What do you use to clean and condition your fly line? I have used 303 Aerospace Protectant a couple of times on mine. But I just bought some KVD, and thought it might be good to spray on my fly line. Any thoughts on this?

Any purpose-manufactured line cleaner is better than none (or trying some non-flyline cleaner)

I personally have been using ZipCast and like it quite well.

http://www.zipcast.net/index.html

Bob Petti's review.

I've been using Glide and am happy with it's performance.

Scientific Anglers "fly line dressing" works for me.

"Glide" is good, so is Scientific Angler. Those are the ones I have personally used most recently. Rio has some out that I have heard good things on, but have not used it yet.
I'd stay with something designed for flylines.

Thanks guys. I will look up the things you mentioned. I am rather upset today. I went to the lake with my fly gear, and my bait caster which I still have not got the hang of yet. Well I practiced with the bait caster a little while and decided I was done. So then I assembled my rod, and pulled out my reel to place it on the rod. Only one problem, my reel was broken where you attach it to the rod. I have no idea what happened to it. I dropped it once about two weeks ago, but I thought it was fine. I guess I must of cracked it then. I super glued it tonight, but it isn't looking promising. On top of that I got skunked. At least it was a nice day out. Tomorrow is gonna be a hot one though.

the only thing you forgot to tell us is whether you hooked yourself and how many strikes you missed! just kidden'- you got to have a sense of humor about that one.

So the seat came off? Snap! What make and model reel is it? Perhaps someone can suggest a repair if that is possible.

Maybe some epoxy (not that five minute stuff but the hard core 24 hour stuFf).

I hope it wasn't a high dollar reel! Super-glue probably won't work well in a high stress area but I'm sure it can be rigged somehow to make it work again.

I did not get a bite with the baitcaster. My line was way too visible for the fish. The water was rather clear. (for my area anyway) I did not hook myself thank goodness.
I have hit myself with a fly a couple of times on windy days, now that was scary.

It is a BPS reel...one of their starter combos...Dogwood Canyon. I superglued it, but I imagine once I try to remove the reel from the seat, it is gonna break again. I am so ticked. I dropped the reel a couple of weeks ago trying to remove it from the reel seat. It wouldn't come loose so brilliant me...I decided to give it a karate chop to help dislodge it.....ha. Off to the parking lot ground it went, but it hit on the top part I thought. I see the scratched area there. I hate scratches on reels too. I like my stuff to look brand new so I baby my equipment most of the time... (my rods and reels anyway....my tackle boxes are another story)

Thanks HLS. I don't use my reel but for a line holder anyway. I am trying to figure out what I am gonna do about it. The super glue held so far, but I think I am sunk. The reel was not an expensive one. I see Cabelas has a replacement reel for 30 bucks. But I am really wanting an 8wt anyhow. I may just get one for myself for Mother's Day...ya never know.

Kelkay you'll get a kick out of this. Five years ago while fishing at Fork in March I was casting a Peck's Popper near the shore and it was suddenly sucked under by a big bass. I fought the thing until it went into the heavy vegetation about 40' from shore, then all I could do was to keep pressure on it until I finally worked it up through the grass. When I got it to the top I got my net and put a huge 9# bass in my boat. I laid it on the deck of the boat next to my rod to take a picture of it and noticed that my rod didn't have a reel on it. Apparently the reel had come off while I was fighting the bass and I didn't even know it! Rarely do I ever use the reel to fight a fish. 99 44/100% of the time I strip them in.

Yeah I strip the line in when I catch a fish. I haven't gotten a big enough one yet that required me to reel it in. Did you break your reel? Well at least you got a big bass! That was another good story there Clifford. :-)

Nope, the reel was fine. I just hadn't fastened it onto the rod properly.

Well I went out and got myself an 8wt Redington Crosswater rod, and a basic Ross reel. I even got the Glide y'all mentioned. Just got back a little while ago from my first, and last trip...to Cabelas. I must of been in four traffic jams on the way there. I don't know how you deal with the traffic, for those that are local. Wow. All I can say is, never again. That must of been the worst traffic I have ever seen there. It reminded me on NYC in the 80's! Whew. I am happy to be back in east Texas, and alive....hehehe.

Nice setup I bet! So you braved the beast that is Dallas traffic to get all the way over to the wonderfulness of Cowtown. Well done!

Let us know how it casts and fishes.

Robin I looked at the cheap combos and the rod was fine, but the reel stunk. After what just happened to me, the last thing I want to try out is a plastic reel. Even my BPS reel wasn't plastic. I did read an article a while back on the Crosswater and it was supposed to be a good rod. I saw another Redington I liked with no tag, but it was 200 plus... I liked the feel of it, and it had dots to line up the eyes. (a big plus for me) I wanted a two piece but ended up getting a four piece rod, I hope that wasn't a mistake. I am itching to run out and try it. It will be in a little while. I can't stand wondering how it will cast...LOL. I am excited. I shouldn't of bought it because of finances, but the reel breaking on my 5wt made me think it was possible since I had to get a reel anyway or NO FLY FISHING. The lady who waited on me was very nice. I know I was working her to find the right set up. She was very kind and helpful. They even changed my reel to a right hand retrieve which is very nice. I don't know why right handed people don't use a right hand retrieve...sigh. Anyway I am all psyched and ready to go.

