| Your fly line can get dirty any number of ways. | | | | clean rag, grasping rag tightly enough to make line |
| Just keeping it in its case on the reel in a warm | | | | squeak as its pulled through. Check rag periodically, |
| car can be enough to make it need to be cleaned. | | | | and when it gets too dirty, switch it for a clean |
| We all accidentally drag our line through dirt, step | | | | one. Pulling out an arm's length each time will help |
| on it, or find some other way to get it dirty. | | | | eliminate line memory. |
| Things like sunscreen and bug repellent are also | | | | 4. Apply Dressing |
| common contaminants. Follow these steps and | | | | Use a new clean rag and soak it in fly line |
| you will have your line ready to go in no time. I | | | | dressing. You will repeat the process you used |
| have used these methods for some time with a | | | | when you stripped the line out of the bucket with |
| variety of fly line brands with no adverse effects. | | | | the dressing on the rag. Make certain to keep the |
| Having said that, the reader is ultimately | | | | rag with plenty of fly line dressing on it. Also, |
| responsible for any consequences that might | | | | continue to strip arm lengths of line and again |
| result from using this process. I have no way of | | | | make sure to strip it onto a clean surface. If you |
| knowing, for example, if your line might have | | | | happen to have a line winder, use this so you do |
| come into contact with some chemical that when | | | | not get your line dirty again. |
| fly dressing is applied would cause the line to | | | | You can use a fly line dressing that is marked for |
| degrade. I have never heard of this happening. | | | | this purpose. Or, many of us have discovered |
| 1. Fill a Clean Bucket with Warm Water and a Mild | | | | that other products designed for use on plastics |
| Dish Detergent | | | | work equally well at a lesser cost. A couple that |
| This step is fairly self-explanatory. | | | | people use are Rain-X and Armor-All. Just make |
| 2. Remove Line from Reel and Backing | | | | sure what you use is designed for use on plastics |
| Strip your fly line from the reel into the bucket of | | | | and preferably silicone based. |
| warm soapy water all the way back to the | | | | 5. Re-Attach Fly Line |
| backing. This might be a good time to go ahead | | | | I typically use a nail knot to tie my backing to the |
| and strip your backing and re-reel it back on to | | | | line, but there are others you can use. Make sure |
| make sure there are no tangles. You don't want | | | | to trip tag ends so that line is not getting tangles |
| to learn that the hard way when you get a big | | | | to long tags. |
| fish on. | | | | Your fly line will last a long time if you care for it. |
| Leave the fly line in loose coils in the bucket and | | | | A rule of thumb is to clean your line every 5 trips. |
| let it soak 30 minutes. | | | | More or less might be necessary in your particular |
| 3. Clean Line | | | | circumstances. |
| Slowly strip line out of bucket through a moist | | | | |