What's the best fly line for swinging? | Airflo Streamer Max
What's the best fly line for swinging the Tongariro or a big South Island river? What about streamer fishing in Tongariro in general? Or are you fly fishing with big streamers in winter? What about wet flies? Well, according to our man, Chris Dore, there's one line you need - the new Airflo Streamer Max
With the modern popularity of two handed spey style fishing to get your streamers down deep, many overlook the tools readily available to achieve the same, if not better results with your conventional single handed set up. In fact, I personally discourage most newbies - early intermediates in fly fishing from getting involved with two handed spey casting until they have first made overhead single hand fly casting both intuitive and instinctive. Mixing the two styles, too soon often results in mediocre casting technique at best in both disciplines with the dominant hand holding two vastly different rolls in each.
So how can single handed anglers get in on the swinging love as well? Enter the Airflo Streamer Max Short, a valuable tool for improvers and experts alike, on a number of fronts.
At the business end, an 18’ slim profile, fast sink tip gets down and holds your fly at depth for longer than shorter tips. The longer the tip, the longer your fly stays at depth throughout the swing.
The Intermediate head both smooths out the kick of the heavy tip and prolongs the life of your line accordingly. And finally, the ridge technology floating running line allows mending throughout your swing and theres no hassle of pulling a sunken shooting line back to the surface, allowing quicker casts.
All up around 26’, the relatively short head requires minimal back cast space to load and deliver, and being an integrated shooting head design, easy distance is a given.
The Streamer Max Short is a no fuss, easy casting line - dont fluff around: simply roll pickup, sling it into a low angle backcast and send it on its way with a higher trajectory forward cast and watch it shoot. Feel free to employ an elliptical cast to further smooth out the presence of the fast sink tip.
The ability to mend throughout the swing with such a long tip has advantages over standard floating line / shorter 10’ tip options, and is another win for exacting better control over your swing. While the thinner running line will lift and mend, it largely lacks the mass to disturb the bulkier intermediate head, and 18’ sink tip once it digs in. Perfect for speeding up or further slowing your swing through its final stages. You can also raise your rod throughout the swing, lifting the low mass running line and reducing the influence of many currents, while not affecting the depth of your flies.
Image: Chris Dore
Its a line I always keep in my backpack when our southern rivers are high, when fishing bigger rivers, or swinging streamers on the Tongariro is on the cards, especially when looking through those deeper holes on the way back downstream at the days end.
And what about flies? You can't go wrong snooping around here: www.manictackleproject.com/collections/streamers
Heres a tip: if you want to get your flies deeper, and keep them deeper for longer on the Tongariro this winter, put down your trout spey and load your single hand 6wt with a streamer max. You’re welcome.
But don’t just think this is a river line. A problem I have here, especially over winter on our Queenstown and Southern Lakes in general is the necessity to get down deep across the drop off, but avoid the many sharp, line snagging / destroying rocks around the drop off and through the shallower flats. I find the floating running line of the streamer max short the perfect solution to this issue, allowing me to fish all the way back into the shallows without damaging another full sink Di7.
It also encourages my personal ‘pick up and go’, fast style of fishing where I like to get my fly back out there fishing, and covering more ground immediately - precious moments aren’t lost dragging a sunken, and often snagged running line back to the surface before every cast. Yet another pre cast step I can eliminate with the floating running line of the streamer max.
Image: Andrew Harding
And finally, on the weedier lakes where fish cruise the deeper channel beyond often extensive weed beds, you can get your flies down where they need to be without a sunken running line snagging up as it pulls through the weeds. Simply use an extra high life to raise the tip up over the weeds as you send it into your next back cast.
Versatility. Easy, sustained depth. Quick casting and effortless distance. Combined with the mass to make short work of bigger flies.
Now, tell me why you DONT need an Airflo Streamer Max Short in YOUR life.
If you really want to tell Chris Dore why you don't need an Airflo Streamer Max in your life, you can book him for a day or three here: www.chrisdore.com