Fly Lines Primer

Rick Beare - 2026-09

Fly lines have changed considerably since the horse hair fly lines of the 1700's or the silk lines of the 1800 and mid 1900's . Around 1950's Leon Martuch who later founded Scientific Angler. Cortland Fly Company was also developing PVC lines around the same time to replace silk lines.

PVC lines coatings were easier to maintain but they still require maintenance and care.

Many of the floating lines have micro bubbles in the PVC to make them float on the water better. The slick coating makes them easier to maintain and float longer than many silk lines, but not without routine maintenance.

Whether you are fishing a pond, lake, river, estuary or ocean there are surface particles that effect the cleanliness and performance of your PVC lines. Pond scum, slime, pollen, sand, sunscreen and mineral deposits all effect fly line performance on the water and how the line shoots through your guides. Simply casting in the grass will turn the leader and fly line green from the chlorophyl in the grass.

Cleaning your rod reel and line is always recommended just like on conventional tackle. The more care you give your fly lines the more money you can save not supporting the fly line manufacturers.

Fly lines need just a little more care with a cleaning and reapplication of fly line dressing. Cleaning and dressing of the fly line keeps them from drying out, preventing debris to enter the micro bubbles keeping your line floating.

The process is simple; strip off the entire fly line short of the backing and place in a bucket of warm (not hot water). Use a mild nonabrasive detergent like Ivory or Dawn dish soap for 10 minutes. Dawn is used for cleaning oil-soaked birds and feathers for fly tying. It works for a fly line just fine.

Gently pull the line through a white or light-colored cloth so you can see what is coming off your line. Rinse the line with clear water and hang the line in loose coils to dry.  Avoid abrasive pads and sponges to avoid damaging the line, stripping the protective coatings from your costly fly line.

Once cleaned dry the fly line, can be dressed with a fly conditioner of your choice.

Fly line conditioning products.

Umpqua Glide kit has a plastic box with felt pads inside to treat your fly line. Simply pull the line through the box to coat the line with the dressing. It is recommended to treat the line more than once to fully treat the line.

Other line dressings available are; Loon line speed, Rio Agent X line dressing, Scientific Anglers line dressing and Glide.

Mucilin Green box this is an old product that has been around for decades. There are two flavors of Mucilin green and the red. The red Mucilin has silicone and the green Mucilin has silicone. The green is used for fly line dressing. Both of these products are a paste and if left in a warm area may melt. Keep these products in a tightly sealed bag to avoid the melted material from getting all over your vest, fanny pack and flies.

After treatments most of these dressings recommend a buffing after the dressing has cured overnight.

Fly lines are costly as are fly reels and extra spools. In time you may find yourself wanting more than one fly line and need a way to store them.

Scientific angler has a new product called the regulator spool which can be used for cleaning and storage. Another product is the Omni spool system available for both fresh and saltwater lines. This system has a line cleaning system  to make cleaning your lines easy before storing the line. The Omni system also has a wedge system to make the spool a larger diameter to be used on shorter shooting heads. It has a interesting system to wind on the lines as well as install them on a reel reasonably quickly and without help from others.

Maintenance and storage of fly lines.

Besides regular cleaning store your lines in a cool, dry space. Avoid harsh chemicals like Sunscreen, deet, gasoline and solvents which can harm the PVC ruining your fly line.

Store your lines in loose coils in air conditioned areas away from UV light and heat. The high temperatures of a NC garage will harm fly lines making them brittle and cracked. The same goes for prolonged storage in the trunk of the car or bed of the truck.

Maintenance of tackle is like caring for a boat, it must be done on a regular basis to protect your investment. If your equipment is cleaned a ready each time you go fishing your tackle will perform in a manor it was intended to do.

In the next segment we will discuss Fly line tapers shooting heads and running lines. How to set up your line to your reel along with an introduction to leaders and tippets for fresh and saltwater.