Have you ever fallen in love with a fly line or a fly rod? I sure have, and judging from the way many others talk about these two pieces of gear, I am not alone. With the exception of certain nymphing techniques, the most important element of fly fishing is fly casting. A good cast not only puts your fly in the right spot, it feels good, too. When everything is right, the rod and line simply, but oh so beautifully, become part of you. That’s when you fall in love.
Of course, this happy state of affairs can’t last forever. Eventually, the wear and tear of fishing is going to take its toll. Usually, the line is the first to start showing its age, but sooner or later, the rod will, too. Thankfully, there are ways to keep the romance alive.
Line Mojo
The first few casts with a brand new line can be magical. It slides through the guides with no perceptible friction and drops your fly right on target. Initially you think it’s just a fluke, but cast after cast, the magic keeps happening. Within minutes, your confidence soars to giddying heights. As you long suspected, but couldn’t prove, you are truly an exceptional caster. No doubt photos of you and your perfect casts will be featured in countless fly-fishing magazines. Who knows, maybe you’ll even make it onto the cover of National Geographic. You wonder how you’ll handle fame and the pressure of public speaking, not to mention the inevitable jealousy of the common people.
But as we all know, that new-line magic inevitably disappears. Lubricants applied to the line at the factory are eventually going to wear off, and your fleeting casting prowess will go right with them. Forget about fame and that Nat Geo cover shot, its back to so-so casting with the rest of the plebes. Stoically resigned to being average, you carry on. But waiting in the wings is the next blow to whatever is left of your casting ego. It may take weeks or months, but eventually, your casting is going to get worse. Much like the proverbial frog in slowly heated water, you aren’t really aware of the problem until you fail to make an otherwise regular cast to a big fish. The problem isn’t you or even your casting. Instead, the surface of the line has become marred by microscopic scratches and has accumulated an invisible sticky patina of contaminants that 9 out of 10 eminent scientists refer to as “gunk.”
Fear not, there’s a way to regain a shred or two of casting confidence. First and foremost, you need to give the line a proper cleaning. Line manufacturers suggest soaking lines in a bucket of water mixed with soap. After a few minutes you pull the line through a clean towel and dump it into a bucket of clean water and then spool it back on the reel, ready for your next fishing trip. This approach works, but there’s a simpler way, and it doesn’t involve buckets, which can be really handy when you are actually fishing. Gently rub some unscented bar soap onto a piece of wet microfiber towel, pop this in a Ziploc bag, and place it in an easily accessible pocket. Whenever you notice things aren’t quite right, simply pull out the section of towel, cast out, and pull your line back through the soap-infused microfibers. You may find you’ll need to do this every couple of hours when fishing a pond or lake with an algal bloom. For clearer waters, a daily cleaning is usually adequate.
So you’ve got rid of the line corruption. What about those microscopic nicks and scratches? Unfortunately, they are permanent, but the good news is that you can almost eliminate their effects. What the line needs is a thin film of lubricant to help it slide smoothly through the guides. There are a number of dressings on the market that do a good job lubricating fly lines. I conducted kinetic friction tests on a number of the popular dressings and found Russ Peak’s Line Dressing to be the best. If you are interested in learning more, check out the May/June 2016 “Gearhead” column.
Line manufacturers recommend lubricating (aka dressing) your line every two to three outings, which works reasonably well for most newish lines. I say “most,” because clear intermediates can have a noticeable increase in friction after just a few hours of use. Apparently this is because they do not contain internal lubricants, relying, instead, on a factory-applied surface lubricant that inevitably wears off. According to Josh Jenkins at Scientific Anglers, manufacturers don’t use internal lubricants because they’d render these lines opaque.
Regardless of line type, I suggest you get into the habit of lubricating your almost new and older lines way more frequently than every other trip. A freshly applied layer of lubricant can provide two major benefits. If distance is crucial, the reduced friction ensures that the line shoots as far as possible. Meanwhile, when accuracy is paramount, it keeps the line moving smoothly through the guides, helping to overcome any accuracy-impairing rough spots.
Two examples where this can really pay off are when fishing streamers and when fishing dries. Folks working streamers from a drift boat often need to make quick, accurate casts. There’s no time for false casting — you cast and shoot varying lengths of line at every likely looking piece of bankside structure. If your fly drops short, it will be ignored, while a foot too far almost guarantees a solid connection to rocks or timber. Meanwhile, the less hurried dry-fly angler knows how important it can be to get the first cast right. In most rivers and creeks, the biggest fish occupy prime lies, which are often in spots that are hard to cast to. If you don’t get the fly in exactly the right spot on the first try, the fish probably won’t give you a second shot.
A couple of years back, I had an interesting conversation about line lubrication with Paul Arden, who runs the popular Sexyloops website. Paul had been developing a lubrication system for snakehead fishing in Malaysia. This fishing requires fast, accurate casts. If you can’t get the fly to the fish in a couple of seconds or less, you might as well not bother. Paul’s solution was to squirt a few drops of liquid lubricant directly onto the reel between casts. He started with a line lubricant designed by European carp anglers, but eventually developed and now markets his own product, aptly named Shoot. While Paul was working on snakeheads, I was trying to figure out how to make casts to largemouth bass holding in very tight spots. The bigger fish seemed to have a marked preference for Chihuahua-sized openings in otherwise impenetrable walls of willows or tules. If you could drill a big fly into these cramped spots, it had a decent chance of getting killed. But if the fly was a few inches off target, it almost inevitably got caught make casts to largemouth bass holding in very tight spots. The bigger fish seemed to have a marked preference for Chihuahua-sized openings in otherwise impenetrable walls of willows or tules. If you could drill a big fly into these cramped spots, it had a decent chance of getting killed. But if the fly was a few inches off target, it almost inevitably got caught in the vegetation. If it didn’t come out gently and cleanly, the fish didn’t hang around. I needed a really slick line if I was to have any chance with these fish.
My solution was slightly different from Paul’s. Instead of squirting lubricant directly onto the line, I apply a few drops of Russ Peak’s dressing to a finger cot fashioned from a piece of microfiber towel. When I don’t need to lubricate, I rotate the finger cot so that the lubricated section is on the back of my finger. This ensures lubricant doesn’t get smeared into the rod grip while casting. When I need fresh-from-the-box slickness, I rotate the cot half a turn and retrieve the line through the lubricant-soaked microfibers.
Beat-Up Grips
Fish any rod long enough, and the cork grip is going to get cracked and pitted. For high-end rods, which typically come with cork having very few blemishes, this process can take years, depending on how often and how hard the rod gets used. Cheaper rods are often fitted with a lower grade of cork, which will inevitably have some cracks and voids. The manufacturer fills these defects with a latex-based filler, but this will eventually come out. If a defect is located where your forefinger or thumb applies pressure, it can make casting uncomfortable and in really bad cases can even lead to blisters. This is not something you want to discover on a multiday fishing trip.
The quickest fix is to clean the grip thoroughly and apply some hardware store plastic wood. Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Filler or DAP Plastic Wood are popular with rod builders. Many folks advise using spatulas or other flat objects to apply the stuff. I used to do this, but have found I get better results smearing on thin layers with my thumb. A pair of disposable nitrile gloves makes the process easy and avoids contact with any chemicals that might cause skin or eye irritation.
Once the stuff is dry, take it outside (to avoid breathing the dust) and smooth it down with medium-grit sandpaper or wire wool. This simple fix can last for months if the pits aren’t too big. But if you fish a lot or the filler falls out after a few days of use, you’re going to need a more permanent solution. Applying several coats of Aquaseal or E6000 (a very flexible industrial adhesive) is an option. The downside is these products have fairly long cure times, which can make filling deeper pits a one-day or even two-day process. If the filler approach doesn’t work, you have a couple of other options. If you really want a cork grip, you must replace it yourself or have a rod builder do it for you. Replacing a cork grip isn’t technically challenging, but it is definitely not something you’ll want to do if you are busy or are “blessed” with limited patience. Cutting off the old cork is relatively simple, but the residual epoxy is so firmly bonded to the blank that removal requires a sharp blade and a deft hand. Get too aggressive, and you can easily damage the blank. And don’t even think about sanding the stuff off with a power tool. You’ll be unpleasantly surprised how quickly a spinning abrasive disc rips through graphite.
If classic rod aesthetics aren’t a big deal, there are a couple of good synthetic grip options that don’t require cork removal. Perhaps the easiest way to go is to use textured heat-shrink plastic tubing from companies such as Aventik, Batson, or CRB. This is something Lee Haskin turned me onto. The tubing comes in several sizes. Get the diameter that most closely matches the widest section of the grip.
Before you apply the tubing, you’ll need to fill in any deep pits or large cracks with wood filler. The tubing conforms very tightly to the cork, including any defects, so don’t skip this step. Once you have the cork prepped, just cut the tube so that it is slightly longer than the grip. This will allow the ends of the tubing to wrap over the ends of the grip, providing a neat installation. Slip the tubing onto the grip and adjust it so that the cork is fully covered at both ends. Once everything is lined up, apply heat with a heat gun. You can also use a hair dryer set on high, but it will take a bit longer. Start at one end and rotate the rod as you move the heat up the grip. This ensures the grip fits perfectly to the cork at all points.
Another option is Winn Superior Rod Wrap, which actually comes from the golfing world. This stuff is highly rated by a number of tournament bass anglers. Before you dismiss the tackle selection of competitive bass anglers as a poor match for fly fishing, understand that these folks take gear selection very seriously. This isn’t surprising when a single competition can be worth $100,000 and the top anglers have become multimillionaires.
The stuff is easy to wrap onto cork grips and has a tacky feel reminiscent of a kid’s hands on Halloween. This may feel odd at first, but it can be a real plus if your hands are plagued by arthritis or some other condition that limits grip strength. I find that it makes my hands feel less cranky after hammering a 9-weight for several hours. As far as I can tell, the only downside is that the stickiness disappears if your hands are absolutely drenched, something I have experienced only a couple of times in crashing surf.
The company has a video online that shows how to apply the tape. Use their back-to-front wrapping technique if your rod has the popular cigar-style grip. If you are fixing a full Wells grip, you may find the wrap has some trouble conforming to the neck of the grip. In my experience, you get a tighter wrap around the neck of a full Wells grip when you wrap down toward the reel seat.
Separation Anxiety
Have you ever made a cast and watched the top section of your rod enter low earth orbit? The superskinny ferrule that connects the tip to the rest of the rod is subject to all manner of bending and twisting forces, so it’s really not surprising that it occasionally works loose. The graphite missile usually comes back because the hook snags the tip top. But a damaged tippet or a poorly tied knot can fail, leaving you minus both the fly and the rod top. I’ve seen that happen a couple of times.
A greater concern with slipping ferrules is the increased likelihood you’ll break the rod. Casting with a loose ferrule will exert a lot of force on the female ferrule section. I checked with Shawn Combs, the rod designer at Orvis, and he told me that as little as two or three pounds of line force is enough to snap a ferrule.
One obvious way to solve this problem is to glue the ferrule sections together, though such a permanent solution will make the rod less travel friendly and more than likely will void any warranty. A popular approach is to apply a very thin coating of ferrule wax. I’ve tried this, but for some reason found that the ferrule still slips. Some Spey casters wrap the ferrule with electrician’s tape. However, I’m not sure I’d trust electrician’s tape on a hot day. If the ferrule creeps underneath the tape, you may not know about it until too late.
Obviously, the gold standard is to check regularly by hand that the ferrules are properly seated. If this is a practical option, it’s absolutely the way to go. Another approach is to check the rod-alignment dots, but unless you’ve got 20/20 vision, you’ll need to get them pretty close to your face to see if there’s any misalignment. The biggest problem with either of these approaches is that they’re tough to do when you’re wading deep or bobbing around in a float tube. Sighting down the shaft to see if the guides line up is a simple option, but it can take quite a bit of ferrule slip for any misalignment to be obvious.
As someone who spends a lot of time wading and tubing, I needed a straightforward way to monitor ferrules that didn’t involve awkward yoga positions. As a former mechanic, whenever I am faced with a mechanical problem, I ask myself this simple question: Can I fix this with WD 40, duct tape, or zip ties? It turns out, the answer is yes, though perhaps not in the way you might expect.
Carefully assemble your rod to ensure the guides are absolutely in line and the ferrules are fully seated. When you are satisfied that the rod is perfectly set up, grab some brightly colored duct tape and apply a one-eighth-inch-wide stripe (lengthwise) over the ferrule joint. I prefer to place the strip on the opposite side to the guides, so it is plainly visible at all times. Firmly squish the tape onto the blank so that the adhesive has a tight grip. Next, take a brand new single-edge razor blade and carefully cut through the tape, right against the ferrule joint. You will now have a highly visible two-part marker that readily shows any twist or separation.
As love objects, fly lines and fly rods can be fickle. I hope these simple tips will help you stay in love with your line and rod and catch more fish.
