I started fly fishing last year and purchased a Cabela's rod-reel combo (5wt).

Now I have another 5/6wt reel with a spare spool. I need to get some floating line for the spare (Sage Nymph line on 1 spool)that won't break the bank.

Suggestions? I know that there will be a few but wanted to see if there was one brand that consistently shows in the responses.

Thanks!

Good question with a wide range of answers. It might be more accurately answered if you quote an range you are willing to spend in.

Price range: $30-$60?
Also most of my fishing has been on the LMFR and on the Blue river. I'm hoping to make a trip to NM or Ark sometime this spring.

Here's a good place to start shopping. There are several WFF lines in here, any of which ought to serve you quite well.

http://goo.gl/RGCpp

About a week ago, the Allen Cabela's had a bunch of house brand lines in the bargin cave for less than $20 and a few Rio lines for less than $30. Might be worth checking if they still have any of them, less than $20 is a good price for a line.

One of the best lines there is... is the Rio Gold WF#F (weight forward, your rod wt, floating). If you buy it in the store it is $75 but you can pick it up right now on ebay for $49.95 with free shipping. Go read the reviews and everyone loves that line. Be careful of those lines Cabela's has in the bargain cave. They are all either sinking tip or DT (double taper) which is not very friendly to cast. I looked at them and passed but now they do have a bunch of 4 pack leaders that I bought 4 packs of (16 leaders) that ought to do me for a while with what I already have. Good luck picking. Matching the line to your rod and your level of experience is the most important decision you will make.......besides which fly to use

Also depends on your fishing distance. For very close fishing like when wade fishing in a small stream where casts are in the 15-20 ft. range, I have a Wulff Triangle taper line that really seems to turn over the short casts well. When I'm pond fishing and making longer casts, I have a Cortland 444 WF#F that was pretty reasonably priced.

Cortland 444 WF#F

or if you can find the older Cortland 333, buy it

I pretty much roll with Rio lines on all my reels. Never had a problem with them and they cast great. I generally clean them once a year too.I fished the same line 3'years in a row on a 6wt axiom for hybrids. Never had a problem.

Check first at Cabela's. I picked up a couple of Rio Grand lines there in the fly fishing section (not the Bargain Cave) for under $30. Not sure what they have left, but it's worth a try.

I'd encourage you to get a full sinking line with a built in running line, 'cept you already said different, and yet, still I'm saying it.

After weight forward floating, full sinks are the bomb.

Thanks for the responses!

Well I stopped by the Cabela's in Allen and did a little checking around the Cave. I was able to find WF5 sinking tip line in the Cave. They did have some RIO line but none in the Wt that I was wanting.

C Worthy mentioned the "sinking tip" not being very friendly to cast, is this very unfriendly to a novice caster (me)? These lines were so cheap that I figured I give them a try.

I'll see about the RIO line on eBay! Thanks for the heads-up!

Another place that's worth checking out is Sierra Trading Post. I've bought a Ross reel and Scientific Anglers line from there, both at insane discounts.

Sink tips are not that unfriendly, they're just different. Sinking lines are made to sink at different rates or speeds. The sink rate is usually labeled using roman numbers. The higher the number the faster the line will sink. Picking up a line for a backcast that is fully submerged underwater is more difficult than picking up a line floating on the surface. The trick when using a sinking line is to use a couple of roll casts to bring the line back to the surface before starting your normal backcast.

This thread has received a lot of votes for Rio, but there are other good lines out there. SA, Cortland, Teeny, and Rio all make good lines. I've liked the Orvis lines that I've used, but they seem to have a mixed following. Personally, I tend to buy what I can find on sale. You'll find many of the manufacturers make duplicates of each other's lines. For example, SA's GPX and Rio's Grand are similar to each other; both are a 1/2 wt heavy and have similar head lengths. I have examples of both lines and I can't tell a significant difference in them.

The quality of the lines available today is significantly better that what was available even 20 years ago. There are a lot good lines available even at the lower price ranges.

YelloSub... RexW is dead on about the sinking lines. Not that hard to cast if you get used to waiting on it to surface. If you are interested..... I just bought 2 brand new boxes of Rio Gold WF5F that will be delivered in the next day or 2. I paid
RIO GOLD FLY LINE - WF5F - FLOATING FLY LINE FOR TROUT - ...
Estimated Delivery: Fri. Feb. 8 $56.95 for one and
Rio Gold WF5 Fly Line - Moss/ Gold - New In Box -... Estimated Delivery: Mon. Feb. 11 $49.95 for the other. I will sell them both for $100. I bought a Sage 5wt rod from Cabela's but then turned around and bought a TFO Axiom 6wt so I took the Sage back and got refund. The Axiom likes 7 wt line so I have to buy new line. If you want this Rio Gold 5 wt, let me know. I also have 2 brand new spools of Scientic Angler Mastery 5 wt sinking tip line line (1 1.5 ft/s and one 4.5 ft/sec)that I will take $30 ea for. ($70 line) Anyway, I though I would let you know that I have this line if you are interested. PM me if you are. I live in Wylie, 15 min from McKinney.