[JDJones]

Is anyone using Cortland DT Spey lines? I am refering to the 444SL Spey lines.

I am using a DT10/11 on a Sage 9150. I chose this line because it has a 37 foot front (rear) taper, the 10/11 because the belly dia is .073 which I thought was right. (SA 8/9 line, which works well, has a belly dia of .075)

The Cortland line works well, but it starts to feel heavy with more than 70/75 feet of line off the reel. Is anyone else using these lines? What size and on what rod and with what results? How much line are you able to pick up? I'm thinking maybe I should drop down to a DT 9/10 or maybe even a DT 8/9. It's just that the belly dia gets so small, I am a little skeptical of how big a fly a line like that (smaller belly dia) could carry?

Can't figure out why this thing should be so heavy. Could it be that brand X has more, or less, micro balloons, or air bubbles, or something than brand Y, or brand Z and is therefor more, or less dense???

 

[SpeyFitter]

From my knowledge, some lines can be more dense than other lines of the same diameter, so this may be why it feels heavy to you even though the diameter is thinner than a less rated line by another manufacturer. Give the lighter line a whirl...

 

[juro]

I have a 444 DT 10/11 and have fished it a lot on a 10150-4 (brown). After a certain length it felt heavy but then for me every DT does after a (certain length).

Extremely durable line though, I bought this line many moons ago from Mike Kinney at the Swallows Next and cut the back taper off (120' from the factory) to use for one of his famous Spey head lines, which BTW is still in great condition and I use in winter fishing to this day.

My guess, however untested, would be that the 9/10 would be the better line for the 9150 when talking about DT lines. Grain weights of DT belly considered and no shooting to boot, it might be worth a try.

Maybe we should write them to ask for some test lines?

 

[JDJones]

Test Lines

Test lines? Great idea. Think you could pull that off?:hehe:

 

[inland]

JD,

I have fallen in love with throwing the 8/9 on the old 9140-4. I put a mark at the 80' point, or about a foot or so before the line starts back down its taper. I strip this mark to the mid point ferrule, it seems to properly load the rod there. That leaves roughly 73' of line out the rod tip or 86' from the reel. I then shoot as much line into the cast as needed, usually 15 to 20'.

I have the 9/10 that is too heavy for the 9140-4 and too light for the scott 1509. This line is of no use to me, and is all but brand new as I have only had it out to cast 5 or 6 times. Send me a private message to work out the shipping particulars if you would like a test line.

William

 

[JDJones]

Test line

You bet I would like to test drive the Cortrland DT9/10 Spey. What do I have to do to get it? It also sounds like maybe the 8/9 may even be the better line. I have found that my 9150, 8150 and 9140-4 can all handle the same (SA 8/9) line quite well. The 9150 is capable of a little more than the 8150 and the (old) 9140-4 (which I refer to as an 8140-4) is the lighter of the three.

Are you planning on attending either the Sandy Clave or Fred's Rogue River Spey Clinic?

 

[MJC]

J D, You'd better go buy a Lotto ticket

as the last two days you've been pretty lucky. First your wife tells you to go to Fred's spey casting gathering and now Inland has made you a pretty good sounding offer on trying that 9/10 line you've been wanting to test. Some guys just have all the luck!

 

[SSPey]

I use a Sage 9140-3 w/ Cortland DT Spey 11/12 to throw 11-13 wt tips. The Beast Stick. This rod/line combination feels fully loaded at 80', but when tossing heavy tips, that's as far as I can go. So I cut mine and spliced to running line to shoot a little more easily. I use this line because I got it cheap, and it does cast really well. Floats high.

I could probably get by with a lighter line on this rod for dry work, but I use the 8150-4 for those days. WF10F backed on a TT8/9 - nice!

My general impression is that floating line densities occur in the following order, from less to more dense: Rio=TT, SA, Cortland. Cortland lines always seem fat for a given line weight, which is fine for fishing dries to trout, though not often the best for distance casting.

 

[Nooksack Mac]

J.D.;

The 444 DT10/ll is a perfect match for one of my favorite rods, a Loomis 15-foot 10/ll spey action. But it has its own virtues. According to a Cortland spec sheet, it steps down from the center belly in two stages of 20-ft. tapers separated by 2-ft. transition sections -- rather a sophisticated design, and perhaps a precursor to Bubba's anticipated lines from S.A.? I cut one end off at .065" at which point it nicely handles my sink-tips, usually 15-foot #9 or 9/10 spliced composites. When reversed on the reel and cast as a floater, it rolls over and out beautifully, much better than a standard double-taper.
I have a 9150, and I think that a 9/10 would fit it like spandex.

 

[Bubba]

JD,

I have had a Cortland 444SL DT 10/11 Spey line on my Sage 10150-3 for 4 or 5 years. Mine has about 15' cut off the front with a loop for sink tips. I fish a range of 15' #9 & #10 sink tips. Last summer I bought a new Sage 9150-4, and Just recently used it a couple of times with this line. I Havn't had a chance to try them both side by side, but I fished the same pools at similar water levels and I couldn't see any practical difference.

