Post by orangeotter on Dec 10, 2013 19:13:10 GMT
This is not meant to be a heavy discussion on all points, rather some observations of mine on the quest to find the most suitable line for me. When I started the Tenkara journey, I was addicted to Simon's Furles, some made to complicated but effective formulae. Eventually I realised that the best option is really fluorocarbon and have been happily using them for quite some time. Several makes were trialled and I found that by far the best (for me) is Yamatoyo, available from Esoteric. The yellow colour and performance is giving me great results and much satisfaction. I started with #3.5 but moved to #3 to minimise sag which although not pronounced, did affect a dry or even a sunk Sakasa Kebari. I've been happy with the #3 but felt that it didn't cast quite as I wanted it to on my very expensive Daiwa CF39 12ft 9 7:3. I do have to say at this point that after trying the new ESO 410 7:3, the Daiwa has been retired - the extra reach of the 410 has made a significant improvement to my fishing.
However: I've always been greatly interested in leader make-up for Western style and firmly believe that a tapered one is best. I was somewhat surprised that a level fluoro' line appears to be the most popular nowadays but happily use one. I did obtain a knotted, tapered line from T/Bum when I bought the Daiwa and found it an excellent caster but didn't carry on using it. I retried it recently on the social day at Llangollen and was again impressed with it's presentation and lack of sag.
The down side for me is that it's orange, I have a hang up with this. My favourite Yamatoyo is yellow when spooled but green in the air and I started to yearn for a yellow tapered line but where to get one from. Because I have a spool of #3.5 and 3, all I needed was a line in the region of #2.5 to create my own but this is not available. The answer was to dye some Varivas 0x (14lb) Supertippet coated nylon using Veniard Fluoro' green and can you believe that it's a perfect match. The diameter drop was correct so I made a line using 4ft of each weight - a trial on the lawn yesterday suggested that I was on the right path.
I fished the Dee today using the new line and I have to say that it cast like a dream, and fished with absolutely minimum sag. There is no doubt in my mind that it's a significant improvement on the level #3 and I intend to carry on using it. Supertippet isn't fluoro' but I can't say that this is a problem. I tried dying fluorocarbon but it wouldn't take at all.
The moral of this post is simply to make you aware of my trial and to show what can be done with little effort - you may feel that it's worth a shot.
It may be that #4 Yamatoyo would be worth a try, ie, a mix of #4, 3.5 &3 but I really do appreciate the lightness of my trial.
I'll be very interested in your comments and findings should you try it.
However: I've always been greatly interested in leader make-up for Western style and firmly believe that a tapered one is best. I was somewhat surprised that a level fluoro' line appears to be the most popular nowadays but happily use one. I did obtain a knotted, tapered line from T/Bum when I bought the Daiwa and found it an excellent caster but didn't carry on using it. I retried it recently on the social day at Llangollen and was again impressed with it's presentation and lack of sag.
The down side for me is that it's orange, I have a hang up with this. My favourite Yamatoyo is yellow when spooled but green in the air and I started to yearn for a yellow tapered line but where to get one from. Because I have a spool of #3.5 and 3, all I needed was a line in the region of #2.5 to create my own but this is not available. The answer was to dye some Varivas 0x (14lb) Supertippet coated nylon using Veniard Fluoro' green and can you believe that it's a perfect match. The diameter drop was correct so I made a line using 4ft of each weight - a trial on the lawn yesterday suggested that I was on the right path.
I fished the Dee today using the new line and I have to say that it cast like a dream, and fished with absolutely minimum sag. There is no doubt in my mind that it's a significant improvement on the level #3 and I intend to carry on using it. Supertippet isn't fluoro' but I can't say that this is a problem. I tried dying fluorocarbon but it wouldn't take at all.
The moral of this post is simply to make you aware of my trial and to show what can be done with little effort - you may feel that it's worth a shot.
It may be that #4 Yamatoyo would be worth a try, ie, a mix of #4, 3.5 &3 but I really do appreciate the lightness of my trial.
I'll be very interested in your comments and findings should you try it.