Fly lines
 

One of my new years resolutions is to start fly fishing. ;-).

I have done some research and I am thinking of going with a 9 wt St. Croix Imperial Fly rod for targeting stripahs. I have read good reviews on the St. Croix Imperial Fly rods. But, when it comes to fly lines, the options are endless and fly lines make braid look cheap! Any suggestions on a good fly line that will not break the bank?

Thank you in advance.

-Fish360

I think you might want to rethink the rod weight. Although every how-to article tells you to start with a 9 weight, it is actually an in-between size that doesn't do much well.

I've done a lot of NE flyfishing in years past, and I found an 8 weight to be the rod I used 90% of the time. When throwing chickens on a fast sinking line from a boat, a 9 or 10 is better, but from shore I almost never used those rods.

As for lines, any mid-range intermediate line from Monic, Cortland, or SciAnglers will be fine. Don't break the bank on some high tech coating, you will beat your first flyline up learning to cast. Likewise, the line will make very little difference in your casting for the first 5-6 years you're learning.

The important thing is learning to cast. This is particularly hard for guys who are used to casting big spinning rods. You pull the line rather than swing it up and over. Guys who are good casters can cast further than most people using just their hands and NO ROD. Get a good casting video (Lefty Kreh made one) and/or find someone who is a good teacher (not easy).

Fun way to fish. Like using a handline, very connected to what you are doing. Can be very effective in certain situations as well.

ditto on the comments above. I love catching stripers every which way...plugs, bait, etc. But I think my favorite is wading with a fly line. Last year landed maybe 10 on the fly. Nothing too big, maybe the best was 10 lbs. But what a blast! I use an 8 wt. About half way during my 2 week vaca it broke and I used my 4 wt. trout rod...That was insane! Hard to cast the big clausers I was using but when you got one on it was so much fun. I was concerned it was taking too long to land the fish, they seemed fine when released, but I'll go back to my 8 wt this summer.

airflo fourty plus cold saltwater - not cheap, its about 75 buc's but it out lasts a lot of the other fly lines on the market so you'll buy/replace them less often. i would like to agree that an 8 weight makes the most sense, i use an 8 wt. 80% of the time. but... imo the 9 wt does make more sense as a first rod because it will handle more conditions and larger flies than the 8 while you're learning.

numbskull, JoeBass, and STREETFIGHT, thank you! That's awesome feedback. Much appreciated. I'll be sure to post the pic of my first stripah on the fly. ;-).

Take a ride down to Taunton and visit the Bear's Den.
Scott will hook you up.

I agree with the 8 wt and Buy a cheap $30 floating line to practice on the lawn with and then practice. You still need a good line for fishing.

This is very good advice.

I do not know to much about fly fishing, I have only flyfished for about 30 years, half of that time in fresh water and flyfished in salt water before it became popular in saltwater. Fly fished around the country and Canada. I'm a beliver in one gun for hunting one flyrod for fishing, I do not belive in a half dozen rods from a 4wt. on up. You might say I believe in one universal rod. The 8wt. handled anything from a little brookie to a 40" atlantic salmon. Salt water is a different story, bought me a 10wt. and wasted my money on sink tips, intermediates and sinking lines. Everybody will have a different opinon and you will probably spend a lot of money starting out.

In salt water today I use only a 10wt. with an Orvis depth charge line with a 40 pound tippet. Even fishing from shore I use the depth charge in a foot of water,have to pull the line faster in shallow water. My biggest striper from shore is 43 inches twenty seven pounds. On this perticular day I even out fished the guys using plugs.

Yup you can laugh about what I use but it works. :)

Be carefull, you can go broke buying saltwater flies that do not work, they are not cheap.

There are several shops in the area where you can buy good lines and get good advice. Online, check out Albright Tackle for decent lines at very reasonable prices, especially if they're running a sale.

Just checked the site - no lines on sale now. I've paid $29 in the past.

Just buy a decent line, but practice on water, so you don't ruin it. I never liked the idea of using one line for practice and another for fishing. Different lines cast differently and usually need different timing and length of line outside the tip to cast. Just my $.02.
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There's so many fly lines out there something is almost always on sale. You can always check out our sale and clearance sections and usually find something if you're looking to save a few bucks.

Fly lines on sale

Fly lines on clearance

^^^^
The Airflo Forty Plus on the sale page is a really nice line. Might just have to stock up ;).
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