Clear Fly Line

huddlejonny

Wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction.

I recently purchased cheap WF5 Intermediate sinking fly line from a company called Fish-Tec via Amazon Uk. The lines advertised were of various colours but when they arrived yesterday the line I received was clear.

Is clear fly line any good for someone starting out in fly fishing? I always thought that the lines were coloured for a reason, so that you can see the cast landing on the water and for mending etc.

Has anyone got experience with clear line like this or should I just return them for a coloured variation?

Thanks.

Evac101

For an intermediate line, especially in still waters, clear is fine. Obviously, in rivers, it does make mending more awkward but my experience of fishing intermediate/sinking lines in rivers is that, firstly, you don't/can't mend mid-drift, meaning you're only mending immediately after the cast, at which point your line should still be visible. Secondly, I think it would have to be a quite large river (Liffey, Boyne sized) before using an intermediate, rather than a floating with a weighted fly or split shot on the leader, would be the logical choice. Obviously, happy to be corrected by those with more experience/broader experience than myself.

Zzippy

Clear lines are fine, some swear by them for better presentation/stealth/not spooking fish. The coating on many fly lines to make them more slick (for shooting through guides) is pigmented, so clear lines don't have this coating, and consequently don't cast as well in my experience. I have one that I just don't use as I find it too "sticky" casting.

coolwings

You could put some or all of it into a bath of coloured dye and alter the colour.

Zzippy

coolwings wrote: »

You could put some or all of it into a bath of coloured dye and alter the colour.

Do you know the fly line would take the colour? Most fly lines don't absorb water, especially floating lines that have hydrophobic coating. I doubt they would absorb a water-based dye.

SeaFields

Zzippy wrote: »

Do you know the fly line would take the colour? Most fly lines don't absorb water, especially floating lines that have hydrophobic coating. I doubt they would absorb a water-based dye.

That's an interesting one - I have a couple of floating lines that turned green from use in lakes with algae.

con___manx1

your better off not buyiing cheap lines as they will usually have memory problems. i fish a sink tip line that has ten foot of black that sinks. the rest of the line is blue.its a rio line.it doesnt matter what the colour of the line is if it floating because it will appear black to the fish below. sinking lines are usually darker because they will be at eye level with the fish.

Zzippy

SeaFields wrote: »

That's an interesting one - I have a couple of floating lines that turned green from use in lakes with algae.

Strange. I've had lines get dirty and discoloured but cleaned up with a bit of a wash, but never seen one turn green like that. Were you fishing in fairly eutrophic water?

SeaFields

Zzippy wrote: »

Strange. I've had lines get dirty and discoloured but cleaned up with a bit of a wash, but never seen one turn green like that. Were you fishing in fairly eutrophic water?

Yes it would have been and would be lakes known to have a big algae bloom as a result. It was your original point about dye colouring the line made me think the algae shouldn't have either. Those lines have long since been replaced so no way of checking would it have rubbed off. The trout didn't seem to mind in any case.

shortcircuitie

I got clear line off the web- it was awfully sticky. I never used it