Gorge Fly Shop Blog: Fly Lines: To Connect, or not to ConnectCore

Rio ConnectCore Technology

Fly Lines -

I could write a Blog post once a week about fly lines and a year from now would still be able to find content about fly lines to write about. There is no doubt that line companies today are bidding for your sales and loyalty. But it’s not all hype! There really is some great technology and application of today’s high-tech lines.

The simple fact is today we pursue more species in more types of water with flies than ever previously thought possible. With this obsession to conquer every known or unknown species comes the need to adjust our gear accordingly. Fly lines are just as important as the rods and reels we use...personally I believe the line can be the most important item in the arsenal.

ConnectCore -

Rio has been charging forward in the fly line market is case you haven’t notice. Every year comes many improvements as well as all new lines to meet a specific purpose. For 2014 you will notice ConnectCore Technology. The simple answer to what is ConnectCore is simply a no stretch or more correctly a low stretch core to your fly line. Every Fly line has a core. Some are Monofilament core while others are braided core. Take your whatever trout line you have and pull off about 5 feet and gasping each end spread your arms and make it come tight, Now force it farther and you will notice that it easy stretches several more inches. These are mono-core lines. A braid core has almost no stretch. So little stretch that one would need much more length to feel any stretch in them at all.

Why do you need this?

We could go into all kinds of technical jargon about fly lines and we will in future articles but for now my goal is to keep you informed. The fact is Braid core lines are not new. They have been in saltwater lines for years due to their nature of resilience to tropical heat and overall line strength. In today’s high-tech fishing the no stretch core lines are finding new opportunities to improve techniques of many fisheries. Here are a few examples how. First these lines have a different casting feel. It’s a very positive feel with noticeably more rod load feel. Since the line does not stretch during the cast you rod does not feel any lag from line stretch. Yes I am saying that a standard mono core line exhibits stretch during your cast. So this is the first noticeable difference. Second is the feel you get from the fly whether it is in contact with rock, vegetation and the most important fish strike. Many fisheries force you to depend on feel for strike detection and this is much improved with low stretch cores. Third is the power of your hook set. Long cast and bony mouths of fish make stretchy lines resistant to deep penetrating hook sets. Hook sets are greatly improved with low stretch lines. I’m sure the possibility of other benefits exists with these new ConnectCore lines.

The New Rio Perception line could be the new standard of the ConnectCore lines and could be used in place of most of your freshwater lines you’re currently using. I have spent some time casting this line and have found it to be my new favorite. It falls somewhere between a Rio Gold and a Rio Grand in terms of line weight versus head length. The uniqueness lies in the absolute pure feeling I now get from my fly rod. The rod I’m testing with has been a favorite trout rod of mine for several years now and I am quite intimate with it. So any change in line is quickly detected. I feel with the perception line a certain amount of purity from my rod in the sense that the line does not subdue the feel. In simple terms I feel more from my fly rod. Will this new ConnectCore Technology change the way we feel about fly lines? It has already changed my opinion.

ConnectCore Technology has already found its way into many Rio lines. Here is a list of the lines currently using ConnectCore:

Perception

Intouch CamoLux

Intouch Midge Tip

Deep Series – Deep3, Deep5, Deep6, Deep7

Spey Lines: