By Aaron Motley
With cold weather upon us, this is a great time to pull out, assess, and repair your gear; like a reel with dirty floating fly line or waders that have a leak. It’s also a great time to organize your fly box and pack. Take time this winter to make sure you’re ready for spring and summer fly fishing.
Floating line over time will accumulate dirt, oil, or other agents that bond to the surface of the line. This can cause sinking to occur in the front of your floating line. Dry rot or line splitting may allow water to penetrate small cracks in your line. If this is your case, a new floating line may be a better solution. If no major issues, then clean and dress your fly line.
Rio Fishing Products makes a simple cleaning towelette, $1 each. If you use this handy little product make sure you use the towelette thoroughly on the first 40-50 feet of fly line. You may also try hot water, Dawn soap, and the kitchen sink; just try not to destroy the kitchen. Either way, after the line has been scrubbed of bonded agents, it is time to apply a line dressing. Loon Outdoors has a good product called Line Speed. Apply to your fly line with a soft cloth or buy the Line Speed Kit from Loon Outdoors which has a cleaning pad and Line Speed.
Waders that leak do not make for a good day. Some manufacturers have warranties on their products, or the manufacturer may be able to repair the wader for a fee. Warranties will vary by manufacturers, but Simms and Patagonia have the best in the fishing industry. Breathable waders can be patched with Aqua Seal or Gortex patch kits, as long as you have found where the leak is. If you get a leak on the stream, there is a product from Loon Outdoors, called UV Wader repair. It comes in a small tube that, after applying to the desired area of repair, just needs exposer to UV light from the sun, or a UV flashlight to solidify. It has come in handy for both my waders and for rain jackets over the years.
Cleaning up your fishing bag and consolidating and organizing your fly boxes is an easy way to see what flies you may need to tie or buy, before the warm weather comes back. Come in to our shop and check out some new waterproof fly boxes to help you organize and protect your flies.
Come in to Hunter Banks fly shop in Asheville or Waynesville, and let us help take care of all our your fly fishing needs.
Aaron Motley is Operations Manager at the Waynesville location of Hunter Banks. His waterfowl hunting addictions supports his fly tying addiction. He learned his fly-fishing craft from “fishy” people and pursues large trout, bass, and musky on a daily basis. He teaches others to do the same.