Delicate Presentation Floating Fly Line - Snowbee XS
Dry fly fishing in rivers is one of my greatest passions I just love that rewarding feeling of satisfaction when the trout that has been rising confidently to naturals accepts my artificial without qualm and the realisation that had I made even the slightest mistake I would not have hooked it. Doing everything right is essential and so all aspects of my tackle must be honed to efficiency and stealth and for dry fly fishing the line and leader combination is hugely important. Choosing leaders is fairly simple, you can make your own or buy the continuously tapered type which I favour simply because less knots mean less disturbance. I am writing this in springtime when the Large Dark Olives and March Browns are hatching and fly sizes are typically 14 and 12 so I choose a 9ft leader tapered to 3X to which I add a 3ft 5X Grand Max Soft Plus fluorocarbon tippet, a combination that I find presents nicely with just that all important little bit of slack in the tippet which helps prevent drag. The leader is attached to the line using Dave Whitlock’s very neat knotless Zap-A-Gap method.
Snowbee delicate presentation fly line
There are many fly lines to choose from and I have tried lots. What I want is a line that casts accurately up to 50ft and lands softly and you may think that any line can do that but let me assure you that some lines do it much better than others. This season I choose a #4 Snowbee XS delicate presentation line and for sure this product lives up to its name and casting and fishing with it has been a real pleasure and hugely successful with wild trout on the River Tummel which are by no means the easiest fish to catch. Before using the line I gave it a couple of treatments with Snowbee Line Slick, actually I do this with most new lines, it appears to make all the difference when lines are treated whilst they are still clean and the Snowbee treatment has a longer lasting effect than most. This ensures that the line slides easily through the guides, important for me because I am an inveterate and subconscious “double hauler” most of the time. The light mossy green colour of the line is a perfect choice, very little flash in the air and sufficient contrast with the water surface so that I can see it easily. I was warned that this line design feels lighter than other #4 lines and perhaps it does but I didn't want this line for thumping distances, just for pin point accuracy and beautiful presentation and much more importantly it does that too.
