Line cleaning & optimisation
- Thread starter saflyfish
- Start date
pnc
Well-known member
Cleaning at home is with warm soapy water. NO OXY soap !
On water may re-dress or clean with small waxed cleaning pad from Cortland. If extra slick is wanted. Backcountry, Special Delivery. Spray on spooled line shake off excess. Good to go.
........ pc
On water may re-dress or clean with small waxed cleaning pad from Cortland. If extra slick is wanted. Backcountry, Special Delivery. Spray on spooled line shake off excess. Good to go.
........ pc
I use Umpqua Glide and believe it works well. When a line seems not right I have regular Bounty Paper Towels under my console and pull the wet line through a towel while putting a good squeeze on it. This removes dirt pretty well as evidenced by a brown stripe where the line was pulled through. Then use the Glide kit according to instructions and reel up or cast out the line. There is a very noticeable difference in how it shoots & floats.
In moments of boredom I do this at home but seldom need the warm soapy water treatment. If you clean and coat often enough the line is never dirty. Yeah you may see a slight stripe where the line is pulled through the paper towel but it's really faint. The coating seems to be effective so I use it. Been using this product for about 5 or 6 years now and don't intend to change.
Cost is about 15.00 and it lasts for years, you can google it.
In moments of boredom I do this at home but seldom need the warm soapy water treatment. If you clean and coat often enough the line is never dirty. Yeah you may see a slight stripe where the line is pulled through the paper towel but it's really faint. The coating seems to be effective so I use it. Been using this product for about 5 or 6 years now and don't intend to change.
Cost is about 15.00 and it lasts for years, you can google it.
knotjoe
Well-known member
Yeah, I've used all kinds of stuff over the years and they all get gummy in my area and generally suck in terms of value for the money.
Best thing yet? Wipe it down with a paper towel or rag after fishing if it looks dirty. As for dressings? Plumbing aisle anywhere, silicone grease in little tubs or tubes intended for faucets. The Danco tube from Menard's even has a little slot for attaching to a zinger or clipping on a vest:thumbsupu
Nicely helps with those high tech, migrating lubricants present in and responsible for the performance of modern flylines
I'm not kidding you here, PVC (or even urethane) lines do pretty well with the clean silicone rub down. Just put on some nitrile or surgery/cooking gloves, squeeze out a little dab on your fingers, and work it down the line. Stays where you put it, as hydrophobic as it gets, and keeps the line impressively clean. Did I mention slick?
Probably the main ingredient in any of these high priced products. Sprays do have it, but they contain other (possibly) not-so-line friendly propellants and evaporative aids. Just a light, simple greasing is all it takes.
mtboiler
Well-known member
Anything you put on a line will eventually attract dirt or grim. Most line manufactures have some form of cleaning pad as well.
If you use soap, remember it absorbs water, which means if you do not completely clean it off the line, it will eventually sink the line.
I suggest taking an old white Tshirt and tear it in strips. Get them wet, wrap around the line, squeeze tightly, and pull the first 30 plus feet through it until their is no color left on the cloth. Most lines are PVC and once cleaned do not need much else and should be slick unless they have cracks or damage to them.
I Find myself stepping on them from time to time...and even though it does not feel like their is damage any micro chip, crack or scare on PVC just allows water through it.
If you use soap, remember it absorbs water, which means if you do not completely clean it off the line, it will eventually sink the line.
I suggest taking an old white Tshirt and tear it in strips. Get them wet, wrap around the line, squeeze tightly, and pull the first 30 plus feet through it until their is no color left on the cloth. Most lines are PVC and once cleaned do not need much else and should be slick unless they have cracks or damage to them.
I Find myself stepping on them from time to time...and even though it does not feel like their is damage any micro chip, crack or scare on PVC just allows water through it.
brownbass
Well-known member
I have washed my lines with mild soapy water and used Glide for years. My problem with using paper towels is they may abrade the coating. Being wet may or may not diminish that possibility.
Bill
Bill
Rip Tide
Well-known member
I use one of those green Scotch Brite scouring pads on my saltwater lines to scrape off the salt residue.
just4grins
Well-known member
I've been using "303" Protectorant for years. My lines shoot great with it. You can get it in a small pocket sized bottle. I use my wife's round makeup pads. Wet a pad and strip the line through it, then use a dry pad when it dries to slick up the surface. It also has UV protection, has kept my lines like new for years. And, yes the second pad picks up a lot of dirt in the process.
pnc
Well-known member
I think waters fished may have something to do with cleaning & dressing lines. Being lines will pick up more or less junk depending on where they are used , cleanliness of water. And when lines are used also affects rate at which debris is picked up.