As to your comment about the line feeling heavy at 75' I have no doubt that you are right. I am talking strictly about Double Taper lines, which are the primary lines that I use on my 2-handers. I am assuming that you are fishing a floating line and trying to pick up and cast as long a line as possible. I have allways found that every rod has a certain length of line that it likes to cast, (or maybe it's just me) beyond that it seems easier to strip and shoot. I have never measured this distance, but with my 9150 and the above setup, I would guess that it would fall in the 75' ballpark. I can strip in and shoot another 15-20' that gives me an effective fishing range of 90-100'.

I know!, I saw the video clip on Dana's site with the guy picking up and casting over 120' of line, but I doubt that I will ever be able to pick up and cast a full 120' line without stripping, and I probably havn't seen more than 3 or 4 who guys could, in the last 10 years of fishing.

If you need more distance I suggest you try a Cortland 8/9 WF Spey line, I have used this line on my 9150 and it goes out a looong way!


Bubba
(not the one who can cast full spey lines in a single bound)

 

[juro]

Bubba -

Great to hear from you. Have you cut the Cortland 8/9 WF Spey for tips? I'm curious what lengths you chose and why.

 

[Bubba]

Juro,

I haven't cut it, and probably won't. The belly on that line is thicker than the belly on my DT 10/11, so I would probably have to use heavier tips to get it to fish the same depths. Tony gave me a Cortland DT9 Spey line that I have looped for tips, and I will probably use that line on the 9150 this spring. I just wanted to try the 10/11 on that rod to see how it would work.

Besides I don't like dealing with all that running line, and I don't need to cast 100' in the rivers where I use sinktips. I'll save it for some day when we go to the Thompson together.

Bubba

 

[juro]

Sounds awesome! Those Thompson fish were receptive to dry line presentations when I was up there as Tyler's guest with Brian and Bill. In fact all of the fish were hooked on greased lines. Man what a river, and those big BC summer run nates are mind-boggling. Can't wait to do it again!

 

[Eugene]

Interesting thread. A question for you, Bubba, and anyone else who cares to answer. If 75-80 feet is about as far as you can throw a DT, why would you spend the extra money on a spey DT that, at 120 ft, is too far for the rod to throw? Could you use a 90 ft single hander DT and maybe splice on some running line to get it out to 100 ft? Thanks!

 

[Bubba]

Eugene,

The answer is I woudn't spend the extra money for a 120' line if I could find a shorter 10/11 DT. At $60 for a 10/11 Spey line that works out to .50 per foot. I'd take a 100' for $50, spend the extra $10 on 2 six packs of beer, and I be a happy camper.

I have a 90' DT8 that I use on a T&T 1208-3, it works just fine, I never see the backing knot unless I have a fish on. I also have a Cortland 90' DT9 Lazerline, that I was using on my 9150 last fall. After a couple of days on the Bulkly, I announced to my partner in a loud voice, that my line was too short, and that I had the backing knot in my hand after a cast. he promptly reached into his bag and pulled out a Cortland 120' DT9 Spey line, handed it to me, and said here, quit your *****ing!

I am sure that there are some folks who need the whole 120' but thinking back on my earlier statement, I am pretty sure I have never seen one. Most of the good casters around here use some type of head system, Jim Vincent and Dec Hogan come to mind. For some number of years, I was the only screwy bastard around who used a DT line on my 2 hander. I saw Dana putting out a pretty nice length of line a few years back(on a pool, on a remote unnamed river in BC) but I never got a chance to ask him what kind of line he was using. I was unable to make it to the demonstration that Derik Brown put on a few years ago, but I have seen his video, and he probably should count for 1.

Of course we all think (me included) that we will be able to make 120' casts with this new rod or that new line, but the difference between a 100' spey cast and an honest 120' cast, is like the difference between shooting an 85 and a 73 in golf. Shaving off those last 12 strokes is a real *****, otherwise we would all be on the PGA tour.

Bubba

 

[Dana]

okay Bubba, now you've hooked me!

now I gotta guess who you is!

If you saw me casting a few years ago on a remote river in BC I was probably using a version of one of Derek Brown's custom lines, the Spey-Driver, which from one perspective is sort of a hi performance double taper as it is designed to be lifted and cast without shooting for most fishing distances. With a 15ft leader , and at its longest length in the full floating configuration, casts of 120ft+ are possible without shooting line. I vary the profile of mine depending on the rod length and rod action I'm using (and how much recent practice I've had), but the total head length of my Spey-Driver runs anywhere from 95ft to 110ft or so before it hits running line. The weight compensated step-tapered belly section, extended forward taper and long rear taper that are the hallmarks of this line make it a lot easier to cast and mend than a standard long belly double taper salmon line.