quality in cortland line?

[-mike-]

I've been fishing scientific angler's mastery series fly line for a year. I use the intermediate striper line in surf color, 9wt and it works well on my 10wt rod (don't ask me how I ended up with that combination). The past few months it seems that the line is tangling more often and goes floppy at the end of each cast. Also, when I strip the line in I can feel it grinding against the guides, so it must be full of knicks and cuts from fishing jetties. Don't get me wrong, this was one of the best lines I have ever used, I just beat the crap out of it! Regardless, for my next line I was thinking of trying the cortland 555 little tunny rocket taper in camo color and a 10wt intermediate. Does anybody else use this line or even cortland line in general and do you think it is a quality line and will cast well for me(since i've been fishing 9wt line on a 10wt rod)? Any testimonials would be appreciated on this company's product before I buy it.

[JGH]

I've long used 9 wt SA striper line, which casts well but I experience lots of running line tangles. (Cost me a couple of shots at albies last week. :mad: ) So I've been experimenting a bit to try to find the "best" line for me.

Tried Air-flo's 40-plus line, which I did not like at all. Much too heavy up front. I also tried Cortland's 555 Little Tunny line. Very smooth line, but I don't think I like the taper as much as the SA -- the Cortland seems to have a longer head and so it takes more line (and false casting) to load the rod. So I'm back with the SA, at least for now. I'm thinking of trying Air-flo's coldwater intermediate line, which some folks rave about.

[-mike-]

Recently I heard that the SA striper line i'm currently throwing is 15% lighter than any other line and it is the worst line to underload a rod with!(9wt line 0n 10wt rod). But this line has come highly recommended and I'm pleased with its performance so i'll probably just end up buying the same line in a 10wt. O yea, and I heard the cortland 555 little tunny line has a long front taper meant only for tiny albie flies and needs more false casting.

[pschwart00]

I've been using the 555 Little Tunny line and love it. In fact the more I fish Cortland lines the more I like them over SA. The line seems to shoot great and stays slick longer after a cleaning.
The one recomendation I would make if you buy this line is to cut off and toss the last 20-30 feet of the running line. For some reason the line is 120' vs. the standard 100'. I consider myself a B+/A- caster - best of conditions I can cast 90 feet - I'd rather have the extra backing than the line.

[-mike-]

So you cut 20 feet off the running line? I've actually heard of trimming off the front taper to get the power needed to cast larger flies. Do you have any limits or trouble casting larger flies with the little tunny line like the rumors say? Also, what weight line do you use this as because when I asked Cpt. Dave at the Flyhatch he said they don't even bother carrying a 10wt. of that line because of it's taper and rumored inability to cast larger 10wt flies.

[Squidly]

I really like the wulf lines. I use a 9 wt and it shoot very well. It does require having a decent amount of line out to load the rod. I would never have tried these, excet a friend recommended them, but they have worked out very well.

[dlangan]

I too am a Cortland fan. I love the 555 Little Tunny line, and like others was initially concerned the front taper would be too delicate for larger flies. I have yet to have any problems (with the line.... my abilities as a caster is another matter). Great line.

[pschwart00]

If you have a "fast" 10 wt. (like Echo's 10 wt. which was really designed for sinking lines) you may want to "overline" the rod by one, in this case by an 11 wt. line. If your 10 wt is a moderate fast to regular saltwater go with the 10wt.
Cortland 555 little tunny is made up to a 12 wt. (Cabelas if you can't get it locally)
I usually don't throw very large flies on my intermediate set-up, not b/c it doesn't cast well, just because typically i only use my intermediate line when fishing in depths <10' and then usually means smaller patterns.