Cutting Back Floating Spey Lines

[Lewis Chessman]

I wonder what others have found?

This year I had to replace a Gen. 1 Carron Jetstream 65 ft Spey line after I found a significant tear in the running section. It's the nicest Spey line I know but it's £75 ($100) and that hurts.
I bought a Gen 2 Jetstream because I believe it's the best I know and I have no children to leave my fortune to. None that I'm aware of, anyway.

But could I get the new line to turn the fly over? *%^£! No, I could not!
I took advice from colleagues who know more than me and cut about 3 ft off the tip.
The cause of my woes was that I was fishing, and needed to fish, a 5 ft polyleader and this line is sold, quite rightly, with a long, thinning taper designed for fine presentation, not for carrying the extra weight of a sink tip.
It needed modifying for my needs but was 'complete within itself' for the intended function and easily modifiable. I removed 2 ft first but it finally took 3 ft off to give enough 'oomph' to turn everything over.
It's not something I found comfortable to do with a $100 line .... But it worked!

I just wondered who else adapts their lines and whether some have given up with a line - or Spey casting - when a quick trim might have solved the problem?

 

[Ard]

Been a long time since you posted this James and you're probably quite used to your 62 foot Jetstream by now huh? I've never trimmed one myself and if there seems to be any difficulty with them turning over I make some unconscious adjustments in power and stop to remedy the cast. Another possible explanation could be that I don't use the conventional sink tips so there's no great weighty section on the end of my line. Funny I never noticed this post before, come to think of it I think I still have a Jetstream and one of those old Ian Gordon 70 foot lines in 700 grains............................

 

[Lewis Chessman]

Hi, Ard. It was 'one of those things' ..... I found the tear on the gen 1 at the start of a new season when we really do need to get the fly down to the salmon in the cold water of Spring. Bought a replacement Gen 2 and thought I'd completely forgotten how to cast! I was happy to blame the Christmas whisky v. Brain cell Battle ( ) but my three collegues (with 100 years of Spey-casting between) them all said to cut it back until it turns over - and it did work.

I think I've read your praising the Carron before? Not tried an Ian Gordon line myself but he does run courses on my old estate so I've met him a few times. Nice, mild-mannered man, I thought. A former pupil said he began the lesson by saying something like, "I'll teach you to cast further. That doesn't mean you'll catch more fish, but you'll be able to cover more.'' I thought that pleasantly honest, casting and presentation being related but not the same thing at all.

 

[flav]

I've "modified" several lines over the years. Sometimes I was cutting back to remove grains on a head I felt was too heavy for a specific rod, but I've also done like you and cut some off the front to turn over a poly leader better.

A while back I bought an old Beulah integrated scandi line, the tonic I think it's called. It cast great on the rod I bought it for, but the front taper was rather fine and really only turned over a mono leader well. I cut it back a few feet and now it turns over a poly leader, even an intermediate or sinking one, pretty well.

I even modify a few of my single hand lines the same way, cutting a couple feet off the tip, to get better turnover when nymphing or for using sinking poly leaders. When you know what you want a line to do and you can't find one designed to do things exactly the way you want, sometimes you gotta make adjustments.

 

[Lewis Chessman]

Thanks guys. I think my conclusion is that good lines have to be made and sold capable of delivering a single fly on a tapered leader for finesse. Any other requirements we may add in terms of turnover are ours to add at our discretion. Cheers.