Review - Cortland 555 Flyline

[MontanaMike]

I finally retired my old flyrod and sprang for a Sage. Of course, I needed new line, so I thought I'd try Cortland's new top end 555 in the WF floating Ghost Tip.

Big mistake. This stuff is very slick and floats very high, but it has so much memory that it's like casting wire. Cortland says you have to stretch it before you use it to straighten it out, which I did, but it didn't help a lot and then only seemed to help temporarily.

I returned the line and bought a spool of Rio Selective Trout. Wonderful stuff. Very low memory, even though the day I fished it the air temp was under 40 degrees.

--Mike

[Rusty Hook]

Mike: I also have a Cortland 555 line which I have been fishing for a couple of years, now. Only mine is the completely clear line. I am willing to put up with the kinking and straightening issues because golden trout are really edgy about lines and line shadows. But you are right these lines are a real pain to use most of the time and I constantly cussing mine when it behaves badly.

In stretching the line, it helps a lot if you stretch it as you would an Amnesia shooting line. You put the line under constant static pressure and hold it for a period of 60 seconds, then release the tension s-l-o-w-l-y. Using a stripping basket also helps a lot rather than putting your line back on your reel every time you want to change fishing locations, as does getting all the twist out of your line before and after fishing. Storing a twisted line on your reel makes it a lot harder to straighten the line the next time you go fishing.

Good to hear the positive report on the Rio Selective Trout Line. Was this one of the newer lines with the Agent X and the Super Flotation Technology? I would be interested in hearing how the newer Rio lines float compared to the Cortland 555s.

The Wulff Triangle Tapers have been upgraded with a new J3 Technology coating this year. I really like the TT lines for making into 40 foot shooting heads, which are great for roll casting and fishing lakes and large streams and rivers, but not to good for small stream fishing because they load the rod too slowly unless you are drastically over lineing your rod. By reversing the TT head on your reel, you can have and eat your cake too, eliminating the need to carry extra spools and lines. The short back taper of 5 or so feet loads a rod really well for making short casts...Rusty.

[MontanaMike]

Rusty -

Yes, the Rio line is the new one with the AgentX superslick coating and the Super Flotation Technology. I think it floats every bit as well as the Cortland 555, and it is indeed very slick. It really glides through the guides. No doubt part of this is due to the fact that the Rio line is very supple, and with very little memory. I really like this stuff. Almost everyone here uses Rio; the fly shop I bought it from doesn't sell any other brand. I tried the Cortland because it had the Ghost Tip (clear for about 6').

Like you, I'm also concerned about line-shy trout, as I drift-fish the Clark Fork a lot and the fish see enough pressure to educate them pretty good. There aren't as many fish here as in many Montana rivers, but as the fish average 15-20" they've been around long enough to get smart. So I went with the Rio in the camo green color. I thought it might be hard for me to see, but it turns out it's not a problem, and because it's 3 weight, it the line shadow is negligable.

Now for the fishing report on Rio "test" day: my partner and I were nymphing with San Juan worms, and we caught three fish. The "we" means HE caught three fish and I caught none (unless you want to count a 17" whitefish). His first tow fish were rainbowa and measured 17" and 19." He topped the afternoon with a 22" cut.

If it isn't too cold Friday, we're going back out.

--Mike

[Rusty Hook]

Mike: Thanks for the report on the Rio line vs Cortland comparison, and, better luck the next time you are out. We don't have Whitefish here, and I know they are some what looked down upon where you are, but I would still consider a whitefish a fish caught and much better than no action at all. We don't get to pick what species of fish decide to take our flies and I never turn down anything I can get...Rusty.