Generally I fish in the gulf. Might clean or re-dress line 2 or 3 times when using during daylight hours. Rarely at night. Apparently salt film dries way faster in the sun. Some days line gains so much weight they become almost unusable. I've also found silicone dressings retard this some compared to wax type dressings. Though waxy (for lack of better term) types will last longer on line.
.......... pc
Generally I fish in the gulf. Might clean or re-dress line 2 or 3 times when using during daylight hours. Rarely at night. Apparently salt film dries way faster in the sun. Some days line gains so much weight they become almost unusable. I've also found silicone dressings retard this some compared to wax type dressings. Though waxy (for lack of better term) types will last longer on line.
.......... pc
trout trekker
Well-known member
Like Ard I use Glide and have been since the 90's, as an aside the old bottles had a tiny Johnson Wax logo on them. What I like about the product is that it dries hard and slick, not greasy, so it doesn't pick up particles like the wet oily line dressings do. I tried Rio's white liquid formula a couple of times for comparison but in both instances after a few months, the product would seperate in the bottle, the first part being milky and second a mucky / gritty lump of white goo which would not go back into a suspension no matter how much agitation I was willing to use. I contacted my Rio rep after the first experience and he told me it was probably old product and he sent me a new bottle, which in a few months seperated as well. So I rate it a fail when compared to the slick dry finish and shelf life of Glide.
The knock on Glide and it's not a huge one is their packaging, specifically that little flip up nozzle. I've learned to keep it in a separate small zip lock bag in my gear bag, because it almost always find its way onto it's side and the least bit of pressure on the bottle or from an altitude change will find the bottle oozing. I'd prefer if they'd just put a solid screw cap on the bottle.... a real first world problem.
Dave
The knock on Glide and it's not a huge one is their packaging, specifically that little flip up nozzle. I've learned to keep it in a separate small zip lock bag in my gear bag, because it almost always find its way onto it's side and the least bit of pressure on the bottle or from an altitude change will find the bottle oozing. I'd prefer if they'd just put a solid screw cap on the bottle.... a real first world problem.
Dave
dennyk
Well-known member
I clean the line with mild dish soap, wipe it down with water, then dry it with a paper towel. For dressing I use Armor All Protectant wipes with good results. The wipes can also be reused by sealing it in a zip lock baggie.
Denny
Denny
knotjoe
Well-known member
Yes indeed. My preference for silicone w/o additives has much to do with fishing in farm country where there's lots of dust and pollen. Summer algae is another big reason. Seems organic stuff likes to cling and bond to the pasty/waxy type dressings whereas nothing much sticks to plain silicone.
Very nice when it migrates onto the rod guides and keeps the crud from adhering and building-up. I like to swab a bit of residual on the guides and rod from time to time as well, especially nice on non-gloss blanks which are hard to clean in harder water areas.
Measured local water PH around my haunts long ago in my fish keeping/aquarium days. Usually around 8.6 so things can get a bit crusty from that as well, hence the pure grease approach. The more complex formulations simply don't go well out here, but I'd bet they work great in other areas of the country. Folks seem to love 'em.
Advantages of pure silicone most appreciated in summer and warmer seasons.
pnc
Well-known member
In part this thread may have had cleaning line in my head. Couple of weeks back, picked up 2 cleaning products. Rio's , Wonder Cloth & Scientific Anglers Cleaning pads. The cleaning pads from SA to replace old (carry one & Cortland pad when on water for length of time. Rio cloth was something I haven't used.
For years soap & warm water have worked for me. Pulled through various things in the process. Last line cleaned, soap & water as usual. Then pulled through Rio's cloth, wetted first. The amount of dirt on cloth was surprising. So much so that cloth may well become final step in process for me.
........ pc
For years soap & warm water have worked for me. Pulled through various things in the process. Last line cleaned, soap & water as usual. Then pulled through Rio's cloth, wetted first. The amount of dirt on cloth was surprising. So much so that cloth may well become final step in process for me.
........ pc
falcon53
Well-known member
I have cleaned my fly lines with mild soap and water and after wards used some line cleaner / dressing. Anymore I stop into a fly shop where I am a regular customer and when the manager is not busy he unspools and rewinds my fly line after running it through a cloth with cleaner. Takes about 5 minutes .... no charge. A nice perk from a good shop.
pnc
Well-known member
Lol....... I could imagine the wise cracks in between the laughter. As something gets put in my hand with "do this for me".
NW - NJ. Hmmmm.... should you get chance and have inclination. A&A Outfitters is on Rt 115 in Blakeeslee PA. 1/4 mile N of 80 not far from water gap. Worth seeing if time permits.
........ pc
NW - NJ. Hmmmm.... should you get chance and have inclination. A&A Outfitters is on Rt 115 in Blakeeslee PA. 1/4 mile N of 80 not far from water gap. Worth seeing if time permits.
........ pc