stretching flyline?

[plotter]

being relatively new to fly fishing i have been told by my father that i should stretch my new flyline before going fishing as it helps the cast? Im not doudting him, but never heard of it.. does anyone else stretch their line if its brand new? and does it help?

[speycaster]

yes it does help but be very careful , it dosent take much to pull the coils out ,if you must do ;D it , then do it a bit by bit nice and gently it all depends how you put it on your reel use a line winder then you will never get coils or lay it out and run your hands over it to take the coils out

[betanut]

Good advice there. In my experience a lot depends on the brand of fly line and how it's been constructed. If you have the time (and space!) make up a short leader at each end of the line and attach a swivel, stretch the line out in a straight line until it's taught (but not over stretched) and tie off the swivels to something solid and leave it to sort itself out - over a couple of hours at least. Then load onto your reel and bingo - one nicely prepped line for use. There's a catch though......
All lines inevitably get a bit of memory, so when you're down at the river before you tie on a leader and fly give the line a quick straighten in your hands - saves a lot of frustration later

[ibrox]

Sound advice from Betanut and Speycaster

[plotter]

cheers guys, i was just going to get a mate to pull on the other end, ive tried casting it and it seems fine, so i might leave it for now and see how i get on on sunday and monday...

[kilravock]

speycaster said:

yes it does help but be very careful , it dosent take much to pull the coils out ,if you must do ;D it , then do it a bit by bit nice and gently it all depends how you put it on your reel use a line winder then you will never get coils or lay it out and run your hands over it to take the coils out

dumb question perhaps but how do you use a line winder. I'm thinking of that blue thing that comes with the IGS line ?

[speycaster]

it is a winding machine with adjustable legs which open up to hold your line and stop the coils from forming you connect one end of the line to your reel set the tension on the winder and wind the line on your reel as you would wind when reeling in and there you go no [or very little coils /memory , well worth the investment

it works because you are taking line and making the spindle turn
and not pullinof the top and creating coils tight lines billy p

[ceilidh]

Assuming you have already loaded your line onto your reel, a simple way of straightening it is to find a reasonably fast flowing stretch of water and then to pay out the whole of the line and the current will do the job for you. Just keep a gentle tension on the line when winding it back onto the reel. Obviously, with a fast sinking line you would need water deep and fast enough to avoid recovering the line over rocks etc.
However, with floaters or intermediates this is seldom a problem.

Sportfish sell a reasonably priced basic line winder, however, it is very simple to make a DIY one from one of those small drums used by electrical shops for dispensing domestic wiring flex.

[para1]

Another investment with the line winder is a couple of packets of pipe cleaners, wrap them round to keep the coils in place. Also remember to put a label on so you remember what it is

[rennie]

Get a fish to do it for you,its more fun than all the other ways put together honest! Pedro.

[corky]

The line winder bit I understood,
the pipe cleaner around the line was a good tip.
But for the life of me whats a fish ? ;D

[ibm59]

Once you've gently stretched your line don't be in too big a hurry to wind it back onto your reel. If you do the line wil contract to it's normal length again around the reel spool leaving you with even more coiling than before. Been there , seen it , done it. Leave the line slack for a good 5 mins before you rewind. B.

[plotter]

Thanks lads, im going for the easy approach and im going to let out the line on a nice fast run for a while as i only have a floater and an intermediate.. This site is great, so much advice so much choice, thanks again..

[greenalert]

kilravock said:

speycaster said:

yes it does help but be very careful , it dosent take much to pull the coils out ,if you must do ;D it , then do it a bit by bit nice and gently it all depends how you put it on your reel use a line winder then you will never get coils or lay it out and run your hands over it to take the coils out

dumb question perhaps but how do you use a line winder. I'm thinking of that blue thing that comes with the IGS line ?

I have the same question

what is that blue thing that comes with the IG line?

Thanks

[ger]

greenalert said:

I have the same question

what is that blue thing that comes with the IG line?

Thanks

The two halves of it fit through the hole in the centre of the spool and then they click together. This allows the spool to be held between your knees (although it can still spin freely) as you wind the line onto the reel. It's a good idea but alternatively you can use a piece of dowell, a biro, a 4" nail etc etc......to do the same job.

Ger

[greenalert]

All becomes clear

Thanks Ger

[greenalert]

I just tried this on an IG spool & the 2 bits don't meet

[elwyman]

greenalert said:

I just tried this on an IG spool & the 2 bits don't meet

I remember I struggled to make it work, but managed it eventually.

As said above, alternative is to stick a pencil through the spool and get someone to hold it for you.

[speycaster]

good tip that one ;D

[donnieW]

It took a while but I finally gave the Jocky M a good stretch late last night on the Sawmill beat. 35" long (around 18 lbs). The adrenaline was running - mainly down my leg- when the backing appeared but everything held.