AirFlow Tropical Saltwater

[falcon53]

A fly shop I visit regularly gave me a new fly line last year. Apparently the line was discontinued by AirFlow for a newer version.

The line is AirFlow Tropical Saltwater and the package says Ridge Line Polyfuse XT. The entire line is a beige color (not two toned). I also says Bone/Redfish Ridge Technology Floating WF7F.

Is anybody familiar with this line? Head length? Running line length? Configuration drawing? The description indicates it has a "high energy taper", super slick lubrication PolyFuse XT coating, low stretch mono core etc.

Is this the same line as the newer Airflow Tropical Saltwater which is a dual color line? Does anybody use this line? What rod do you match it with?

I cast the line briefly today in the wind. It casts good on a Hardy Proaxis and does not seem overly "front loaded" as a Rio Outbound which I use for streamer fishing from a drift boat. Generating line speed I was able to get good distance upwards of 80 feet. I am going to cast it again when there are no rain squalls. I noticed a little stiffness in the 40 deg weather but I was still able to shoot quite a bit of line.

Thanks

 

[sweetandsalt]

I can't inform you regarding taper details but I have this same line in #8. I bought it for my NRX which sternly looked at me and said, "Take this line off my reel!" Undeterred, I tried it on my second string Scott S4s which loved it and is mated with it still (not on NRX's NV-G but on Scott's cross town tackle maker, Ross's F1). I like none-stretch core lines in the salt for direct strip-striking, I just wish Airflo's would not coil as much as they do but this line has been OK.

 

[falcon53]

Thanks S&S, I did notice some minor coiling when I unspooled it and wound it on the reel. I did go away after casting a few times. I did not cast it extensively due to rain squalls and will give it a another go. I would guess the head is between 35 and 40 feet. It may be the same taper as the new line but I have no way to confirm as I cannot find specs on the internet. I would like to try the Cortland Liquid Crystal Blue line you have mentioned in past posts on the Proaxis. Did you use the clear or the aqua blue version?

Thanks

 

[sweetandsalt]

I definitely use the blue...it is hard enough to see and I only use if from the skiff as wading makes it more invisible. It is not the highest floating line but is one of the best, slickest shooting lines of all of them and a great taper. Call Rajeff Sports, they will inform you of taper or mass differentials between the two Airflo lines...please write here what they say. I'll wager its just the stylish two tone color.

Quiz: What is the most camo flats line color, matching sand on the bottom or the sky above?

 

[falcon53]

I agree. The beige color also is not very visible when casting. As far as camo lines are concerned, I am not certain I know the answer. Most flats lines are clear, light blue, beige or a green sea grass color. I suppose all lines are visible and cast a shadow when lining a fish or casting overhead. I would also assume that these color fly lines would appear as a shade of another color when viewed from under water looking at the surface (maybe some shade of grey???). Blue may be better in very clear water highlighted against the clear sky while sand may be better in water with some turbidity. The depth of the water and the reflective characteristics or whether or not there is vegetation in the water may come into play. I am interested in what other people have to say. I am far from being a flats fishing expert and have little experience in this regard. Upper Delaware trout see 6x leaders if you line them.

 

[karstopo]

If your leader is right and the cast good, I’m not sure the line color comes into play. If you lay any color line on top of shallow fish it’s going to cause trouble.

 

[oldskewl808]

I have done extensive on the water research about what colors are more “camo” as far as lines, clothing, flies, etc go. Blue is the most visible. I don’t use blue anything. It’s all about UV and color spectrum that the fish see. Blue is the most visible color and has a lot of UV brighteners in it. Basically looks like a bright fireball to flats fish. You are way better off matching bottom than matching sky. Earthy colors like tan, green, brown. Wear a bright blue shirt = fish see you


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[falcon53]

I contacted the people at Rajeff Sports. The person indicated that the Airflow Tropical saltwater line is the exact taper of the new Super Dri Bonefish/Redfish line. The only difference is the new Super Dri Coating.

