with a subtle presentation, but I haven't found one that I wanted to buy until recently. I've used some PVC lines in the past, mainly to teach youngsters how to cast, and they work really well for that, but personally I'm not into PVC lines (made specifically for tenkara or repurposed fly fishing lines). I also don't care for furled lines, never have. I know they work well but they are so heavy and since I fish upstream they are hard to hold off the water.
I do have a nylon twisted line that is made in Japan (Nissin PALS Orange) that is pretty great because it's small in diameter and quite light. I'm able to keep it off the water pretty easily. It transfers the energy from the rod to the fly well and I think it's about as good as it gets for composite lines.
Recently I did buy a line from Japan that I'm pretty impressed with. It is a coated line but it has a very small diameter and is tapered. It has a nylon core for rigidity and energy transfer. It is made specifically for tenkara and although coated is light enough to hold off the water easily.
This line is coated with polyurethane rather than the usual polyvinyl chloride, PVC. Polyurethane combines the best properties of plastic and rubber. It offers high elongation values (stretchability) like rubber and abrasion resistance that's superior to PVC. Polyurethane is naturally flexible and does not use additives to retain its flexural properties. Some European fly line companies have used polyurethane for years, while US fly line manufacturers generally prefer PVC.
This new line I bought is the Fujino Line Tenkara Japan-style Standard 3.6m Tapered Line. It is orange in color, but is less bright than the Nissin PALS Orange. It has a girth knot loop for attachment to the rod's lilian. With my digital micrometer, I measure the line diameter at 0.58 mm near the butt. It then tapers to 0.42 mm at the tip. For comparison, I measure a Nissin PALS #3.5 fluorocarbon tenkara level line at 0.32 mm.
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| Top to bottom: Fujino line near butt, #3.5 PALS level line. |
The 360 cm line length is for the coated portion of the line, but the nylon core extends another 60 cm beyond where the polyurethane stops. I cut mine back to 26 cm then added a tippet ring. For reference, the nylon core is 0.2 mm in diameter.
The Fujino tapered line casts very nicely with both full flex and tip flex rods. It has excellent energy transfer and lays the tippet out straight. It isn't as efficient in energy transfer as a furled, twisted or PVC coated line. But then again, it's not nearly as heavy either.
I'm pleased with the Fujino Line Tenkara Japan-style Standard 3.6m Tapered Line and I look forward to using it with 6X tippet and #18-20 BWO emergers, as soon as my streams thaw enough to let Baetis mayflies hatch!
Ohh yeah, tippet rings, he uses them, they rock. They also work really well. I use a four wrap clinch knot to tye my rings in, wet, cinch down and lock with knot sense and cure with a UV light. That the way I do it and it’s petite.
ReplyDeleteThe UV Knot Sense is a good idea.
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