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Rio Selective Trout vs. Rio Grand Lines

3K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  BWO 
#1 ·
The new Selective Trout line seems to have some similarities to the Grand line. Has anyone fished one or both of these lines yet? Any comments about them?
Also, if anyone has fished the Selective Trout DT, please give us your feed back.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Rio Grande

I have not fished the Selective Trout line, but my 6wt Rio Grande is in it's 4th year of service and still going strong. I use it as a big-river dry line and attach a variety of rio "polyleader" sink tips to it, so it gets dragged over the rocks a lot. Still kickin'.

The welded loop is still intact and a nice feature. I would't want it on a light line for dry or midge fishing because it is a bit bulky (although you could cut it off I suppose).

The other consideration is that the Rio Grande is a little more line that advertised. I beleive it was designed to load fast action rods at short distances, so my 6wt line is really more of a "6 1/2wt". This is evidenced by the thick belly which barely squeezes through the tip top guide of my Sage SP.

It's good for what I use it for. Based on the description, the selective trout line would probably be more appropriate for small streams where delicate presentations are the rule.

PS you might want to check out the Cortland 444 Lazerline if you're looking at DT's
 
#3 ·
Hi -- I have and use both, although my Selective Trout line was a prototype and the final product might have been tweaked. I used both on a Sage 590-4, a pretty fast rod. Here's what I'd say:

The Rio Grande is a great line, and even though it's a little heavier than AFTMA specs, it lands lightly. In fact, that's the most amazing thing about this line. It will load a faster rod without too much line out, but lays out the fly gently.

The Selective Trout line (at least the one I tried) lays out the line VERY gently. It probably has the softest delivery of any trout line I've used, and you can get a 5 weight line to land like a 3 weight. It didn't load my XP as well as the Rio Grande, but it was better for little dries. I also gave up something in distance. The head is longer, but somehow the Rio Grande shot farther. I think the Selective Trout line would be my first choice for a dry fly line on maybe a slightly softer rod, like a Winston, SLT, etc.

Finally, I really like Rio's other two trout lines, the Classic and Longcast and Windcutter. The Classic is a good general compromise that loaded my rod fine and delivered fine. I used it happily for a week on the Missouri with flies #18 and smaller. The Longcast is great for longer casts, but again I didn't find it to have a rough delivery at all. Caught lots of rainbows in the Delaware on the Longcast with 6X and never felt overgunned. In fact, on the Delaware, which sometimes requires longer casts than a typical trout stream for a wading fisherman, it's probably been my favorite. Actually the Rio Grand is heavier but has a finer, softer landing tip.

Almost too many choices, but they're all good. IF you have a fast rod, the Rio Grande might be preferable. If it's a softer rod for little dries, try the Selective trout.

Basically, I
 
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