Long Rod

[Otter]

I have been searching for a suitable long rod for nearly a year. Mike very kindly tried his best to send me one of his but the dimesnions of such a rod made the cost of shipment plain silly.

At last I found what looks like what I need on ebay http://www.ebay.ie/itm/150762273467?ssP ... 1423.l2649 - coarse match rods with sliding reel seats are quite scarce and even harder to get shipped.

Last year I fished maybe 4 or 5 times using Mikes polypropylene line using my 10 ft rod. Allthough a bit rattly going through the rings ( this should improve after serious use) and a little prone to spray the qualities of this as a fishing line far exceed by a country mile, that of any conventional fly line I have ever used on a river. As it floats on rather than in the meniscus it lifts off easily, cuts through the breeze and mends easily.

I am simply salivating at the prospect of using this line on the 12 or 13 ft rods. No doubt it will be a slight challenge to get used to the casting, but having spent many years salmon fishing and doing single and double spey casting I should be able to come to terms with that reasonably quickly.

I have no doubt that the control that these longer rods will give me will improve my fishing immensly and more importantly it should be good fun learning something new ( or is that something old, using long double handed rods ).

A special thanks to Mike for his advice and help ....

[CM_Stewart]

Given the flack that Mike has taken on other boards for proposing the polypro line, I am heartened to hear that you have good things to say about it.

[Otter]

Given the flack that Mike has taken on other boards for proposing the polypro line, I am heartened to hear that you have good things to say about it.

I can understand the flack.... very little of mikes ideas are fashionable and always receive extreme critiscism from those that see themselves setters of trends or part of the fly fishing jetset - largely it all boils down to the fact that he sells nothing, is too long winded for those that require quick fixes , etc...

The principles behind most good stuff is simplicity in itself and simplicity is not what most fly anglers have come to expect. The possibility that a simple length of polypropylene could be used to fish flies is way too much for many to accept. It ain't pretty, there are some drawbacks but it is a useful option.

[hankaye]

Otter, Howdy;

Starting to get a picture in my head now ...

As the wiley Otter creeps stealthly towards the edge of the river on his belly .....

hank

[William Anderson]

[quote="Otter"]

Last year I fished maybe 4 or 5 times using Mikes polypropylene line using my 10 ft rod. Allthough a bit rattly going through the rings ( this should improve after serious use) and a little prone to spray the qualities of this as a fishing line far exceed by a country mile, that of any conventional fly line I have ever used on a river. As it floats on rather than in the meniscus it lifts off easily, cuts through the breeze and mends easily.

I am simply salivating at the prospect of using this line on the 12 or 13 ft rods. No doubt it will be a slight challenge to get used to the casting, but having spent many years salmon fishing and doing single and double spey casting I should be able to come to terms with that reasonably quickly.[quote]

I'm not at all familiar with the use of this type of line, can you please explain what makes this line different? And if it is a bit cumbersome in the delivery...assuming presentation takes priority above all else, how does it far exceed todays modern fly lines? I'm not at all interested in an argument or even being contradictory, I just don't know anything about what you're up to, and very interested to learn. The question of course has nothing to do with using longer rods, as you'll find a lot of support for, especially in terms of line control and mending. Just curious.

w

[Otter]

First of all let me clarify something, this is not a casting line in the sense of double hauling or worry about the shape of your loop, it is simply a piece of untapered line that connects you to your leader.
The line I have, I received from Mike, I have yet to find a source for it myself. It is equivalent to about a conventionional 4 weight. It is braided 100% polypropylene so basically it has no choice but to float ON the water.

From a casting viewpoint, I have only used it with a Streamflex 10ft 4#. It is extremely accurate to cast with, feels like an extrension of the rod - cuts through the breeze quite well and lands quite softly. There is little elasticity in the line so you are in direct contact with your flies and that for me is a major positive.

If you are into the aesthetics and the art of good casting then look away. This is a functional alternative fly line, best suited to fixed or near fixed line length work - working it through the rings for regular changes of distance can be a bit annoying though Mike reckons it does soften a bit with use.

And finally, when I do find a source, I reckon a 100 yard spool would be near enough to do an average angler a lifetime.

This may not be everyones cup of tea, but let me add one final point - as you all know I am half mad anyway, so please forgive me , an Otterism if you like. " The biggest single drawback with modern rods and slick plastic fly lines for river fishing is that they encourage too much casting. "

some stuff from mike on this http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... ene#p23964

[hankaye]

Otter, Howdy;

Could try here, they also have the masonary string which is nylon.

http://www.webriggingsupply.com/pages/c ... ila.html#H



hank

[Mike Connor]

The polypropylene is intrinsically hydrophobic and lighter than water. It requires no treatment at all. It takes a little getting used to, and is best used as a "fixed line length" on a long rod. It has quite a few advantages over any other type of line and I have explained some of these before. It tends to be a little stiff at first, ( like a new silk line), but softens a bit in use, and it can cause spray if you are sloppy at casting because it is a braid. So it is best for "gentle" casting.

Nylon and other stuff is usable in a pinch, but it won't float unless treated and even then usually badly, and it is not waterproof. Nylon absorbs water.

Quite a few people have tried the polypropylene, some like it, some don't. I think this depends a lot on how you fish.

One of the major advantages is that you can hold the line off the water easily. Many old time fly-anglers advised keeping as much line as possible off the water and this is actually good advice, however, this is impossible with modern lines and short rods. The weight of the line simply prevents it.

Modern plastic lines float because the coating of PVC contains a quantity of tiny glass air bubbles sufficient to make the line buoyant. This increases the actual weight of the line, and also because it is buoyant the line floats "in" the surface film, not on it. This also means that the line is held in the surface film and is more affected by it. The heavy but buoyant line displaces water directly proportional to its buoyancy. Just like any heavy buoyant object.

I was looking for something that worked like the old silk and horsehair, or pure horsehair lines, without the disadvantages. The Polypropylene is not perfect, but it is the closest I have come. There are also advantages in that its is extremely cheap and requires no preparation or care at all.

TL
MC

[hankaye]

Mike C, Howdy;

So where may we find some of the poly line should we wish to check it out ???

Thanks as always,

hank

[Mike Connor]

Sorry, I don't know. I have tried in the past to find various equivalents in various places but not very successfully. You have to go looking for it. It took me quite a while to find the stuff I now use and I got that from a limited private source after specifying exactly what I wanted ( From a rope-making engineer here in Germany actually).

TL
MC