Cortland Trout BOSS Fly Line

Cortland on the Trout BOSS:

"The Trout BOSS Fly Line is our new premium trout line. We have used a new jacket material that utilizes Heat Dissipation Technology (HDT). HDT ensures minimal friction while false casting, improving line speed and distance. The unique AFFTA Compliant Boss taper features a 65' head and 100' total length which allows for accurate casts in close and great control at distance. An extended head facilities roll casting and long mends, making the Boss a perfect choice for indicator nymphing. We have paired the line up with 18'' of our proprietary Dyna-Tip for superb flotation, along with a Pale Olive head and running line."

I'll be honest, what originally sparked my interest to order a Trout BOSS was reading about it here on the North American Fly Fishing Forums. I was looking for a 5 weight line for a new 5 weight rod I had bought "Thomas & Thomas NS5" and what I read on here, sounded exactly like what I wanted. I was looking for a line that offered good turn over, but not something "clunky" like many lines designed with a lot of positive turn over are. I wanted a line that I could fish indicators with all day and throw a 12' leader on it and switch to dry flies in the evening. In my experience, it's not real easy to find a line that does both of these things well and offers a lot of line control as well.

After fishing the 5 weight version of this line many times now, it is indeed everything I could have asked for and then some. I love the extended head as it really does allow for a ton of line control even at longer distances. It works great from the drift boat and while walk and wade fishing. It will turn over a tandem nymph rig, couple small split shot and a indicator without any hesitation. While it has been Winter and therefore dry fly fishing isn't really much of an option, I did put on a standard 12' dry fly leader and dry fly just to play around with it, the results were a large part of what amazes me so much about this line, it has a lot of finesse when you need it, but also has a lot of powerful turn over when you need it too. It really is a great all around fly line.

The line shoots through the guides as good or better as any other fly line I have ever used, it has thus far held up and seems very durable. The line floats extremely well and the welded loops seem to be very durable. It roll casts well out to distances of 40' or so.

I also purchased this line in a 4 weight version, but have yet to use it much on my moderate action dry fly rod. The couple hours I do have using it on that rod, it was just as impressive as the 5 weight version was on my T&T NS5. It was also very impressive on my 5 weight NS5, more on that later...

One of the main reasons I decided to do this review is simply, there really isn't much information out there about this line and while I have no affiliation to Cortland, I figured some angler looking for a new line may appreciate knowing a little more about it.

One thing I think will help those interested in this line is understanding the weight of the line and how it will allow you to choose the best version of this line for your application.

If I was using a faster more powerful rod, fishing short to moderate distances, using a lot of indy rigs and wanted to be able to employ various forms of casting like spey casting, I would purchase the Trout BOSS in the same line weight as my rod is designed to be used with. So since that is what my main application was for regarding my T&T NS5 " (9' 5WT), I ordered a 5WT BOSS line and it's perfect. However, on this same rod if I was mainly going to be fishing at distances over 50' and likely at those distances, fishing more dry flies, I would under-line the rod and use a 4WT Trout BOSS. The reasoning for that I will touch on more shortly...

Now regarding my more moderate action dry fly rod which I will generally fish at distances of 15' - 60' with shorter distances being more common, I would not under-line, but instead buy a 4WT Trout BOSS for a 4WT fly rod. If I wanted to fish that same rod, but generally at distances of 40' or more, I would then consider under-lining it. So for that same 4WT fly rod, I would then want a 3WT Trout BOSS...

So now that you are likely thoroughly confused, I will clarify why I would suggest what I have regarding how to pick the best Trout BOSS for you...

The grain weights of the Trout BOSS taper for the first 30' meet the specifications of the AFFTA. However, due to the long length of the head on these fly lines, they can get pretty heavy once you get past 40' - 50' from the tip of the line, thus over-loading a rod. So if you are generally working with longer distances, hence the reasoning for under-lining the rod. Those grain weights are as follows...

3WT BOSS @ 30' 100 grains - Entire Head Weight 200 grains

4WT BOSS @ 30' 120 grains - Entire Head Weight 250 grains

5WT BOSS @ 30' 140 grains - Entire Head Weight 275 grains

6WT BOSS @ 30' 160 grains - Entire Head Weight 350 grains

7WT BOSS @ 30' 185 grains - Entire Head Weight 375 grains

8WT BOSS @ 30' 210 grains - Entire Head Weight 430 grains

The average angler is going to be best suited to purchasing this line to match the designated weight of their rod, but there will no doubt be some whom fish at long distances more often than not that I am sure would prefer this line a weight under the designated line weight for their rod.

In closing, the Cortland BOSS to me is a very well designed fly line for a variety of applications, I am sure it would make a great line for dry line steelhead fishing as well.

Most of my information came from emailing Artie Loomis @ Cortland, if you have any questions, I wouldn't hesitate to drop him a line, he was very willing to discuss this fly line with me. His email address is: ALOOMIS@cortlandline.com

Hope this helps anyone who may be interested in the Trout BOSS.

Tight lines!