Heat, flylines and friction..

[Thomas]

Hi everybody,

The heat here in Sweden is insane. We have not had such a warm summer since, well, forever. And the fishing suffers. And the casting suffers as well. I´m having problems with several of my lines right now - they feel really rough and sticky through the guides which drives me nuts. So at what temperatur do you guys think that "tropical" lines starts to make sense? I also have another question specifically for Paul and it is about the torzite guides. I´m thinking these guides (or something similar) must be way better than ordinary snakes during really warm conditions to minimize the effects of a sticky and rough line. Is this true? And also - would these guides make sense on a 8# rod?

Cheers Thomas G

[Graeme H]

G'day Thomas,

I think the first thing you should check with your current lines is that they are clean and well dressed. I think that's more important than line climate ratings if you're fishing in air temperatures of less than (say) 35°C. Wash them in soapy water and dress them with a silicone treatment of your choice. Tropical lines are really only an advantage if you're letting the line sit on a hot deck of a boat or casting in a park. At other times, the line stays fairly cool due to the water it's in most of the time.

Tropical lines vary from company to company. I use the standard tropical Rio lines here in Perth (Western Australia) all year round. Our maximum temperatures don't drop much below 18°C, and the lines are generally okay down to about 15°C. (The newer "In-Touch" tropical lines like the Flats Pro do like the temperature a bit higher though.)

The A!rflo tropical lines are shockers. They feel wirey even in 30° temperatures. I don't use them even the middle of summer (+35°C). However, their standard lines work fine in just about any temperature and I use them all year too.

I haven't got any rods with Torzite guides, but all my own rods have SiC inserts in all guides (Ti frames). That includes my 4wt 'glass rods. They are fine.

Cheers,
Graeme

[Paul Arden]

Hi Thomas,

One question I have is are you twisting your rings off-plane? If the line is running along the blank it can be fixed this manner.

I use Shoot extensively and it makes a huge difference. I actually have a few non-tropical lines that I fish in the jungle.

The Tozites do make a difference but Shoot makes much more of a difference. Flavio is currently setting up two HT6s - one with torzites. I shall report back!

Cheers, Paul

[Thomas]

Hi Graeme and Paul,

Graeme, I do clean my lines carefully and dress the floating ones regularly. I do however mostly use intermediates and slow-sinking lines and if I dress them they float... Do you know of a good line-dressing that works well on sinking lines?

Paul, I do twist the sections when this problem occurs and it always helps a bit. But not completely.

Flavios rod sounds very interesting! I personally would not mind trading a bit of lightness in the tip for less friction.

Cheers Thomas

[Paul Arden]

Unfortunately the dressings are silicone base. I do dr as my fast sinking lines and simply pull them under. Bit of a catch 22 with the Intermediate.

Cheers Paul