I was sent a couple of Trevor Morgan lines to test. I have been really busy this summer and it has cut badly into my fishing time. I did get enough time to test them and I posted the following on the Salmon Forum;
I was sent both the floating and sinking lines, plus the fast and very fast sink leaders to test. I apologize for the amount of time it has taken me to get all of them tried and let you know what I think. I have been busier than a one armed paper hanger this summer. It has really cut into my fishing time.
The floating line;
This is the line I have used the most. I found the sweet spot in where the line casts best, and made a mark on the shooting head with a black magic marker. I used the line in a new rod and it took me a short bit to get everything worked out, but once I did I was able to cast in excess of 125 feet every time. I cast it under a bridge with 30 foot sections, so it is easy to see exactly how far you cast. (Up to about 140 feet, then there is a big cement piling in the way.) In fact I was able to cast gigantic Pike flies well over 100 feet with it. It has been a very good line for me. I posted in the "Does fly line color matter" thread about the white shooting head. By the way, I liked it. I go into greater detail in that thread. It casts at least as far as any line I have used, easy for me to see, hard for the fish to see. What more could you ask for? This line will spend the rest of it's life on my rod.
The sinking line;
One thing I liked right off the bat with this line is the color of the shooting head. It is a dark olive green. This is a color you see in the real underwater environment. I think it makes much more sense than a black head. If there was one thing I would change with this line, it would be to make the running line longer. I have no problem casting to the very end of it. I'm not real sure you really need to cast a sinking line that far, but .....
I didn't have much current in the river when I tried the line, and had no trouble getting down really deep with it. In fact, it would have been better with a lot more current. I think this line would be really great in a fairly fast current getting an unweighted fly down deep. It would be a great stillwater line, if you needed to get a fly down into the 25 foot deep or more range. In fact I hooked bottom in water in the 25" range with a slow current. The running line on this spey line is white, and when I got the best amount of line for casting figured out, I made my mark for just in front of my top hand with a black magic marker on the running line. This line worked really well for me casting EP Fiber flies for pike. I tied the flies with fairly sturdy weed gaurds so I didn't hang up on the bottom. This line will have a permanent place in my arsenal.
The sinking leaders;
I used these leaders on the floating line. It did not seem to have any adverse effect on my distance and took the fly down like a rocket. As with the sinking line, I really needed more current to fully test these. I think these would be great where you had a lot of current and a bunch of depth changes along a stretch you were fishing. It is a lot easier to put a sinking leader on the line than to respool a new line on, or even change spools. They would also be a great deeper stillwater tool.
I have no real complaints with any of the lines or leaders, and think they are great products. The spool the lines come on is easier to change lines with than the average spool. The Cordura Bag is really nice. Cardboard boxes wouldn't survive long in my tackle bag. These will outlast most of what's in the tackle bag. I think they are a great selling point. This is actually the first time I have ever taken a spare line along with me, and it is just because of the spool and bag that come with the spey lines. The floating line is the line I use the most, and therefore it will be the first line I wear out. I hope Trevor will still be making them because when it does, I will replace it with the same line.
I don't have a spare spool for the reel I was using these on, and with the plastic spool design of these and the Cordura bag I don't need one. I can't imagine a situation where one of these lines or leaders wouldn't be all you need. One will be on my reel and the rest in my tackle bag along with me. I'm very happy with all of them.
Again, apologies for taking so long to get done with testing them. Hopefully next summer will be a little less busy. Sincere thanks to Colin and Trevor for considering me to test these. I really appreciate it.
Dan
This is the post I mentioned. Just so you don't have to go looking.
I was lucky enough to have a couple of Trevor Morgan lines sent to me to try. The floating line has a white shooting head. As I had mentioned in a prevoius post on this thread, my Canadian friend colored his lines black with a magic marker believing light colored lines scare fish.The Trevor Morgan 'Javelin' line is the first floating line I have used with a white shooting head. I had however told my Canadian friend he was looking at his line from the wrong side. Fish are dark on top so they can't be seen from above, and white on the bottom so they can't be seen (easily) against the sky from below. Millions of years of evolution can't be wrong. I told him it makes much more sense to have the shooting head white, or light blue than black. I think I witnessed the truth in that last statement. I did a perry poke, and as I was coming up into the start position, a large fish struck at the line where it was coming out of the water. Clearly the the fish could not see the line, and thought there was something racing across the surface that may have been edible. It saw the white mouse, but not the line. If this does not show that white lines are hard for fish to see, I don't know what would.
The white line is also really easy for me to see, so as far as I'm concerned, white is the best of both worlds. Easy for me to see, invisible to the fish. If you don't think it is hard for the fish to see, hold a white line or twine against the sky, then try it with virtually any other color. I believe you will be convinced. This was my first white line, but I'm sold on it. I had theorized about white, but now I'm convinced.
I also used it from a boat casting parallel to a weed bed for Largemouth Bass. I ran the line over the top of almost every Bass I caught, and I caught a pile of them. Although Bass are not horribly line shy fish, I still think it still shows the white shooting head does not scare fish.
If you want to camoflauge something, you make it the color of the background you see it against. The only way I think you could make it harder for fish to see would be mottle it with light blue. Not that I'm recommending getting out a blue magic marker.
