# Help choosing all-purpose fly line



## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Overlining will hurt your distance especially since most lines are too heavy as is.
How deep are you fishing for reds, sight casting shallow fish or mostly blind casting working a deeper flat? Is this line to replace the BTT? I think BTT is a great (best) all around line. Keep in mind these things are very subjective. In general lines with a longer head will help with distance but hurt you in close shots. So don't let the weight be your main/only consideration.


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## Heat_PCB (Jan 13, 2018)

3-4' is the deepest I can cast too when surf fishing. I do it more for casting practice than it is sight fishing. 

I do like the BTT, but not knowing wjat I don't know, figured I'd see if anybody else had a suggestion or two. I can cast the small stuff decently. But really struggle to throw an average clouser from the beach or to jacks at the jetty...


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## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

Cortland flats taper in 9wt. Weighs as much as most 8wt lines now.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Heat_PCB said:


> 3-4' is the deepest I can cast too when surf fishing. I do it more for casting practice than it is sight fishing.
> 
> I do like the BTT, but not knowing wjat I don't know, figured I'd see if anybody else had a suggestion or two. I can cast the small stuff decently. But really struggle to throw an average clouser from the beach or to jacks at the jetty...


Gotcha, do you know what size clousers you're trying to throw? A lot of people put way too heavy barbell eyes on. In my experience most guys start out having a hard time picking flies for the wt rod they have, if you're throwing an 8wt and want big flies they need to be lighter than you'd think.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from buying a new line if that's what you want, but I'm thinking the new line is only going to make your wallet lighter not make you happier

How often when you're casting the "average clousers" does the end of your leader wrap around the but section or end of the fly line on your last cast, or the line end up landing in a pile rather than turning over, unfurling, straightening out whatever you want to call it? Never / sometimes / often?​


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

Rick hambric said:


> Cortland flats taper in 9wt. Weighs as much as most 8wt lines now.


I noticed the cortland lines are lighter than most. That's why I haven't tried it.


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

I'm staying clear of the Airflow lines after only getting a few months out of my floating ridge clear tip line. It's too soft and it shreds up when fighting big fish and forget about nail knotting it.


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## Heat_PCB (Jan 13, 2018)

LowHydrogen said:


> Gotcha, do you know what size clousers you're trying to throw? A lot of people put way too heavy barbell eyes on. In my experience most guys start out having a hard time picking flies for the wt rod they have, if you're throwing an 8wt and want big flies they need to be lighter than you'd think.
> 
> I'm not trying to dissuade you from buying a new line if that's what you want, but I'm thinking the new line is only going to make your wallet lighter not make you happier
> 
> How often when you're casting the "average clousers" does the end of your leader wrap around the but section or end of the fly line on your last cast, or the line end up landing in a pile rather than turning over, unfurling, straightening out whatever you want to call it? Never / sometimes / often?​


Definately not dying to spend money on new line, more so just asking around to make sure I have a good all around line for the type of fishing I do.

The clousers are from orvis, and I can't find the dumbell weights online. They're tied on a 2/0 hook and are 3". I try to Belgium cast with them, sloopy loops. But no consistent tailing loops/wind knots, but fly always seems to land next to the fly line and leader is in a pile. But, like I said the majority of my fishing is inshore for reds and turning over Isn't an issue, but distance on a quick cast leaves something to be desired.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Heat_PCB said:


> Definately not dying to spend money on new line, more so just asking around to make sure I have a good all around line for the type of fishing I do.
> 
> The clousers are from orvis, and I can't find the dumbell weights online. They're tied on a 2/0 hook and are 3". I try to Belgium cast with them, and for me that ends up with big loops. But no tailing loops/wind knots, but fly always seems to land next to the fly line and leader is in a pile. But, like I said the majority of my fishing is inshore for reds and turning over Isn't an issue, but distance on a quick cast leaves something to be desired.


