A fly line’s a fly line, right?

Not so. I had some trouble a few years running, which is why SunRay’s new Kevlar fly line caught my eye.

The backstory here is that, for a few years, I kept losing hooking and losing Atlantic salmon. For anyone who has been salmon fishing, you know that for a the fish of a thousand casts, sometimes you only get one or two hookups per trip. And I had a loss ratio of 60-70% — which was frustrating to no end. And then I realized something.

I was hooking these fish on long casts with a mono running line. Bingo. Problem identified. But why?

Let’s start with a little lesson in fly lines. Fly lines are essentially extruded plastic that adheres around a core. Different companies have different cores, and different cores stretch to different amounts, but according to Rio / FarBank, lines stretch on average 30%. That might not seem like much, but imagine a 100′ cast. Now imagine that when you strike a fish, that your line could stretch to 130′. That distance is greater than the length of your car or many saltwater fishing boats.

If you apply this logic not only to effectively hooking a fish, where you’re losing a lot of energy in that stretch, but also to effectively and efficiently casting, then you could be losing a lot of energy with cores that stretch too much. How much? I don’t know, but I don’t love the idea.

Enter the SunRay EZ Back Cast fly line built around a Kevlar core. Kevlar is known to be incredibly strong, and is significantly stronger than steel on a weight-for-weight basis. It’s also light and flexible, making it ideal for fishing.

The concept with the fly line is zero stretch. You hook a fish at 100 feet? You set the hook at 100 feet, not 130 as discussed above.

I love this concept, and applaud SunRay for thinking outside the box and trying something new. The line casts super well, looks great (it’s a natural color, not some crazy bright color) and feels great on the water.

If I had some questions about the line, and how it will impact fishing, they would be:

While stretch isn’t always desired or beneficial, in some cases it can provide a kind of elasticity that prevents weak knots or leaders from breaking.

Similarly, line stretch dampens energy which would otherwise be absorbed by the rod. I wonder if, in landing a big fish on this line, if more fish will break off, etc?

Also, the maximum line weight for this is #8. But where I really would love to see this line is for heavier fish – striped bass, false albacore and, yes, Atlantic salmon. I hope they make heavier versions of this line

Buy this line from SunRay here

Key Features

• Kevlar® Core with 0% Stretch: Provides immediate energy transfer for precise casting and solid hook sets.
• Integrated 150′ Kevlar® Backing: Seamless transition eliminates the need for knots, reducing potential weak points.
• Overhang Marker: A visual aid indicating the optimal loading point for efficient casting (everyone will have their preference, but this is SunRay’s suggested location
• Triangle (Spey) Taper: Facilitates long overhead and roll casts, ideal for tight spaces.
• PVC Coating & welded loop: What more is there to say?