Rio Selective Trout II Line review

[midger]

As promised, here's my take on this line in a double taper 3 weight (floating). I had it spooled on an Albright GP 3/4 reel.

The line cast very well on the Batson moderate action 7'9" rod I used Saturday and Sunday. My line is the camo color and I got the DT so I could flip it around when one end wears out or gets stepped on and damaged.

The line has a sort of rough feel to it, but it casts well and floats nicely. I didn't dress the line before using it, and used it for double nymph drifting with 4 and 5X tippet as well as throwing size 22 caddis dry flies on 7X tippet. Most casts were shorter--from 15-30 feet, but occasionally I'd cast 40 feet on some wider, more open river stretches.

Overall, I'd give the line a thumbs up, and at the $29.95 closeout price at Madison River Flyfishing Company, it's a good buy.

[beachbum]

I don't know about the line, but your testing sounded pretty good to me! "size 22 caddis dry flies on 7X tippet" sounds fun to me. Nice testing zone.

[midger]

Yeah, those small caddis are a bugger for me to see whenthere are many other caddis on the water that size. I could see them on flat water, but any kind of riffle, and um..........I cheated and put one of those tiny bobbinators about 24 inches from the fly.

Really nice casting line though.

[darrin terry]

Nice review, Mike. I have this line on two reels, both in DT (2wt and 3wt). I really like it, especially on the 7'0" 3wt fiberglass. Wish I'd only paid $30 though as I seem to recall it being closer to $60.

[rkfiske]

Thanks for the review... reviews are actually an awesome idea... perhaps somebody could implement some kind of review system or special forum area... craig?

[Autodave]

I just got my line today-they even gave me a break on shipping costs!Would you recommend dressing it ,if so with what type of dressing?

[midger]

Thanks for the review... reviews are actually an awesome idea... perhaps somebody could implement some kind of review system or special forum area... craig?

I believe there is one already where you can write a full article type review if you go to the home on this site. I just felt this would be quicker. The reel the line was spooled on was a new Albright GP 3/4. It is a bit on the heavy side, but has an good drag and was very smooth. It is a large arbor type reel, looks nice, and at a price of $59.99 is an exceptionally good buy. I also purchased a Bugati, a classy looking gray colored large arbor. The first one had a sticky drag, but they quickly replaced it and it worked well for me a couple of times and autodave has been using it with a Sage VT2 rod he's trying out. Hopefully he'll let us know how it's continued to work.

[midger]

Dave,
I don't plan on dressing mine right away, but I do clean them with zipcast every 5-6 days of use, or more often after using them on algae or dirty water. Scientific anglers makes a good line dressing for when you need to dress them.

[briansII]

Thanks for a real world review. I had the early Selective Trout Taper, and remember it having a rough texture too. I really like that line, and the equivalent Scientific Angler line(Trout Taper?).

Rio has a new dressing called Agent X. I have not used it, but it will make you cast like Lefty Rajeff.

briansII

[rkfiske]

I'm looking at picking up some Rio Gold... I don't have any experience with Rio lines at all really... can you guys chime in about it at all? I read that it pairs well with the Loop AEG rod that I picked up.

[Autodave]

I like the Albright Bugati-Great size /weight /feel--hard to belive it is only a $50.00 reel!

[Bernard]

DT - good man!

[briansII]

I'm looking at picking up some Rio Gold... I don't have any experience with Rio lines at all really... can you guys chime in about it at all? I read that it pairs well with the Loop AEG rod that I picked up.

I really like the Rio Gold that I have on my faster 5wt. At first it took a bit of adjustment from a Rio Grand that I was using, but I like the line a lot. I replace my 5 wt line just about every year. If nothing changes in the Rio trout line lineup, i'll buy another Gold next year.

briansII

[midger]

I've not cast a rod loaded with the Rio Gold yet. I have a couple of Rio Grand lines (similar to the SA GPX series) and they work very well when matched to a Sage RPL or XP rod--ie faster action rods that require a bit more weight to load at shorter distances as this line is 1/2 line weight heavier than rated. I'd go to the Rio site and read the specs on each line to decide.

http://www.rioproducts.com/product.php?recKey=132

[Eric]

Mike thanks for the review. Mine showed up in the mail yesterday. Looking forward to giving it a try.
Eric