Fly Lines?

[Colo77]

Hi all. I bought a fairly cheap 8/9 wt fly rod with some el cheapo 8wt wff line. Casting small flies is fine but as soon as I try to put something with a bit of bulk to it out there casts end up fairly short (and messy ). I'm not the best with the long wand but have had a go with some decent gear before and it was great.

If I fork out for some higher quality line do you think this will improve the castability of the larger flies?

[flyfisho]

Unfortunately Colo I don't think so , in a nutshell . A quality line will be more durable , may have a slicker coating than a cheap line and some lines also have tapers that suit larger flys , but what you are describing is poor technique . It is a common symptom of bad technique when your line "dumps" , usually a combination of timing and line speed ,or loop control. Without watching what your doing , I cannot advise you on drills to correct what you are doing , but a more expensive fly line will only frustrate you more because you just laid out bigger bucks only to have the problem reoccur.
You should find a good instructor in your area , when you can spend around $50 bucks on a lesson rather than $120 on a new line , it seems like a fair investment when you have already forked out the bucks for a decent setup . Most casting faults are easily corrected , but when you have them for years they are a lot harder to correct , like golf .
Hope this helps

[Colo77]

Thanks flyfisho.

I had some lessons a few years back but havn't practised alot since then. I seem to get a pretty neat backcast going, even with the larger flies so I guess I'll just have to work more on the forward stroke.

Practice makes perfect, so long as you're using the right technique, as you say. Ah well, back to the drawing board.

Cheers, Colo.

P.S. Nice toga on your avatar.

[tunaticer]

It could also have a bit to do with the style of fly line you have. If it is a Double Taper it is not best suited to longer casting esp with weighty or bulky flies. Depending on what flies you are using and depths you want to fish them at and speed of delivery you might find that one of the faster tapered lines like a bass taper or tarpon taper or a shooting head with a shootling line might suit better.

It comes down to what species you are after and what the weight of your setup and flies are. I have 3 spools for my #8 and it gives me a fair range of diversity.

Jack.

[Colo77]

Thanks Jack,

I'm using aweight forward floating line (8wt)and using flies to chase sooties to barra. I do have a spare spool. what do you recomend?

Cheers Colo

[flyfisho]

Colo ,
although double taper and level line for example have a bad taper for transferring energy over long distances , I believe with correct technique you can still turn over bulky flies , as those tapers were designed for presentation. lines with shorter bellies and steeper front and rear tapers are better designed for bulky flies over shorter distances like snag bashing , lines with longer belly sections like an intermediate tarpon line are more designed for long accurate casts that land softer for flats fishing situations . I use the SA tarpon taper for tuna, Barra, trevally bass , the list goes on , its probably the best alroundish line I have used , and its great however none of these speciality tapers will correct casting faults , I wish it did . Sorry to be a downer about it mate but at least it may help you choose a line for your type of fishing .
Your WF #8 is a fantastic line for learning especially for picking the line up of the water , using a sinking fly of a floating line is a fantastic technique for Barra and other structure orientated fish , I know Harro uses the same technique quite often , like a whistler with a rod length leader , its great for fish with a touch of lockjaw