Ok that's good info, good news is the fly is too heavy, or you're not generating enough line speed, or a little combination of both. There are a couple things to do, increase the length and force of your double haul, try and tighten the loop, replace those barbell eyes with bead chain eyes. Any one of those will likely improve it, and a little bit of all of them will likely solve it.

I think I fish a lot of the same water as you in PC and you don't need those heavy barbell eyes to get down super fast anyway, you'll often want the opposite. You're not fighting heavy current or trying to get down in the bottom of a cut quickly.

Quick experiment would be to cut the eyes off one of those flies and see what happens. If it improves immediately you'll know what's up. I suspect that's most of it. Best of luck, let us know what results you have so others in the same boat can pick up info from this thread. Apologies for the long winded posts.


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## Heat_PCB (Jan 13, 2018)

Will give that a try this weekend end post results...thanks for the detailed posts, big help.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

10-4 
PM me if you're still having trouble, I know a couple folks in the area that can likely help you out. I would, but I'm out of state at the moment.


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## texasag07 (Nov 11, 2014)

The airflo bonefish/redfish line is going to be similar to your wulff line in taper length. That particular line is more of a redfish line than a bonefish line if I had to say. I think the taper is about 40-45’ long. I have that line and don’t feel you will be gaining much going with it. I would go with smaller flies until you get the distance you are looking for. Then as you skills develop you can add more weight cause you have the mechanic’s to complete the task at hand.

A lot of time in fly casting it’s the Indian that’s the problem, not the arrow. I have been guilty of this in the past.

I favor much longer tapers to aid in spooking already wary fish for our fishing over this way.


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## kbanashek (Apr 5, 2017)

What is your average/typical water temp? Just curious if a tropical line is going to perform for you...

Regarding wanting to fish deeper, I would just go with a shooting head. Cortland has kit where you can make your own(im sure other manufacturers do as well). Personally, I prefer this method as opposed to throwing heavier flies.


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## eightwt (May 11, 2017)

Do you tie? If not, I'd be happy to tie up some bead chain clousers to try. I'm in Tally, so wouldn't take long to get to you.


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## Shadowcast (Feb 26, 2008)

That rod needs a longer bellied line. That's why I did not put the BTT Shorts on that rod. That line is dialed into that rod and is a good all around line.


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## Heat_PCB (Jan 13, 2018)

First off, what an awesome group of folks on this forum. Every dumb question I can think to ask has been answered 10x's over. Thanks in advance for helping me re-learn to fly fish, it's been years, and never in the salt.

Seems the consensus is the BTT is the correct line for where/how I fish. That is a start. Just wanted to make sure it was in fact my mediocre casting more so than my line/fly selection. Practice, practice, practice. 

@eightwt I'll send you a PM, I would like to try a lighter clouser, see if that helps my cause. I do not the, but eventually hope to start, it seems like a fun way to spend the rainy days. Going to need to find some larger flies I can can throw this summer near shore and yes, weight is not really a requirement for where I fish, like @texasag07 mentioned.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

So keep the WUlff 8wt BTT on your 8wt and consider just getting a 9wt setup for windier conditions and throwing bigger and heavier flies. I always try to have one with me and I string it up with a 9wt intermediate sink line. Hey, if the winds pick up, the surface of the water will be rough and choppy anyways and the fish will hold down lower.

You can get just one line to do most of your fly fishing (i.e. the BTT, a redfish line or general purpose Saltwater tapered line). Or you can just add something like a SA Titan for windy days. But I think your answer is what I mentioned above.


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

I agree with adding a 9wt to the mix for bigger flies. I purchased a Rio outbound line for my 8wt just for slinging big flies and it works great, but that's all it's good for. The head is very fat and heavy and it spooks fish when it slaps the water. The general purpose lines seem to be a good all around line choice for doing just about everything.


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## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

RunningOnEmpty said:


> I noticed the cortland lines are lighter than most. That's why I haven't tried it.


