Reparing a nicked fly line

Broken coating

Martin Joergensen

Ever so often a line will hit a rock or stone and get a small bruise or even a large nick.
This will not only weaken the line in that spot, but make it susceptible to further damage and to water entering the kernel.

If the core is undamaged or only slightly marked, the line can be repaired with a bit of Aquaseal or a similar substance.
If the line is very dirty or has been greased with a line speed liquid, clean it carefully with a rag or paper tissue moistened with bit of acetone. Notice that the acetone will dissolve most coatings, which you do not want, so be really, really careful!

Mix a bit of the glue (Aquaseal) with some accelerator (Kutol) and apply a very small amount just into the hole. It is very important not to overfill the hole, and make sure that the Aquaseal is flush with the coating of the line.
As the Aquaseal sets, smooth it with a moist finger to get it absolutely even with the existing surface. Add the glue in a couple of turns if the damage is severe. Rotate the line and inspect the glue while it is setting. Do not leave the line unattended until the glue has set so much that it will not sag.

Set the line to dry under tension horizontally between to chairs or similar, and leave to dry until the next day.
If the damage is severe, and stretches over more than 2-3 millimeters, you might consider cutting the section out and splicing the two sections together, removing the coating, and adding Aquaseal after the splicing has been done. This is not elegant, but a lot less expensive than buying a new line!
A line that cannot be repaired in this way, might be converted to a shooting head or saved for some other use. Do not throw those valuable meters of fly line out!