Hi guys, it's around 35 years ago since I last cast a fly, in fact the only day's fishing in that time was a day's local pike fishing some 20 years ago in which I caught 3 weighing in total around 37lbs.

Now the thing is I am returning to trout fishing and replacing all my Hardy rods and reels etc etc which were sadly stolen during a burglary some 30 years ago and I need advice on currently available good quality fly lines and nylon lines for casts as the area in which I live now ( East Yorks) doesn't seem to have any decent dedicated trout fishing tackle shops, unlike where I used to live in Durham when I last fished for trout.

Back in those days when I fished, probably the best nylon line for fly casts was 'Racine Tortue' which seems no longer available - I've seen plenty of what I'd call "cheap" quality monofilament but it looks like it could coil/kink which certainly not good for fly casting!

So, which are the good brands of nylon line available these days you suggest I look out for?
Next... once again, can you suggest the names of good quality wet and dry fly lines? I suspect, if they are anything like they used be, they won't be cheap but there again, with fishing tackle, you usually get what you pay for!

So, if anyone could offer a bit of advice, it would be gratefully received.

Tony

For fly lines, both Mike Barrio and the Pitsford pirate do good british made, supple easy to cast lines that will fulfil your needs for half the price (or less) of the premium brands.


Nylon has moved on greatly from the old tortue (my dad still has a half empty spool of it), below is from one of my other posts and is appropriate.

Ultimately it is pay your money and make your choice. My only warning is not to fall for the fluorocarbon hype as no matter what they say, it is still visible.

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Tony, you'll get all sorts of conflicting advice, so be prepared!
My first point is you said along the lines "I will be replacing all my rods and reels": might I suggest you start with one outfit in case the advice you choose is not the best for you.
Where do you intend to do your trout fishing: River/Stillwater; big river/big stillwater; will you be on the bank/in a boat/wading; et cetera?

Andrew

Welcome to the forum Tony,ennios points are good-try the search facility;should be plenty of previos threads to wade through.Enjoy the confusion


all the best Nick

Welcome to the forum Tony. Lots of advice on here. Best to be as specific as possible on the type of fishing you'll be doing, river etc.

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Eddie
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Hi Andrew,
Thanks for your reply.
Just to give you an idea about my background and fishing plans.

Although I now reside in East Yorks, I was born near Durham and fished the rivers ...Wear, Brownie, Upper Tees, North Tyne, Reed and border rivers such as the Jed, Rule, Teviot, Till and Tweed and it's my intention to hopefully fish these rivers again. I prefer fishing faster flowing small to medium sized rivers where the trout are truly wild.
I certainly won't be fishing 'fisheries' ( I'd rather saw off my foot with a bread knike than do that LOL).

As for equipment, I still have a 1960's Hardy 8' 6" fly rod and Hardy 3.25" reel in good condition (so that should cope with smaller rivers for the moment) plus I still have my extensive fly tying gear which the thieves overlooked when I was burgled back then.

The last time I looked, I still had two and a half pairs of complete Landrail ( Corncrake) wings which must be around 70 years old and very rare to obtain, together with thousands of good hackles, wings, necks etc etc, all in perfect condition having been mothballed for all those years. So, those old fly patterns shouldn't be a problem LOL.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been replenishing my non-fly equipment (which was also stolen), via eBay - I've bought up a mint 1960 Ambidex No4 casting reel with two spools as a backup to my old 7 foot spinning rod and well used Ambidex No. 4, I've also bought a series of vintage Mepps, quill minnows, Hard Cork floats etc etc so that's my non-fly gear sorted and everything i was familiar with.
As for new fly gear: when my father was alive, we shared about 6 or 7 rods made by Hardy and J B Walker, Allcocks et al ( all stolen) - I was thinking of maybe a 9' 6" or 10' for starters and then something longer for lake edges if I have the opportunity to fish them.
I'm tempted to go for a couple of vintage Hardy rods and reels - these should do me but I will look carefully before pulling the trigger as they are quite expensive and now, there might be better rods available.

My biggest problem is getting up to speed with fishing lines.. because of the timespan since I last fished, I'm not familiar with any of the brands available right now.

Tony

I guess the technology of lines (as well as rods, reels, tippet and flies) has changed significantly. This link should be tell you all you need to know about the technology behind today's flylines: Choosing the Right Fly Line

The "big brand" lines in the main are American (Scientific Anglers, Rio, Cortland) or European incl. UK (Hardy, Snowbee, Loop, Vision) ... not exhaustive lists. MRP on these lines tends to be between £55 and £80. There are also less expensive, perfectly adequate lines: for example I have a Barrio Mallard DT#4 with which I'm very pleased. You'll find some "name" lines are manufactured by other companies: so Wulff lines appear to be made by Scientific Anglers; certain Hardy lines will be manufactured by Rio, et cetera. Ryan (rrw35) on this forum seems to be an archivist of which company makes which lines!

It might be worth a trip to Harrogate where there are three fly fishing tackle shops: Brown Trout, Linley Bros and Orvis (I know there's an Orvis in Pickering also, but Orvis can be hit-and-miss and sell mainly their own brands)

My top tip: "casts" are now called "leaders"

Andrew

PS something else I would recommend is the BFFI on 18/19-Jun, see: http://www.bffi.co.uk/
I know it's on the wrong side of the country for you but shows like this are a great opportunity to see what's out there and to speak with experts and bullshitters

Rio for me but Mike Barrios lines are half the price and just as good

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Thanks stonepark, just had a quick look at Ultima and it seems good quality stuff.
Even back then, there was line available which was supposed to be invisible - but it wasn't LOL.

Tony

---------- Post added at 12:01 AM ---------- Previous post was Yesterday at 11:57 PM ----------

Thanks for the welcome Nick.
I'll no doubt be delving into the previous threads for more info

Tony

Seconded!! I'm returning from a bit of a break as well Tony (not as long as yours mind) and the saearch facility is my best friend

There's been a multitude of answers for every question I've had, hopefully by combining my own knowledge and that of the vastly more experienced anglers on the forum I shouldn't go far wrong.

Good luck and sorry to hear about the burgalry as it sounds like you lost a lot of valuable and quality kit

Chris

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