Fly Fishing Forum banner

Stroft Tippet ?

14K views 102 replies 29 participants last post by  Hardrar 
#1 ·
Is Stroft Nylon a good tippet for dry fly fishing ? & if so which would you recommend :- LS / ABR / GTM, I read that if using stroft you need to use the right knot, I usually use Uni Knot for tippet to fly & fig of 8 for droppers are they o.k.
John.
 
#43 ·
As I said in an earlier post, I don't know, but there may be something about the surfaces on Stroft tippets that make them more selective to knots, and also why they definitely advise against wetting.

Stroft also does not recommend the Davy knot.

I know Davy Wotton and have fished with him in Arkansas. I'm sure he'd say his knot is 100% regardless of the tippet material, provided it is tied correctly. It sure works for him. But not for me. And, I know I'm tying it correctly. I recall (I didn't go back to the Tippet Shootout to confirm) that the folks at Yellowstone Angler advised against the Davy Knot. But, we all know folks who use it and rely on it with success. So, what the heck!!
 
#52 ·
As I said in an earlier post, I don't know, but there may be something about the surfaces on Stroft tippets that make them more selective to knots, and also why they definitely advise against wetting.

Stroft also does not recommend the Davy knot.

I know Davy Wotton and have fished with him in Arkansas. I'm sure he'd say his knot is 100% regardless of the tippet material, provided it is tied correctly. It sure works for him. But not for me. And, I know I'm tying it correctly. I recall (I didn't go back to the Tippet Shootout to confirm) that the folks at Yellowstone Angler advised against the Davy Knot. But, we all know folks who use it and rely on it with success. So, what the heck!!
 
#44 ·
I use both FC and nylon. Start of the season and especially before a long trip I test the nylon. Two years ago I used a nylon tippet recommended by a forum member who I consider worth listening to. It worked well. Last season I tested it and it was shot, reassigned to duty as counter ribbing. Couldn't buy it when i needed to so I switched to Stroft GTM and it worked well. Just bought some ABR in the same breaking strain. Nylon has a finite working life and if you happen to get old stock it will be even more finite. Some bargain prices may reflect the age of the stock.

Never bother testing my spools of FC because it doesn't degrade. I have dodged the issues of knot selection and tying together with the softness of the angler's hand when playing fish. That's not to say they aren't part of the picture.;)

Cheers
Mark
 
#46 ·
Give three people a micrometer and get at least two different readings, especially on something soft and tapered. It is down to feel and experience. I use the feel and then the ratchet as a check or pass it to a fellow engineer and ask for their opinion, it saves errors.
 
#49 ·
GTM for me.

I think you can still buy the tiny 25m spools but they are about the same price as 50m ones, bout a fiver.

Never had a knot issue that wasn't me with anything, test it by hand before putting it to a fish and learn to spot wind knots before fish do.
i find the 25m is best as its fits into the holders that stroft + it can go off are 2 + years losers its strength so better with the smaller ones ( just my thoughts )
 
#51 ·
When stored properly in dark place and no severe temperature fluctuations a nylon may hold its quality for many years. The last several fishing sessions along with the gtm stroft that i am using most of the time, l also fished a 10 years old rio powerflex that was as good as new.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PaulD
#54 ·
I've got some spools of nylon that are 10/12 years old, the last I tested them they were fine, I'd have no reservations about using them.
Another member deliberately left nylon in the sun for weeks 8 Iirc the bs was affected but not by the amount i expected.
I think if there stored correctly its fine.

Al
 
#55 ·
A couple of years ago, I asked Stroft about the life of their tippet material. Here is what they said:
"When the line is stored dark and dry, what means no UV rays and not to high humidity and no high temperatures (below 50°C), the line should not be loosing breaking strength for about 8-10
years. The advantage of our spools is the soft foam ring, which protects
the line against UV-rays."

I use their 5-spool tippet dispensers when I'm out fishing, so they are fully protected from UV rays then. At home, of course, they are stored away from light. Dry and far below 50C!!

Cheers,

Bryan
 
#56 ·
I have one particular 100m spool of 5x that has lived at the bottom of my rucsack for years now, its had days in the mesh pocket on the outside exposed to sunlight and its fine still.

