Rio’s Creek line

If you fish in small streams, you'll want this line.

Fishing in small streams puts a premium on casting short distance. Anything that makes short casts easier is worth looking into. Rio’s Creek line does what it’s designed to do.

My small stream graphite rods have been gathering dust.

In a previous article I mentioned Rio’s Creek line. Yesterday I gave it a workout after buying one. I’ve gotten used to the feel of my bamboo and tenkara rods. Both are slow action, and my casting stroke has evolved to suit them.

I pulled my Winston Boron IIt out of the closet for this trip. I’ve always felt it was a little faster than I like and thought it would be a good rod to see if the line earned its reputation.

The Creek line loaded the rod smoothly and easily, evoking that slower action feel that I’m accustomed to. In four hours of fishing, I never felt the need to focus on the rod or the cast. Making all the casts usually made in a small stream, it effectively handled dries, dry-dropper and small streamers.

Next trip I will run it on my Scott G2 3 weight and see how it does.

More details:

• Rod: 7’6”, 3 weight Winston Boron IIt, boron/graphite composite rod.

• Line: Rio Creek

• Leader: 7’6” 5x Rio Suppleflex

• Flies: Size 14, 16 Parachute BWO or Adams with comparable size hare’s ear or guides choice nymph droppers.

• Line specs:

Deeper Dive: Rio’s Simon Gawesworth explains

Bottom line: Gawesworth is not wrong when he says it’s a fabulous line for 15-20 foot casts. It really is. If you aren’t using this line for mountain streams or where short casts are the rule, you are missing out.