6/7 Weight Lines

[Brian Haddock]

I purchased a 11' 7 weight T&T rod last spring to learn to spey cast on Maine and Labrador rivers for trout and landlocked salmon. I'm not yet much of a spey caster but I did learn that, although I liked the T&T rod, it was a little too heavy handed for some of the close range dry fly fishing I wanted to do. This spring I purchased a 12' 6/7 weight Winston that, hopefully, will be more forgiving on close range casting while still powerful enough to throw streamers for some distance (we're talking smaller eastern rivers here).

Now my question. What lines would folks recommend that I try with the Winston given my casting requirements? I never bought any specialized lines for the T&T. I just used 7 weight lines I had for my single handed rods. I'd like to get a bit more sophisticated with lines for the Winston (and hopefully improve my casting).

[Jere Eshelman]

There has been much discussion on the board re: lines for specific rods, and from what I gather, as a rookie you can't go wrong starting with a Rio Spey Line. The Windcutter with interchangeable tips gives you verstatlity and is a good place to start. Check out the Rio website. I'm sure that other suggestions will follow.

[Rick J]

I would second the Windcutter especially if you are most interested in close in casting stuff. An excellent alternative is the Airflo Delta lines - essentially equivalent to the Rio Windcutter. I just recently started casting the Airflos and am truly impressed - this line also is avaliable as a multi-tip line