The only spool I ever had that seemed off was a spool of Fulling Mill bought in Pitlochry years ago, broke way too easy in the hand, can't compare because its the only time I ever used it, if it was past sell by Fulling Mill lost a customer there rather than the shop so I'm thinking its not the manufacturer that would want to avoid that.
 
#57 ·
Re aging in nylon...

I have a big box full of left-over spools of nylon, dog-ends, etc, collected over about the last 40 years. Lots of different brands and diameters and standard and low-diameters types. I got them out one day and tested their breaking strains. They were all perfectly good, apart from one spool of Orvis Superstrong, which was knacked for some reason. Put me off ever using Orvis Superstrong again. My conclusion was that, stored in a cool place in the dark, nylon is fine for many, many years - but you can always get a bad spool.

My preferred low-diameter is D.A.M Tectan Premium Plus, which gradually became more and more like hens' teeth to find, so I stocked up on it a good few years ago. It is now discontinued, but I have enough 300 m spools of my favoured diameters to last a good few years... especially at the current rate of use! :whistle:

I don't buy Marmite, but I don't mind it. ?

I don't use Stroft, but I've nothing against it. :)

Col
 
#59 ·
Re aging in nylon...

I have a big box full of left-over spools of nylon, dog-ends, etc, collected over about the last 40 years. Lots of different brands and diameters and standard and low-diameters types. I got them out one day and tested their breaking strains. They were all perfectly good, apart from one spool of Orvis Superstrong, which was knacked for some reason. Put me off ever using Orvis Superstrong again. My conclusion was that, stored in a cool place in the dark, nylon is fine for many, many years - but you can always get a bad spool.

My preferred low-diameter is D.A.M Tectan Premium Plus, which gradually became more and more like hens' teeth to find, so I stocked up on it a good few years ago. It is now discontinued, but I have enough 300 m spools of my favoured breaking strains to last a good few years... especially at the current rate of use! :whistle:

I don't buy Marmite, but I don't mind it. ?

I don't use Stroft, but I've nothing against it. :)

Col
DAM Tectan and Maxima Chameleon and Ultragreen were the first better fishing lines i got after the fall of comunism over here. Then i moved to stroft .
 
#60 ·
Why might pigtails be more of an issue on an unwetted knot Andy..?
Stroft knots very easily at the best of times and indeed it's slippyness seems to be an issue for some.As long as you pull the knot together slowly you won't create enough heat through friction to cause any damage .I don't get why doing this would make it any more prone to unravel...?
 
#61 ·
ALL friction creates heat. The lower the coefficient of friction the less heat is generated when pulling up your knot and I just figure the less heat the better.

A liquid lubricant will pretty much always infer a lower coefficient of friction than any surface treatment such as Strofts PTFE sintering process used to treat their GTM line so I’d go wet rather than dry for that reason alone but there’s also a second bite of the cherry as the extra mass of wet lubricant also acts as a heat sink to reduce any temperature increase.

Certainly doesn’t do any harm so why wouldn’t you ???

Andy
 
#63 ·
ALL friction creates heat. The lower the coefficient of friction the less heat is generated when pulling up your knot and I just figure the less heat the better.

A liquid lubricant will pretty much always infer a lower coefficient of friction than any surface treatment such as Strofts PTFE sintering process used to treat their GTM line so I'd go wet rather than dry for that reason alone but there's also a second bite of the cherry as the extra mass of wet lubricant also acts as a heat sink to reduce any temperature increase.

Certainly doesn't do any harm so why wouldn't you ???

Andy
That's not what I asked you. You said you were certain that pigtails would be an issue if you don't wet the knot.
 
#67 ·
If I'm fairly deep when wading & changing a fly/lure, I form whichever knot I decide to use & end up tightening that knot underwater. Works for me but I haven't used any Stroft. Drennan Sub-Surface, Maxima Ultragreen or Airflo G3.
 
#77 ·
The secret with stroft knotting is to wet it not by saliva but with water from the river you will fish , bending gracefully towards the water surface when wetting and always facing east. ?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: JCP and PaulD
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top