I was sent both the floating and sinking lines, plus the fast and very fast sink leaders to test. I apologize for the amount of time it has taken me to get all of them tried and let you know what I think. I have been busier than a one armed paper hanger this summer. It has really cut into my fishing time.
The floating line;
This is the line I have used the most. I found the sweet spot in where the line casts best, and made a mark on the shooting head with a black magic marker. I used the line in a new rod and it took me a short bit to get everything worked out, but once I did I was able to cast in excess of 125 feet every time. I cast it under a bridge with 30 foot sections, so it is easy to see exactly how far you cast. (Up to about 140 feet, then there is a big cement piling in the way.) In fact I was able to cast gigantic Pike flies well over 100 feet with it. It has been a very good line for me. I posted in the "Does fly line color matter" thread about the white shooting head. By the way, I liked it. I go into greater detail in that thread. It casts at least as far as any line I have used, easy for me to see, hard for the fish to see. What more could you ask for? This line will spend the rest of it's life on my rod.
The sinking line;
One thing I liked right off the bat with this line is the color of the shooting head. It is a dark olive green. This is a color you see in the real underwater environment. I think it makes much more sense than a black head. If there was one thing I would change with this line, it would be to make the running line longer. I have no problem casting to the very end of it. I'm not real sure you really need to cast a sinking line that far, but .....
I didn't have much current in the river when I tried the line, and had no trouble getting down really deep with it. In fact, it would have been better with a lot more current. I think this line would be really great in a fairly fast current getting an unweighted fly down deep. It would be a great stillwater line, if you needed to get a fly down into the 25 foot deep or more range. In fact I hooked bottom in water in the 25" range with a slow current. The running line on this spey line is white, and when I got the best amount of line for casting figured out, I made my mark for just in front of my top hand with a black magic marker on the running line. This line worked really well for me casting EP Fiber flies for pike. I tied the flies with fairly sturdy weed gaurds so I didn't hang up on the bottom. This line will have a permanent place in my arsenal.
The sinking leaders;
I used these leaders on the floating line. It did not seem to have any adverse effect on my distance and took the fly down like a rocket. As with the sinking line, I really needed more current to fully test these. I think these would be great where you had a lot of current and a bunch of depth changes along a stretch you were fishing. It is a lot easier to put a sinking leader on the line than to respool a new line on, or even change spools. They would also be a great deeper stillwater tool.
I have no real complaints with any of the lines or leaders, and think they are great products. The spool the lines come on is easier to change lines with than the average spool. The Cordura Bag is really nice. Cardboard boxes wouldn't survive long in my tackle bag. These will outlast most of what's in the tackle bag. I think they are a great selling point. This is actually the first time I have ever taken a spare line along with me, and it is just because of the spool and bag that come with the spey lines. The floating line is the line I use the most, and therefore it will be the first line I wear out. I hope Trevor will still be making them because when it does, I will replace it with the same line.
I don't have a spare spool for the reel I was using these on, and with the plastic spool design of these and the Cordura bag I don't need one. I can't imagine a situation where one of these lines or leaders wouldn't be all you need. One will be on my reel and the rest in my tackle bag along with me. I'm very happy with all of them.
Again, apologies for taking so long to get done with testing them. Hopefully next summer will be a little less busy. Sincere thanks to Colin and Trevor for considering me to test these. I really appreciate it.
Dan
This is the post I mentioned. Just so you don't have to go looking.
I was lucky enough to have a couple of Trevor Morgan lines sent to me to try. The floating line has a white shooting head. As I had mentioned in a prevoius post on this thread, my Canadian friend colored his lines black with a magic marker believing light colored lines scare fish.The Trevor Morgan 'Javelin' line is the first floating line I have used with a white shooting head. I had however told my Canadian friend he was looking at his line from the wrong side. Fish are dark on top so they can't be seen from above, and white on the bottom so they can't be seen (easily) against the sky from below. Millions of years of evolution can't be wrong. I told him it makes much more sense to have the shooting head white, or light blue than black. I think I witnessed the truth in that last statement. I did a perry poke, and as I was coming up into the start position, a large fish struck at the line where it was coming out of the water. Clearly the the fish could not see the line, and thought there was something racing across the surface that may have been edible. It saw the white mouse, but not the line. If this does not show that white lines are hard for fish to see, I don't know what would.
The white line is also really easy for me to see, so as far as I'm concerned, white is the best of both worlds. Easy for me to see, invisible to the fish. If you don't think it is hard for the fish to see, hold a white line or twine against the sky, then try it with virtually any other color. I believe you will be convinced. This was my first white line, but I'm sold on it. I had theorized about white, but now I'm convinced.
I also used it from a boat casting parallel to a weed bed for Largemouth Bass. I ran the line over the top of almost every Bass I caught, and I caught a pile of them. Although Bass are not horribly line shy fish, I still think it still shows the white shooting head does not scare fish.
If you want to camoflauge something, you make it the color of the background you see it against. The only way I think you could make it harder for fish to see would be mottle it with light blue. Not that I'm recommending getting out a blue magic marker.
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