Cortland flats/tarpon & SA bonefish/tarpon are true weighted lines. Hence why their 9wt lines weigh as much as the 8wt flatspro or btt.


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

Rick hambric said:


> Cortland flats/tarpon & SA bonefish/tarpon are true weighted lines. Hence why their 9wt lines weigh as much as the 8wt flatspro or btt.


It's confusing because some show the weight of the first 30' only? I'm going broke trying to figure this stuff out LOL


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

RunningOnEmpty said:


> It's confusing because some show the weight of the first 30' only? I'm going broke trying to figure this stuff out LOL


That's the standard for single hand lines, even if they don't list as such, that's generally how they're measured(weighed). That is unless you're looking at a Spey lines/heads/tips etc.. but that's a whole other ball of wax. You have likely been to their site but if you haven't, check out the affta site it'll give you an idea of good baselines for comparison purposes.
https://www.affta.org/member-services/industry-standards/


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## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

RunningOnEmpty said:


> It's confusing because some show the weight of the first 30' only? I'm going broke trying to figure this stuff out LOL


Let’s not even talk about tapers and head length... a lighter line with a more aggressive taper and longer belly can outperform a heavier line with a finesse style taper. The marriage of line and rod depends not only on the rod action, but your casting style, leaders and flies you throw. I just wish rio will make their bonefish taper with the flatspro materials, and Cortland make their flats taper in clear up to a 13wt!


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

Rick hambric said:


> Cortland flats taper in 9wt. Weighs as much as most 8wt lines now.


Cortland doesn't mention if that head weight is 30' or the full head?


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## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

RunningOnEmpty said:


> Cortland doesn't mention if that head weight is 30' or the full head?


It’s 30ft. They weigh and follow the affta standards


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## brokeoff (Sep 2, 2016)

Rick hambric said:


> Cortland flats/tarpon & SA bonefish/tarpon are true weighted lines. Hence why their 9wt lines weigh as much as the 8wt flatspro or btt.


IMHO the BTT is true to weight. If you get the entire 243 gr 30’ BTT head out of the rod it will still weight far less than the entire 40’ head that has a 210 gr front 30’ like the Cortland or Monic. I always compare a lines grain wt at 30’ and for the entire head.


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

brokeoff said:


> IMHO the BTT is true to weight. If you get the entire 243 gr 30’ BTT head out of the rod it will still weight far less than the entire 40’ head that has a 210 gr front 30’ like the Cortland or Monic. I always compare a lines grain wt at 30’ and for the entire head.


I looked and I can't find the BTT line weight info. It would be really helpful for doing comparisons.


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## brokeoff (Sep 2, 2016)

RunningOnEmpty said:


> I looked and I can't find the BTT line weight info. It would be really helpful for doing comparisons.


From the website:

TT-6-F @ 30’ 200

TT-7-F @ 30’ 225

TT-8-F @ 30’ 243

TT-9-F @ 30’ 289

TT-10-F @ 30’ 310

TT-11-F @ 30’ 417

TT-12-F @ 30’ 463

TT-13-F @ 30’ 525

I’m very sceptical about the jump from 10 wt to 11 wt. could it really be a 107 gr difference.


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## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

My sa tarpon 10wt is only 285g at 30, it’s a 36ft Head. I do wish that all companies would include the 30ft and full head weight. It would make life a little bit easier when choosing a new line.


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## brokeoff (Sep 2, 2016)

Rick hambric said:


> My sa tarpon 10wt is only 285g at 30, it’s a 36ft Head. I do wish that all companies would include the 30ft and full head weight. It would make life a little bit easier when choosing a new line.


It would be nice to start a project where old lines are send to someone to be weight at various lengths of the head. I’ve weighed the them with the running line still attached but i’d Be interested to get exact amounts after a line is cut at 10’, 15’, 20’, 25’, etc.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Use a weight toward floating line with a 9' leader . If you use a weighted fly you can fish up to 10' of water
Only time I used sinking line was in Alaska. If I told you why I'd have to kill you


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