Kelly

I think you'll find that the for piece casts fine plus the bonus of more compact to carry.

Kelkay,
What are you waiting for? Bring that bad boy busted reel up to BPS Garland. Bring the reciept OR your BPS reward card, OR you cancelled check OR your card or ANYTHING that shows when you bought it just to make it really, really easy. If you don't have ANY of that stuff, come on up anyway and see me. We'll get something done for ya.
P.S. you can visit your flies in the showcase too!

Fly that is sure tempting to a degree. But I just went through traffic hell in DFW. I would rather buy a new reel than go through that again. It has been some time ago since I bought that rod and reel combo. (Dogwood Canyon) It was a decent rod combo for the money. I may take it out to BPS here next time I go, which won't be soon. Maybe they will replace it for me. If not I will just have to buy one before Dec trout stockings. The Ross reel I have is a 7/8 wt reel...it may even work on my 5 wt....it is worth a try anyway. The whole problem I think was the reel seat of the BPS rod. It was sticking, and I don't know why. It is clean, and well maintained. But the past few times I have tried to get the reel out it has given me trouble. That is how the reel ended up on the asphalt parking lot. I was having to give it a bump to get it out, which when it let loose, it really let loose. I am going to get ready and go fishing here pretty quick. Can't wait to try this out. Thanks for the reply Fly. You are one heck of a guy! :-)

I should add, even though the reel hit the pavement, it should not have broken I would think...scratch yes, break no. Sorely disappointed, as it was a decent reel for me. I still recommend that set up for a someone with little money to spend. I liked it,and heck...I still do.

Tried out the Redington rod today, I like it but it sure is so much heavier than that five weight was! The Ross reel was good too, but I have to figure out where the drag button is. It seems like a better reel than my last one. It should be cause it is more money...LOL. Got skunked, so what else is new? I went to a local community lake on the recommendation from my brother. He heard the fish were biting. They may of been, but they weren't this afternoon. I saw one small bream caught, and that was it. The bream just played with a couple of my flies. They hit at it, but decided it was too scary to commit to it. I don't know how sensitive my rod is yet to a bite. Heck they may of bit and I didn't know it. My new rod is 9ft long, the old one about 7'6", so that takes a little getting used to. The only thing I have noticed that I don't like about the rod, is the end piece should be a little longer. It has a fighting butt, which I wanted. But the end piece is fairly short. So when you are tying on a fly, or putting the line through the eyes...the reel can drag the ground if you aren't careful. Other than that I think it will be a good rod. I will let you know more when I actually catch a fish. :-)

Kelkay,
You have the Crosswater rod and a Ross reel? Hmmm.... we have the Crosswater as a Redington combo. It's a nice rod, lively tip and a fairly strong butt section. It's a little quicker than your Dogwwood rod (If you originally had the Dogwwod combo) Nice purchase.
Did they have the rod in the bargain cave?

Oh yeah, if anyone has a BPS fly shop item to bring back: We've sold so many Dogwoods lately we're having to put a burr under the saddle at our warehouse to get them moving. If you're thinking of a Dogwood Canyon outfit or reel, gimmme a call before ya come...

No it wasn't in the Bargain Cave. It was cheaper though than the label said by thirty dollars though. It seems like a good rod to me, but I don't know what a good 8wt feels like. It has given me a back ache because it is so much heavier than my five weight though. That is not good. So far I love my Ross reel. They did not come together as a combo, I just put them together cause I wanted a reel that wasn't plastic. Luckily they had a Ross...I heard good things about them in my price range.

My Dogwood Canyon was a combo. I bought it like that, but it was some time ago when I purchased it. I still like the rod. After using my Ross reel I would say it is much better than my old reel. Still for the price, and the fact I use them mainly for a line holder....the Dogwood Canyon is still a good little set up for somebody just starting out like I was. That way you don't blow a lot of dough on something you may not even like. To me the rod is a lot better than some of the beginner rods I've seen. So far I like my Crosswater. Still haven't caught a dang fish so I know about how sensitive it is or not. I know one thing I did get a bite today, and I felt it. I was worried maybe it wasn't sensitive enough. Time will tell. I usually get skunked when I go to Tyler State Park. But remember I have no boat, and it is not an easy place to fly fish. Trees line most of the water's edge. I have a hard time casting at the pier because of the wood beams are in the way, it can be done...but not easily.

I got a leader from Robin and I will put it on probably tomorrow. I will change the leader out. The Ross reel came with a leader, and the fly line, and backing. I think Robin's leaders are much nicer though...hehehe. Now all I have to do is use tippet. I will probably try some flourocarbon again on it, or maybe Big Game.