Tip - .5
front taper - 6
head - 38.5
belly - 24
running line - 61.5

WF 7 ---- 210 gr

url airflowusa.com/project/bonefish

 

[sweetandsalt]

Back in the era of film, I assisted in an article about fly line color for Field&Stream Magazine. I parked by the bridge over the Willowemoc in Roscoe, NY, donned my waders and strung a hank of parachute cord from one side of the creek to the other. Using wire supermarket ties I attached over a dozen lines to the cord so they streamed downstream equidistance and parallel to one another. White, tan, green, olive, yellow, orange, peach, you name it I had it. It looked pretty cool and I went up on the bridge and photographed them using my regular Nikon SLR. Then the tricky part, using a Fuji underwater camera I pre-focused and held as deep in the creek as I could, I shot a couple rolls of slides from the trout's eye perspective looking up. While all the colors of the spectrum from above, they were all backlit grey from below. Oh, there was a fragment of color here and there where the riffled water surface caught a glint of sunlight off the line but fundamentally bright white, olive drab and hi-vis orange looked pretty much the same grey.

I pointed out to the Editor that when fishing we avoid allowing our line to float over the fish and the color of line in the air being cast, viewed from below the water, would undoubtedly be a factor but we also strive to not directly cast over a sighted fish as well. But they loved my photographs which was also important.

I know some studies have been done with large mouth bass about color perception. Of course, all fish, all animals perceive color differently than the human eye/brain combination does and we too perceive only a portion of the light wave spectrum as visible color. To our eye, blue is the hardest segment of the spectrum to focus hence our desire to employ angling sunglasses that filter out blue light for enhanced visual acuity.

The answer to my quiz is, I don't know. As an angler, I try not to let my quarry see me or my line. I wear clothing in colors that blend into the environment and prefer fly lines that are not bright. On the flats I select lines by how they cast with my various rods and have lines rigged that are tan, pale green/olive and blue...colors chosen by the line makers. Senior Bahamian guides have expressed bonefish spooking opinions to me about textured fly lines which they all but universally believe fish hear that hiss below the surface and hate it (I don't know if this is factual and neither does SA who have never performed a subsurface sound experiment) and they all discourage percussive sound by banging about in the skiff (while their push poll crunches on the bottom and tidal movements slap against their chines). None though have objected to the subdued tones of my various lines nor have I observed line color being an issue. When, as is common, a fish appears out of the glare too near the boat and I spoke him, I believe it is more my visible movement of body and rod not color that is the factor. Bonefish are an ancient species and possess a genetic memory of large prehistoric avian predators now gone save for osprey that accounts for their super sensitive spookiness in response to movement from above as well as below where barracuda and shark continue to abound. So, I favor a long, 10 - 14' Fluoro leader with a minimum 4' tippet and I like to present to them from as far away as I accurately can so the casting and positive leader turn over of my fly line is more relevant to me than its color.

 

[jr spey]

Another thing the Bahamian guides don't like are clear fly lines. I was a Monic dealer for years and started using their clear saltwater lines on a regular basis. The guides just constantly complained about not being able to see the fly so they had no idea where the fly was in the water. My very first saltwater venture was to the Keys and I fished with a young, unknown, guide at that time (1986) who later became quite famous with his own ESPN TV show. Anyway, when I asked him by phone about what lines to bring he said my bonefish line should be the brightest color I could find. That's why I ended up with a Cortland 444 in blood red color. He liked the color, but didn't like that it turned into linguini on the deck of the boat. It got so soft it was almost impossible to cast it even thirty feet. He wanted to be able to see the line so he knew where the fly was and hopefully, so would I.

 

[sweetandsalt]

My first bonefishing line around that same time was a Cortland 444SL...it to wilted to the consistency of a gummy worm in the tropical heat. Of all our tackle, lines have improved the most over these past three decades.

 

[falcon53]

Heck! If the guide can't see the fly's location I'm sure I won't either. A colored line gives him a location. Find the tip of the line and add 10 to 12 ft. I imagine these clear lines are great for blind casting (no fun)! a flat whether it be for Bones in the Bahamas or a Stripers in the Northeast. I have a difficult enough time seeing a 18 Olive on the Delaware.