Caught this 22” red just after I launched Friday Afternoon. Wind and waves pinned me into a little cove that held some good water. Used a chartreuse and white borski slider for this redfish and fished structure and bait sign over mud and shell in 18”-24” of moving water. Caught a little flounder on a red and white borski and lost a small trout. Lost something else, but it was pretty slow overall and the wind gusting to 15 knots made getting comfortable and good presentations difficult.
Got my new 8’ 9 weight Echo BAG Quickshot into action. Heavy glass rod it is and probably too heavy for everyday marsh action, but it’s good in the wind. Definitely a rod that can shoot out some line and I think it will be outstanding on the boat for river, pass and beachfront action. I also got a new Allen Atlas III reel, but I think it’s too light for the rod. Put on a Ross CLA 5 at 8.1 ounces and that seemed like a better fit. Put the Allen on a 7/8 weight G. Loomis Short Stix.
The 9 weight Quickshot will cast 8 or 9 weight line, but I think I like the 9 weight SA freshwater Titan taper line better than the 8 weight version.
Nice fish! I have yet to get out and am chomping at the bit.
I’m going to be in the market soon for some new fly line. I use salt water line now and you mentioned fresh. I haven’t done my research yet on the difference, I always figured warm vs cold water stiffness etc. What’s your take? Maybe just a way to get mor $$?
I bought a 9 weight Scientific Anglers wavelength Freshwater Titan Taper off Sierra Trading Post. STP has deals on higher end lines at times, I got the line that lists for $99 for $39. It’s not a tropical line and that’s a good thing this time of year. I use tropical lines in the cold months too, but they can get stiff and hard to manage in temperatures like we have now. The wavelength is textured, not like sharkskin, but not so much it eats up your fingers terribly.
As far as the difference between fresh and saltwater lines, I have 2 Saltwater Sharkwave tropical Titan Taper lines. They feel harder and more stiff in colder weather. The saltwater lines are I think 100 feet long where as the freshwater lines are 90 feet. I’m not sure about other differences except the colors might be different.
Fly line is funny. So you could rate them on how well they cast, how well they handle, on how durable they are, on how prone they are to get dirty, etc. I haven’t found any from any manufacturer that’s perfect. My Rio Tropical outbound lines got dirty quickly in our muddy marshes and the dirt proved for me impossible to remove and the imbedded dirt made the line hard to manage and prone to tangles. The Rio line seemed less durable also and the coating peeled away near the tip. Airflo lines, some of them, are not PVC coated but Poly Urethane, and they handle well and aren’t too slick, but are a bit ropy, large diameter per weight rating, and I don’t like them much when it gets colder. SA tropical lines have a lot of lubricant that really comes out when it’s hot making them almost impossible to strip set a fish. I just got a Wulff line, the triangle taper, it feels nice, the taper is a bit strange. It’s harder to cast well with some rods, but it might be about getting used to it.
Cortland peach 444 handles nicely and casts well. I don’t think it’s a big heat loving line. I gave that line to a buddy. Cabelas Prestige Premier isn’t terrible. They all basically work, the ones from the major makers, at least their higher end ones that I’ve tried, but none work equally with any particular rod or person using said rod and they all seem to have some aspect about them that’s not desirable.
No line does it all. I like shorter, more aggressive head floating lines for the type of fly fishing I do. The Airflo Tropical Punch Bruce Chard Taper has a head in the high thirties in length. The SA Titan in the lower thirties. I prefer those heads over longer head lines like a bonefish taper that might be somewhere in the forties. Most of the casts I do are under 70 feet. Really, most are from 50-30 feet. Someone standing in a kayak scouting for fish will often see the fish from out at some distance and then be able to plan an ambush. Redfish where I fish usually won’t spook, if I’m careful anyway, if I remain outside 30 feet. Sometimes, I get closer than that. Shorter head lines load a bit easier with less line out beyond the tip.
If I’m structure fishing in the kayak, I can often set up the kayak where I want it to be and then make my casts. Ideally, I’m at a casting range where I make a false or often just the single back then forward cast, make a brief drift and/or strip presentation, pick up the line off the water, repeat. That’s often around 40-50 feet. Surf fishing fish sign and structure is the same basic animal.
The only time I’m trying to really reach out and cast a long way is if I’m on my buddy’s boat. He uses baitcasting gear ( that’s good because you don’t want two fly fishing folks casting on a small boat at the same time). Sometimes, we can’t get close enough to the structure or fish in the boat and I really have to try and match his range he gets with his baitcasting gear, which is tough for this fly fisherman. I still think the shorter head lines do that almost as well as a longer head line so I just stick with those. Repeated casts with fly gear outside and beyond a certain range, for me that’s probably 75 feet or so or less if it’s windy, just gets old, unless I’m really on some fish and there’s no other option.
I have a few other lines, intermediate and sinking head types, but I don’t use them nearly as much to really comment about them.
sounds like you like the new line - that's important - as we've discussed, the CGR 7/8 fishes really well close, but is temperamental on long casts, and particular about the line.
I've found 200gr is what shoots best with it.
