Links and Resources
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California Regulations/Licenses and River Conditions
California Department of Fish and Wildlife https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/ Online California Fishing Licenses http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/ols/ California Current River Conditions http://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/rivcond.html California Department of Water Resources http://cdec.water.ca.gov/ Cleaning Your Fly Lines
By Barbara Klutinis At a recent meeting, I gave a brief demonstration of how to clean your fly lines. An excellent video demo can be found on Rio’s website. Just follow this link: http://www.rioproducts.com/fishing-tips/cleaning-fly-lines/ Following are excerpts from Rio’s demo. Why Clean? Rio suggests you clean your fly line after every couple of outings. Fly lines can collect a lot of dirt from stepping on them in the boat, muddy streams, and stripping into the mud at the side of a stream or lake. The more dirt a fly line accumulates, the less it floats, the less efficiently it slips through the guides when casting, and the more difficult it is to mend. Also, frequent cleaning will extend the life of your fly line. There are three stages of cleaning, depending on how much fishing you have done and how dirty your fly line becomes. Supplies Two buckets of warm water, one with a little dishwashing soap, the other with plain water. Fill to about 1/4 of the bucket. Soft rags (I use Costco white washcloths that come in a large bundle for about $10). Stage 1: Basic Cleaning
Alternate method (my quick method): Use two paper grocery bags, and two rags, one with soapy water and another with clean water. Strip the line off the reel into bag #1. Run the line through the soapy rag into bag #2 (reel end first). Then, holding the clean water rag, run the line back into bag #1, leader end first. Let the line dry a bit and then return it to the reel. Stage 2: Micro-abrasive cleaning cloth for really dirty lines Rio recommends for exceptionally dirty lines a fourth step: Before you return the line to the reel after step 3, run the line through one of their Wonder Cloths. Fold the Wonder Cloth around the fly line and strip the line into a dry bucket. You can moisten the cloth to make the line pass through more easily. Strip the line back and forth from bucket to bucket until you see no more dirt on the Wonder Cloth. Rio also says you can wash the Wonder Cloth with your laundry and reuse it. This type of cleaning should be done every 5 or 6 times you use the line. Stage 3: Dressing the line with Rio’s Agent X Rio recommends this after every 8-10 fishing trips and at least once a season to lightly coat and lubricate the surface of fly lines to give them a slick, clean finish. Use this only with floating lines (not sinking lines or sink tip). After completing Stages 1 and 2, give the Agent X a good shake, and then apply a few drops on the Wonder Cloth. Fold the cloth around the line and begin stripping line into the second dry bucket. (The buckets keep the line from collecting dust, pet hair and dirt on floors.) Put the leader end of the line on the rim of the bucket and let the Agent X dry on the line for 24 hours to get the maximum benefit. After drying overnight, buff the line (leader first) into the second bucket with a clean Wonder Cloth. After completing the buff, reel the line back onto your reel. Products that damage your fly line: Suntan lotion, insect repellant with deet, aerosols, and heat (leaving your reel in intense heat on the dash or trunk of your car) all de-plasticize your fly line. So get those lines clean and keep them tight!!! |
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