Monic Light Green
Cold weather lines are slowly becoming as common as the special lines for tropical fishing. GFF partner Martin Joergensen has fished one from Monic and liked it very much.
This Monic cold water line makes the hassle of fishing in cold water a lot less than with traditional lines.
Color: Light green
Length 100 feet
Intermediate
Price US$54.95
Having fished all year round for years I have always wondered why I had to tolarate the problems with stiff fly lines in cold water. During my annual trip for Baltic sea trout in March I have stretched and massaged more lines and shooting heads than I care to count in order to get them to cast properly - and ditched a couple that were beyond salvage.
My troubles seem to be over - almost. I now have a Monic cold water line.
Intermediate silk
After having talked to the people at Monic about cold water lines during the Tackle Dealer Show in Denver this year, they handed me a box with a line and asked me to try it.
Upon my return home to Denmark it was already getting cold, and a few trips later I was ready to unload my usual shooting head and running line, and reel on the Monic WF.
The line is an 8 weight, and I let it replace a shooting head for my trusty Loomis IMX 9' 7 weight. It worked absolutely perfect.
The line is an intermediate and like most intermediate lines, it casts like a rocket. Due to the smaller diameter and higher density, any intermedtate line rated at the same weight seems to cast better and longer than a similar floating line. That is true for this line too.
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Smooth and durable
But there is a real difference between this line and any other intermadiate line I have used during my winter fishing, and that is its subtleness. This line is really soft at room temperature, and falls in large, smooth arcs. But the surprise comes when you take it outdoors and use it in air and water that is close to freezing. The line barely changes! To my amazement it acts much the same, and will not curl up in tight loops or feel like wire in your hands. It is still limp and both casts well and handles fine.
The latter is not least the case because of the coating. The line is a mint green color, but has a shade of a milky, to some extent transparent, look to it. It feels a bit too smooth at first, and shoots really well, but handles very nicely.
I do not remember it slipping once during the three to four trips where I have used it - a thing that occurs from time to time with my usual braided shooting line. Handling is very important for good results when fishing in the winter. Cold fingers and a poorly handling line is a very bad combination.
The line scores as good as the best line I have in that respect, a Scientific Anglers Ultra 3. The SA line just goes stiff in cold weather.
Monic uses a different technology in the coating, where a polymer material without plasticizer is used in comparison to most other coating that utilize this component, which is known to disappear over a number of years leaving stiffness and cracks as a result. According to Monic this means a longer lasting line, that will not crack after a couple of year. Naturally I have not been able to confirm this during my few trips, but the line seems to be quite abrasive resistant. As it sinks, it will lie on the bottom between rocks and sea weed during fishing. Even so, I cannot feel any marks in the line, which has been in more or less constant contact with the bottom during my use of it.
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Sinking and soft
My only two negative experiences with the Monic line are that it sinks and that the coating is very soft. Both things are not surprising. Being an intermediate line means being heavier than water. A heavy line is a problem, when you, like me, usually let your loose line drop on the water while wade fishing. A floater would serve me better.
Secondly the really soft coating has taken me by surprise a couple of times. Upon tying on a leader with a nailless nail knot (as recommended by Monic), I drew the coating clear off the line a couple of times. An Albright Knot did the trick. A loop made out of the core of the line would have done the same, as would a loop on a braided sleeve.
Neither of these drawbacks can be blamed on the line. They are both part of what makes it what it is.
My only other comment is on the price. 55 US dollars is a lot of money. Monic in not the only manufacturer to make lines in that price range, and not nearly the most expensive, but still... ouch!
Anyway Monic people, thumbs up for an excellent line for us cold water people!
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