[truchas]

I just got my new Airflo Ridge Presentation Line. This line has loops at each end. Can anybody suggest a good way to tie the line to backing?

Thanks,

Truchas.

[Joni]

I just used a clinch. I do think it would be cool to put a perfection loop in the backing and use a loop to loop, but 90' is a bit to thread.

[shorthaul]

I normally use a large bimini twist loop tied in the backing---make it large enough so the whole reel will pass through the loop so you can change lines without cutting and tying.

I suppose a large perfection loop would work also but it isnt quite as strong.

Then use a loop to loop connection.

[truchas]

Thanks for the suggestions. After a little bit of thought, I decided to make an Albright special because the pre made loop is exactly as it would be in the original knot, just I did not have to tie it ;-). If you do not hear from me, it worked out great!!! I can also tell you my experience with the new line, if you guys want.

Thanks,

Truchas.

[fyshstykr]

Truchas,
I've heard good things about this line from some of the guides upnorth, please let us know your thoughts.

[Joni]

I bought some at the Expo, and I absolutely love the stuff. EXCEPT! I got the older version and it has one heck of a memory. If you got the new product and it DOESN"T I really want to hear about it. It will add some distance to your cast for sure.

[Frank Whiton]

[quote=truchas;26421]Thanks for the suggestions. After a little bit of thought, I decided to make an Albright special because the pre made loop is exactly as it would be in the original knot, just I did not have to tie it ;-). If you do not hear from me, it worked out great!!! I can also tell you my experience with the new line, if you guys want.

Hi truchas,

Since there is already a loop on the fly line I think an Albright knot would be a good choice. I am not sure what makes an Albright into a Albright Special but it is a good knot.

Frank

[truchas]

Frank, not sure either, according to Wikipedia, it is the same knot known by 2 names.

Albright special - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Albright, or Albright Special, is not tied as easy as when you start by forming the loop, because there is a little taper so the backing does not slide as easily but this is a VERY! minor detail. It looks good and it is strong.

fyshstykr, I will post something when I use the line. However, there is a small disclaimer here. I have only been fly fishing for 3 weeks (almost every day for a couple of hours though). So, no double hauls or other acrobatics ;-).

I can still cast "far" and reasonable "well" with my hideous orange line. What I did was I followed that Frank gave on a different post. I marked my line every 10' (with different color sharpies) to know how far I was casting. Doing this, I can keep 20 to 30' of LINE in the air with ease and cast sometimes up to the 40' mark with a bit of line shooting. In average, I will say that I can cast 25 to 30' of LINE. This turned out to be great advice (thanks Frank). Since I did this last sunday, and after reading the Cast Like a Pro excerpts about how much should I expect from my casts, I do not find myself worried about distance and can concentrate on accuracy and mechanics (not in that order ;-)). In addition, since I am WAY! more relaxed now, my casts have become effortless, and believe it or on, they have also increased in distance. I will focus on the flickstop now because I do not hink that it is exactly as it should be.

Looking at the line in the backcast is GREAT! too. I can see exactly when I have to start the forward cast. Because I cannot see the leader in the air when I cast, I was not sure about the quality of my loops. Yesterday, I had a couple of people with me and I asked them to take a look at my loops. The report is that they are about 2' wide. I guess that I am starting to do things right, it feels right and the line goes: Sproooing!, like a spring out of the rod. I will still like to have an expert look at my casts and give me advice. Sorry for the digression... ;-) but these words may help another novice like me.

Joni, not sure how old is "old". The line I have was manufactured on Jun 2006. This is probably old since they sold this for the 2007 season and they have a new line out for the 2008 season. The thing is that I paid less than $25 for the line shipped. I think this guy I bought the line from has some still on Ebay (not advertising but this may help someone). With that money, I do not think that I could have found anything better. I noticed that the line out of the bag had memory but not more than the Mainstream line I looked at the local fly shop. I used the trick I learned last week in this forum and stretched. an the memory is mostly gone now. I will be able to tell you more when I take it to the water today ;-). Oh, I do not anticipate making marks on this line...

Thanks,

Truchas.

[truchas]

I guess that I owe fyshstykr my thoughts on the Airflo line. Now I have a bit more experience fly fishing and many fish caught too. The Airflo Ridge Presentation is a great line. It casts better than any line that I have tried so far (about 4 or 5 kinds). After stretching this line, the memory goes away but it comes back if you do not use it. I guess that this is a line for the everyday fisherperson ;-). The more I use it, the less memory in the taper part of the line. Closer to the backing, the memory could be severe unless, you stretch it before going fishing. This line retains more water than other lines that I have tried. Combined with the ridges, this can cause a bit of abrasion on your index finger. I have reduced the problem by holding the line in my hand in small loops (instead of letting it hang on the water). Finally, the tip of this line does not float as well as other lines, including my hideous orange line. For what I understand, this line is supposed to be a highly buoyant line so I wonder if it is a sinking tip line that made its way into the floating line box... (not sure here). For the ~$23 that I paid for it, I could not be more satisfied with it.

fyshstykr, I hope that this helps,

Truchas.

[Joni]

Originally Posted by truchas

I guess that I owe fyshstykr my thoughts on the Airflo line. Now I have a bit more experience fly fishing and many fish caught too. The Airflo Ridge Presentation is a great line. It casts better than any line that I have tried so far (about 4 or 5 kinds). After stretching this line, the memory goes away but it comes back if you do not use it. I guess that this is a line for the everyday fisherperson ;-). The more I use it, the less memory in the taper part of the line. Closer to the backing, the memory could be severe unless, you stretch it before going fishing. This line retains more water than other lines that I have tried. Combined with the ridges, this can cause a bit of abrasion on your index finger. I have reduced the problem by holding the line in my hand in small loops (instead of letting it hang on the water). Finally, the tip of this line does not float as well as other lines, including my hideous orange line. For what I understand, this line is supposed to be a highly buoyant line so I wonder if it is a sinking tip line that made its way into the floating line box... (not sure here). For the ~$23 that I paid for it, I could not be more satisfied with it.

fyshstykr, I hope that this helps,

Truchas.

I still don't understand the abrasive comment. The grooves run the length of the line, not across like Shark. HOW THE HECK CAN THIS BE ABRASIVE! I have been using it for about 6 months now. I don't notice it sinking, nor the holding water, in fact the opposite. It has several canals running the full length of the line. The cannals put air under them (like trying to push an empty glass straight down in water.)
I will agree to the memory thing however. To each their own, but the design of this line is state of the art to me. Less resistance on GUIDES thus shoots better.