So I've noticed that my friend's eyes tend to glaze over whenever I start talking about fusion line and
western fly line being a WF-1F (weight forward floating) line. I'm not going to get into all the designations here, that's not what this is about, but you're more than welcome to get out there and look it up.
Let me start by saying, I'm not proclaiming to be the end all, all-knowing, Tenkara Professional, Master Fly fisherman (there are more than enough folks out there claiming to be that and I'll let them fight it out with cage match rules". Hell, I bet if you challenged me on deeper technical knowledge, I would have to break out a book or "GTS" for the correct answer.
What I am telling you is that I am a southern, warm-water fisherman who LOVES to fish. That means, with very limited content out there for folks like me, I love figuring out what works and then sharing what I have learned with others out there finding their way. I'm here simply hoping to be a catalyst of c
onversation.
That said, let talk about this. I often get sked what is the line you use. Well, I choose to use as a fusion line. The reason is, I cast in a lot of places with high wind and I refuse to lay down and not go fishing because of wind.
I've tried a lot of different weighted lines and I've tried weight forward 8, 6, 5, 3, 2, and 1 wright floating lines, but I will tell you from experience, the heavier fly lines will often stress crack and break the tips of your Tenkara Rod. At least that's what I've found with extended use. Like everything though, you'll have to find the balance for your style, needs and particular rod.
Usually the next question I get is, "ok, but what type of rod are you putting this on?". So, below is a list of rods that I prefer to use a one-way or two-way weight forward fly line on.
Dragontail HellBender
Dragontail Shadow fire
Aventik 11 ft and 12 ft
Maxcatch short triple zoom
And just to be upfront with full disclosure, I choose to use a wf1f line on everything.
I do not know this for certain (this is my experience - not empirical data), but I have found the Aventik actually holds up better to the heavier fusion lines and do so at a very attractive price point. This maybe because they're built a little bit heavier than you're more expensive, lighter weight rods. I'm not going to get into a full technical specification detailing and do a side-by-side comparison in this article, I am giving you my experiences based on field use.
Ok, so that's what I've found that works for me. If you have had a different experience, I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that would like to hear from you- - myself included. Post your comment below or cast us a line and send us down the research rabbit hole. ALREADY DONE THE RESEARCH? Well, you just might be our next guest blogger!!
Until then, get out there and tighten a line.