Fly Fishing Forum banner

Striper fly line

2K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  Eddie 
#1 ·
I am planning on fly fishing for Stripers this year, and need a little advice on what I should get for a line. I have an 8wt St.Croix w/ Ross Gunninson G4. I am not sure if I should go w/ a floating or sinking. I have had good luck w/ Cortland for my trout reels. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
:eyecrazy:
 
#4 ·
I won`t mention any brand over another here, to each his own. The question seems to be about the type of line. After 30 yrs of throwing flies in the salt I would say to get an Int. for a first line. It will cover the most situations for the least outlay. An intermediate will sink slowly and if given sufficient time can fish depths up to fifteen ft. with a clouser type fly. because of it`s slow sink rate it can also do a reasonable imitation of a floater for short periods. No one line is going to do everything well and eventually you will want to expand your arsenal of lines to include fast sinkers and a floater. Unlike trout fishing where the reel is essentialy used to stors line , in the salt the reel is all important. Get the best you can afford and at least one extra spool. The salt invironment is so varied that no one line can cover all the bases, you will have to analyse your type of fishing to answer which will be most useful under most of the situations you fish.
Slinger
 
#7 ·
Great advice from the experienced!

I'd add that in saltwater durability of your reel and more importantly it's components is critical. If you have lots of little springs and things that would hold up for generations in freshwater they will crumble in salt in a single season unless meticulous care is given.

I am not familiar with the internals of the Gunnison but my experience has taught me to shy away from complexity and stick with servicability. I am still hopeful that a truly sealed drag will solve my woes but my luck with them has been poor as they are not sealed enough for a hardcore angler.

I took better care of my sealed drag reels than my old Lamson LP's bought years prior, but guess which ones are still good to go.

The new reels that have the spool a shell around a sealed drag housing on the body have promise, there is no exposed spindle to pull in and out of a drag system when changing spools.

I am not saying the Gunnison can not handle it, I am just saying beware of the degree of exposure your reel will face out there. You might consider finding an inexpensive lower end reel like the SA2 9/10 on auction sites just to get started until you become hopelessly addicted to stripers like us and buy the saltwater brick-sh*thouse reel of your dreams next year.

Or just buy the high-end reel now and save the upgrade cost.... geez, I am no help at all :devil:
 
#8 ·
as for the gunnison, I fished one in salt for acouple of seasons and a pin coroded and broke one night at a bad time. I hate watching my buddies catch fish when my gear breaks.
Ross was super cool and fixed it pronto, and newer gunnisons have a stainless pin.
I say fish with what you got. If you find that you need new stuff, worry about that when the problems arrise.
As for intermediate lines, I find that I fish with them less and less. I have a bunch of lines and I will usually fish with a shooting head type line (teeny and the like, inc. leadcore) or a floater for shallow water.
If I could have only one line, I suppose it would be an int.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top