More on Shark's Skin

[Joni]

A friend of mine sent this so these are not my words. What does everyone think?


I just talked to a guide buddy on the left coast that works in a circle of pretty heavy hitter, well known, some well published guides... they have all fished the sharkskin lines now for 70-80+ days and have come to similar conclusions (primarily 8-10 weight steelie and salmon fishing):
1. it initially shoots and floats very well
2. it doesn't hold up... under magnification they see what was described to me as the nubbins starting to be pulled back to create little flaps = lots of friction
3. it does groove the guides, one of their rods (a relatively new rod) has been sent back to Sage for a re-wrap for new guides...
4. the word they got from SA is that it didn't go through their standard product testing prior to market release (for $100 they can afford to replace a few until they get it right?)
5. they have all abandoned the product

 

[GeorgeMcFly]

don't know if its true or not as I have never tried the stuff. but I either read on this or another forum that it tears up your fingers also?

 

[Frank Whiton]

Hi Joni,

We have a member that uses the Shark's Skin but have no report back from him. That is not unusual for this time of the year. I don't remember who it was that said they had one.

I don't know that I can discount the line with a 3rd or 4th hand report. Those guys could be working for RIO. SA is a pretty good line maker and I just don't believe they would put out a line that wears out guides in less than 3 months of use. It may be true but I will wait for more reports before I make up my mind about the line. I did look on line for feed back about the SS line but nothing with long term use. I also didn't find any body that was bad mouthing the line but that may change with time.

Frank

 

[Joni]

I hear what your saying Frank. I agree. I know for a fact the guy that wrote this does not work for any line manufacturer. The thing that peeked my interest was the #4.

 

[Joe D]

don't know if its true or not as I have never tried the stuff. but I either read on this or another forum that it tears up your fingers also?

A friend of mine had that very thing happen to him. He told me it was very abrasive on his hands.

Personally, I haven't tried it yet so I can just pass on what a reliable source passed on to me.

 

[fyshstykr]

don't know if its true or not as I have never tried the stuff. but I either read on this or another forum that it tears up your fingers also?

I read in 'Flyfishing America's" 08' gear guide that if a fish runs and you try to slow it down by dragging the line thrue your finger, your gonna recieve the line burn of a life time.

Although the magazine review was fairly complimentry of the SS, they still gave the award for best fly line to RIO for it's "Gold" line.

 

[tbrillinger223]

I dont know if this is going to take off or not. I was reading their tech flyer
http://solutions.3m.com/3MContentRe...6E48B1800BAE180A88E4927002DD1&version=current

and it dosnt seem too friendly on you or your gear. I wonder how it fares in saltwater, as the satlwater dries it leaves salt crystals that could become abrasive. will it multiply the effects of the line?

http://solutions.3m.com/3MContentRe...6E48B1800BAE180A88E4927002DD1&version=current

 

[fyshstykr]

That is an interesting thought, I'm wondering also if the dimpled surface of the S/S line will collect dirt, or in your case salt.
I would think it is going to be a difficult line to clean.

But whudda I know, I'm not a design engineer. :tongue:

 

[wfosborn]

I've been using the SS line up here a little bit, too cold to do much fishing right now though (Anyone know how to keep your guides from icing up?) It probably has about a week on the water so far, looking forward to seeing how it is after 100+ days out by the end up the salmon season.

It casts beautifully, and is very easy on the pickup. I haven't noticed it collecting anything more than my other lines, and doesn't hurt my fingers any more than a normal line either. I work with my hands a lot though so my fingers are fairly tough. As for wear on the guides we'll see what shows up . . .

Haven't tried it in salt yet, we'll see what happens when the salmon get here.

--W

 

[Jackster]

SA Sharkskin - FlyFish.com Forums&

Indian Rock?

 

[GRN]

SA Sharkskin - FlyFish.com Forums&

Indian Rock?

"A friend of mine sent this so these are not my words."

Wake up Jack! :icon_roll

 

[Joni]

In post yes, in person no...does that make sense? LOL

 

[Frank Whiton]

"A friend of mine sent this so these are not my words."

Wake up Jack! :icon_roll

Hi GRN,

I see this is your first post and I wanted to welcome you to the forum. I will be looking for your post. This is a very friendly forum.

Frank

 

[GRN]

I hear what your saying Frank. I agree. I know for a fact the guy that wrote this does not work for any line manufacturer. The thing that peeked my interest was the #4.

We heard the same thing from our SA rep., when asked how it would hold up compared to conventional lines he said they don't know because they couldn't use the same methods to test it. When asked what they did do to test it, we were told he wasn't aware of any test information... for $100, yikes!

It sounds like it has limits that may not be tested to the same extent by the casual trout angler.

Frank, thanks, I look forward to seeing what goes on here.

TL's~

 

[Jackster]

I got the chance to fiddle around with Sharkskin lines on several rods this weekend at a fly show.
I expected more out of a $100.00 line. The main thing readily apparent was the noise. I guess you can get used to it. Let's hope so anyhow.
I had two concerns other than the price. The biggie was when I noticed it was wearing grooves in the epoxy near the guides on the last rod we cast today, a BIIMx. Not at all comforted to see that!
The next thing is that they seemed to create a larger, noisier wake when stripping them in.
They seemed to be tru-to weight and cast okay but they didn't blow me away with any leaps in casting distance for sure.
Bottom line, I won't be getting one any time soon, even if they drop the prioce radically for fear of ruining the hardware on my rods. Until long term results are in, I'll stick with old-school lines thanks!

 

[fyshstykr]

What little I have read about this line in mags and such, I get the impression that all they have done is changed the surface texture.
With all we're starting to hear about guide damage on rods it makes me wonder if they have changed the chemical formulation of the flyline surface material.
Other companies have experimented with surface textures before, but I've never heard about guide damage with them.

Wouldn't the line surface have to be harder than the guide material to cause wear this 'quickly'??
Aren't a lot of the newer rods using Titanium guides now?

 

[ROVER]

flyfishfever is one of the members who own the sharkskin on the forum. Recently we went up to erie for some steelhead and i was impressed on the floatation of the line. I didn't here him complain about his fingers but maybe i can talk to him and see if he will poat an update on the SS

 

[mojo]

Well one thing most that have tried the line agree on is that it floats great.
If, by the end of the summer, this line doesn't deliver like SA say it will, they'll loose a lot of they're customer base forever.
$100 for a fly rod is nothing. $100 for a flyline could mean if it don't work, someone with a large office and 6 figure income could be running the Slurpee machine at the C-Store by the end of the year.

 

[dgd]

I have used the product for a couple of months. I have used 3 lines.
1) the factory loops suck! I had the local fly shop put on a shock absorber loop, 2 of the 3 it broke. On one line, it broke about 10 times, lost about 5 feet of lines!! On the 3rd, the part of the line where the double meets the single is starting to peel away!
2) the lines cause horrible rope burn.
3) the reason you dont see many complaints is that about %90 of the lines in use are of people who got it either for free or for $25

 

[GRN]

3) the reason you dont see many complaints is that about %90 of the lines in use are of people who got it either for free or for $25

3b) And are too busy fishing to post on forums :tongue: