Choosing fly line -- Redington CT 9' 4wt

[somn]

So, I'm new to fly fishing at about a year and half of experience. I just upgraded my packaged Quarrow 8'6" 5wt to a Redington CT 9' 4wt as my 'big' rod after a lot of research (I also have a 7'6" 3wt for small streams) -- plus it doesn't hurt that they can still be had for around $100 since the Tempt came out.

As the subject states, I need a fly line. I'm going nuts searching through threads for recommendations and would love suggestions specific to this moderate-action rod. One thing I've seen said numerous times is NOT to go with a line that's 1/2 weight heavy, but I'm not exactly sure how to know or not. If I were forced to pull the trigger right now, it would be for either the Cortland 444 WF Peach or Sylk.

Some people say 'don't worry it, any halfway decent name-brand line you get will be okay' while others say 'don't skimp and try to save $20 on one of the most important parts of your setup'. I probably fall in with the latter crowd. I'm willing to spend the money if it'll be worth it, and if the line presents difficulties that are a matter of technique, I can learn/work to overcome them.

So... any suggestions?

[edit] Floating for dries, primarily.

 

[MoscaPescador]

You are correct about the half heavies. Stay away from those.

If I was going to choose a line based off of past experiences with that rod, I would look at the Scientific Anglers Mastery Trout and the Wulff Triangle Taper lines. Both are great general purpose trout lines that have good dry fly presentations.

There are some dry fly specific fly lines that have long front tapers. I have not cast them on that rod.

Dennis

 

[mudbug]

My 8'6" 4wt CT loves the SA Mastery Trout

 

[glcaddis]

I'm a fan of double taper lines and the Cortland Sylk is a very nice line. I have used the DT version of it on my Scott G904 and it worked great. The reason I like DT lines is that you get two lines for the price of one. The first 30 feet of both WF and DT lines the same and the number of fish we catch beyond 30 feet is pretty small. Unless you are fishing very big rivers, the WF line holds no real advantage and you'll have to replace it twice as often.

 

[fireroad]

Welcome to the forum somn! I certainly understand how overwhelming the amount of information here on lines can be.

While I don't own a Redington CT, I may be able to provide you information to help track down the right line for you. Redington was bought by Sage a few years ago, and the CT was one of the first great products from Redington that benefited from input from Sage designers and Sage manufacturing processes. Around the same time Sage bought Rio fly lines and I believe both Redington and Sage test many of their rods with Rio line. What I have found with my newer Sage rods is that I can call the very helpful guys at Rio and they know what line was "intended" to be use with the rod. That being said, just because a rod was "designed" to work with a rod doesn't mean it's the only like for that rod, or another line wouldn't work better for you.

If it was my rod I would flip a coin between Rio Gold or SA Mastery Trout. If I was you I would buy the less expensive Rio Mainstream Trout and spend the savings on a casting lesson.

 

[MoscaPescador]

If it was my rod I would flip a coin between Rio Gold or SA Mastery Trout.

The CT casts great with the old Rio Gold. Unfortunately it feels clunky with the new version since Rio changed the weighting. The new Gold is one of those half heavy types of lines.

 

[somn]

Thanks for all the great info! Now leaning toward the SA Mastery Trout given the recommendations in this thread, unless there's something about Cortland or Rio that I just shouldn't overlook. I will try giving the folks at Rio a call and see what their suggestion would be first however.

Not to derail my own thread, either, but does anyone have any experience with the H&H Hi-Floater lines? Was thinking about it for my 3-wt as a decent low-cost line. I've read indications that it might be made by Cortland with properties similar to the 444 classic peach lines?

 

[plecain]

I have that rod.

I'll echo what people have already said - go with a straight 4 wt line. It doesn't need or want one of the 4 1/2 wt lines.

 

[jaybo41]

While I don't have the CT, I have several 4wts that I rotate lines through. One of those lines is Rio Gold (older version) and another is Airflo Supple Tactical. I've found the Airflo line is a little better suited for dries than the Gold but by a nose. Airflo makes that line in both WF and DT versions.

Gold has long been a staple for me, but evidently, I need to consider alternatives if the line moved from .25 to .5 line over. Mastery Trout may be one such alternative. I have not weighted these but if you believe the data on Rio's website, their new Perception line in 4wt has a head mass of 155 Grains vs. Rio Gold's 175 vs. Grand's 165. If Grand is 1 full size up and Gold is .25 or .5 or whatever the claim is, why is Grand's head mass less than Gold?

 

[MoscaPescador]

While I don't have the CT, I have several 4wts that I rotate lines through. One of those lines is Rio Gold (older version) and another is Airflo Supple Tactical. I've found the Airflo line is a little better suited for dries than the Gold but by a nose. Airflo makes that line in both WF and DT versions.

Gold has long been a staple for me, but evidently, I need to consider alternatives if the line moved from .25 to .5 line over. Mastery Trout may be one such alternative. I have not weighted these but if you believe the data on Rio's website, their new Perception line in 4wt has a head mass of 155 Grains vs. Rio Gold's 175 vs. Grand's 165. If Grand is 1 full size up and Gold is .25 or .5 or whatever the claim is, why is Grand's head mass less than Gold?

When you go back to the Rio website, look up the line profile link to each line. The Rio Gold has an extended head of 47 feet, and the Grand has a head length of 38 feet. Then look up the grain weights of the first 30 feet. The Grand has a heavier weight measurement at 30 feet than the Gold. When lines are measured for AFTMA standards, they are measured at the first 30 feet.

Dennis

 

[jaybo41]

Thanks Dennis, that clears it up for me. I knew you'd have an answer to set me straight :thumbsup: