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Canoeman1947
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 2:41 pm • # 1 |
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Joined: 01/26/09 Posts: 617 Location: Oklahoma
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I am always on the lookout for bargains in quality flyfishing gear. I had read a few reviews of the KastKing Exergy fly line, available through Amazon at about $30. I decided to give it a try. I have been using Barrio Small Stream line from Scotland for the last couple of years and considered it to be the best line I have found in the lower price range. If I had my druthers, I would be fishing Scientific Anglers GPX or Sharkwave line all the time, but the cost is rather prohibitive.
Last week I received an Old Beech Quiet Loop 7' 6" 2 piece 3 weight rod made in Japan. This rod is no longer manufactured, but is a very high quality rod that I was able to pick up at a very attractive price. I cast it with four different fly lines to determine what worked best on this rod. I had just picked up the KastKing line and spooled it up before I went out to test cast the rod. My friend Charlie and I cast the rod with all four line, and decided the Barrio Small Stream and the KastKing lines were essentially equal, with the other two lines being less desirable. The rod cast beautifully with the former two lines. Saturday I put the KastKing line to the test on the stream. It cast very well for a little while, but after about 20 minutes I began having difficulty in extending the cast. With about 10-15 feet of line out the tip of the rod I was having considerable difficulty in shooting line. If I had 20-25 feet of line out, shooting line was not as difficult. I have noticed in the past when fishing in water with quite a bit of suspended sediment or algae that lines tend to become somewhat sticky after a while and need to be cleaned. However, this was a brand new line and the water is clear with very little algae present. I noticed when holding the rod out, if i pressed the line against the blank out near the end of the rod, it would stay stuck to the blank after I removed my hand. I climbed out of the stream and treated the line with Scientific Anglers line dressing, and after that I was able to cast without any difficulty. I will continue to use this line for a while and monitor its performance. If I continue to have problems with it, I will report on here. The line was casting great before it got wet, so I will have to see if dressing the line henceforth takes care of the problem.
Larry
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lka
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:52 am • # 2 |
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Joined: 04/04/18 Posts: 211 Location: Idaho
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Thanks for the report. I've eyed those lines before and figured they'd probably be fish just fine. My holdup has been that you can always find last year's high-end lines via overstock or sierra trading post or eBay whatever in that same price range or slightly above. Might be last year's model but it isn't like the technology is antiquated...I just end up buying those instead because it is a known quantity and they probably are better lines.
Overall have nothing bad to say about KastKing equipment though -- I use their spinning reels, and use their copolymer line for leader/tippet material and am very happy with all of it.
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Canoeman1947
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Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:40 pm • # 3 |
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Joined: 01/26/09 Posts: 617 Location: Oklahoma
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I fished the KastKing line again today. Dressed the line before starting and had no difficulty with casting. I will not apply line dressing before the next time I fish and see how well it works. I really didn't fish long enough today for the line dressing to thin out much.
Larry
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Knotty
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:51 pm • # 4 |
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Joined: 08/27/15 Posts: 781 Location: New Jersey
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I often have this problem wth my 2 and 3 wt rods. Doesn’t seem to matter if it’s expensive Airflo Super Dry Trout or some cheap Piscifun fly line. It’s the main reason I’m not fishing UL as much as I used to.
Eager to see what your findings are.
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Canoeman1947
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 9:44 pm • # 5 |
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Hero Member |
Joined: 01/26/09 Posts: 617 Location: Oklahoma
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Knotty, I fish my 2 and 3 weight rods 90% of the time, usually with the designated line weight. Aside from times when my line has been dirty, this was the first time I had encountered this problem. However, I fish glass almost exclusively. On the rare occasion I might fish graphite, I usually go up one line weight because the designated line weight just doesn't adequately load the rod and I have to work harder. I am very much against working harder. After all, I am retired. Larry
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Knotty
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 11:32 pm • # 6 |
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Joined: 08/27/15 Posts: 781 Location: New Jersey
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Interesting you should mention glass, as the problem is much less evident with glass rods.
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