SA Sharkskin "Steelhead Taper"

Next up for me is fishing the fall steelhead run up on the
Manistee/Pere Marquette/Muskegon. My SA "steelhead taper"
fly line is going on 10 years old and getting a bit beat
to **** so I'm thinking to replace it before I go.

I see where SA has come out with their Sharkskin in a
"steelhead taper". Has anybody tried this line ? Hell,
has anybody ever actually shelled out $100 for a Sharkskin
fly line ?

As an aside, what's so special about Sharkskin that makes it
$40 better than the standard $60 fly line ?

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Sep 25, 9:22*am, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:
Next up for me is fishing the fall steelhead run up on the
Manistee/Pere Marquette/Muskegon. My SA "steelhead taper"
fly line is going on 10 years old and getting a bit beat
to **** so I'm thinking to replace it before I go.

I see where SA has come out with their Sharkskin in a
"steelhead taper". Has anybody tried this line ? Hell,
has anybody ever actually shelled out $100 for a Sharkskin
fly line ?

As an aside, what's so special about Sharkskin that makes it
$40 better than the standard $60 fly line ?

--
Ken Fortenberry

Duh. I would think that would be a no-brainer. See, other fly lines
are coated with plastic.
Dave

DaveS wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
As an aside, what's so special about Sharkskin that makes it
$40 better than the standard $60 fly line ?

Duh. I would think that would be a no-brainer. See, other fly lines
are coated with plastic.

;-). Yeah, to read the Scientific Angler blurbs about this stuff
you'd think it was some sort of miracle in fly line construction.

It's been on the market for awhile now, and SA is building more
tapers out of it, I'm just wondering if anyone here has tried it
and has an opinion on it.

It looks like my old fly line now costs $70 instead of $60 so
the Sharkskin fly line only has to be $30 better. ;-)

--
Ken Fortenberry

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
DaveS wrote:

Ken Fortenberry wrote:

As an aside, what's so special about Sharkskin that makes it
$40 better than the standard $60 fly line ?


Duh. I would think that would be a no-brainer. See, other fly lines
are coated with plastic.


;-). Yeah, to read the Scientific Angler blurbs about this stuff
you'd think it was some sort of miracle in fly line construction.

It's been on the market for awhile now, and SA is building more
tapers out of it, I'm just wondering if anyone here has tried it
and has an opinion on it.

It looks like my old fly line now costs $70 instead of $60 so
the Sharkskin fly line only has to be $30 better. ;-)


I have two, an 8-weight and a 12-weight, both sal****er lines.

What's good about the Sharkskin line is that it shoots like a
mother****er. This is very important in sal****er flats fishing, not so
important in coldwater fishing.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

On 2009-09-25 12:22:23 -0400, Ken Fortenberry
said:

Has anybody tried this line ? Hell,
has anybody ever actually shelled out $100 for a Sharkskin
fly line ?

As an aside, what's so special about Sharkskin that makes it
$40 better than the standard $60 fly line ?

I have it in a 6 weight. I usually fish my Winston five piece 5
weight, but put the Sharkskin on my 6 weight to take to Tiera del
Fuego. It is so fantastic that I have not fished my Winston all season
but have instead used my 6 weight just *because* of the line. My 5
weight rod and reel were at Lakewood in my closet so I couldn't put it
on the 5.

My rods and reels will go home with me tomorrow, and next week I will
have the Sharkskin put on my 5 and 4 weight reels.

It casts wonderfully. Makes a noise, but after awhile you do not hear
it. It is the best mending line I have ever used. It would be PERFECT
for steelheading. I use it for nymphing and with dries and can not
praise it enough.

Had a great time on the river today, losing what must have been at
least a 25 inch brookie. Just about to put him in the net when the
tippet broke at the tippet knot. Take your hand with fingers lined up
and make a "mouth" using your thumb. (Can't describe it any better,
sorry.) Place your thumb about two inches below your index finger and
imagine your thumb another inch longer with a kype at the end. That
was this brookie's jaw. It had full spawning colors with bright red
and a beautiful color green back. It took me the better part of 5
minutes to get him to the net. Took him on a size 18 bead head
modified (read home tied) PT. It was, of course, the last one I had.

I switched to a normal bead head PT and managed some more brookies and
a very nice 17 inch salmon. I stayed until dusk, about 6:30, and left
very pleased with the day and the week.

Joanne was at the cabin with my apple cider chicken warmed on top of
the wood stove. It is supposed to get down to the mid 20s tonight and
it feels it.

This was my best year on the Rapid, with many very big fish, both
brookies and salmon. I would say that they were equally spread out
between dries and nymphs. Harry Mason's Killier Caddis CDC dry took
fish when nothing else was working. I went through a few dozen of this
fly in 14, 16, and 18s, giving many of them to friends. It is the most
successful dry fly I have ever fished.

I will float the West Outlet of Moosehead next month, and that will be
my Maine fishing for this year.

Dave
(Buy the Sharkskin. What else would you do with the 30 bucks?)

On 25-Sep-2009, David LaCourse wrote:

I will float the West Outlet of Moosehead next month, and that will be
my Maine fishing for this year.

Is that oppostite Katahdin?
I am trying to remember
There was an old decrepit hotel and a country inn???
What is the name of the town there - Rockwood? and the river flowing out of
the west end of the lake?

We have been there and the Rangely region wuite a bit

Fred

I can answer my own question in that I believe ROckwood is opposite Mt Kineo
w the old hotel and lodge

Fred

On 2009-09-28 14:02:41 -0400, "Fred" said:


On 25-Sep-2009, David LaCourse wrote:

I will float the West Outlet of Moosehead next month, and that will be
my Maine fishing for this year.

Is that oppostite Katahdin?
I am trying to remember
There was an old decrepit hotel and a country inn???
What is the name of the town there - Rockwood? and the river flowing out of
the west end of the lake?

We have been there and the Rangely region wuite a bit

Meant to say the EAST Outlet of Mooshead. It is the start of the
Kennebec River, as is the West outlet (which is much smaller). The
West Outlet is near the southern tip of Rockland. You may be thinking
of the Moose River which flows into Moosehead above Rockland.

The East Outlet has some very big brookies and salmon. We have fished
it in October for many years, but I have never floated it. We are
headed to NC and Georgia in October, so I may not be floating it this
year. Great river, however.

Dave