Most fly lines need to be replaced after 100 to 250 uses. This is the point at which enough wear has been developed to significantly decrease its performance. Modern fly lines are made to be durable and long lasting. They have numerous built-in features to maximize both longevity and function in the water.
The fly lines manufactured today are much more durable than those of a decade ago, but they are not indestructible. There are several things that need to be avoided in order to give the flight line a maximum lifespan. At the end of the fishing season, clean all your lines and return them to their original line reels or store them in loose spools. Always store lines out of direct sunlight.
Ultraviolet light and intense heat (a hot trunk, for example) can cause the lining of the line to deteriorate quickly. With proper care, your lines should last three to five years with normal use. Anglers who fish more than 100 days a year can replace their primary lines annually for maximum performance. At this depth in moving water, streamers and other swimming flies tend to climb too high in the water column, unless you use an unwieldy amount.
Mark thanks for the question, you should have no problem increasing your leader size if you are in an area that has larger bass and catfish, the only thing you can do is limit the use of flies with smaller hooks with the larger diameter tippet. I can't tell you how many times I've lost a good-sized trout (and a tackle of freshly tied flies), all because I placed my trust in the tippet who had already had his best time. It is the density of the fly line that causes it to sink, so match the weight of the grain to the weight of the rod (see table on page) and adjust the drop rate (in inches per second) to your fishing situation. In addition to co-founding Fly Fishing Fix with his father, Matt, Zach also runs a personal finance blog called Be The Budget.
Another problem is that monofilament fishing line is absorbent and will degrade even faster if you use it in salt water. Sunken tips are extremely important pieces of equipment for west coast steelheads that use them to swim flies slowly and deeply into the water column. A line advertised as a macabi line should have a stiffer coating that still shoots through the guides when it is 95 degrees F. The fluorocarbon fishing line is also made of synthetic fiber, but it is not as flimsy as monofilament lines.
It is essential to keep fishing lines in an organizer before storing them in a dark place after fishing. If you're new to fly fishing and want to start fishing for trout in rivers and streams, your first fly line will probably be a general-purpose floating freshwater line, such as Scientific Anglers Trout, RIO Gold, Cortland Trout Precision or Orvis Generation 3 Trout. If you are an amateur fishing for pleasure, the monofilament fishing line will last 2-3 years, on average. This allows you to keep a single running line on your reel and change the shooting head from floating to sunken, or from one weight to another depending on the fishing situation.
However, even if you fish every day, there will come a time when one of your tippet reels will age. How often you clean your fishing line depends on the type of water you are fishing.
