If you haven’t already seen, Scientific Anglers released an exciting new collection of clear fly lines geared towards trout fishing. They have released 6 different models covering 2 tapers. Clear tipped lines come with their benefits and drawbacks. Clear tipped lines give you an unmatched level of stealth, allow you to shorten your leader, give you a wider range to make mistakes, and allow you to fool that finicky fish that you haven’t enticed to eat yet. One drawback historically of clear tipped lines is coiling in cold temperatures. Fortunately, the SA R&D team has done a fantastic job of mitigating this. Prior to launch I took this line to the ice-cold Metolious just to see how it stood up. I was impressed to say the least.
Clear tipped lines have a variety of uses in our own state, most notably on waters with picky fish. Generally, this comes in the form of spring fed systems with crystal clear water and plenty of food. Think Metolious, Fall River, The Wood, Williamson, and other spring fed systems. The Owyhee and Deschutes pump out huge browns year after year, and this line should be on your radar if fooling choosy browns is your forte. If you like to travel, think Silver Creek, The Letort, The Driftless, Armstrongs, Rocky Ford, New Zealand, Italy, etc. These lines also have great potential in the stillwater scene. Those of you who are Crane, Hosmer, Diamond, and East Lake veterans, I’m certain, you can think of where and how this line may benefit you. The Infinity taper also does bump up to an 8 wt so the carp folks should be all ears. Don’t let all of these technicalities turn you away from trying this line for your every day trout needs. After all, the Infinity taper is our shop favorite for general trout fishing, so this line will do everything the standard Infinity does with more stealth.
Review
I personally chose the Magnitude Textured Infinity wf5f with a 10 foot clear tip to test. I fished the line on a Winston Air 2 9′ 5wt and spooled it up on one of the new Ross San Miguels. I fished this line on the Middle Deschutes, the Metolious, the Middle Fork Willamette, and the Upper Umpqua. Casting this line felt very reminiscent of the Infinity taper which it was based off of. I casted everything from small dries, a large salmon fly with a dropper, a nymph rig, and small to medium streamers. The line fooled several browns and bows on the Middle D that were looking up for salmonflies. For this, I fished a shorter leader (3-5 ft) to “kick” over the heavy rig, and the line allowed me extra stealth that I would not normally have with such a short dropper leader. I did worry about coiling on the Metolious, as the line is recommended for use over 50 degrees. There was virtually no coiling to my surprise. I felt very confident laying out large spring caddis in the evening amongst the large naturals ovipositing in the slackwater. The line beautifully turned over a long 9ft Scientific Anglers Absolute Leader with a big caddis on the end affording me 19 feet of stealth for the most discerning of fish.
Casting it next to a standard Textured Infinity I did feel some very slight differences. The standard Textured Infinity “Kicked” a little more. It was marginal, but the standard Infinity turned over larger rigs with slightly more confidence. The drawback of the power is a standard Infinity is much more splashy than the clear tipped version. This is exactly what the folks over at SA had in mind, and aimed to make the clear tipped lines more delicate. So for lining your rods, I’d recommend to stay true to weight. If you know you are only going to be using this for throwing big chubby-dropper setups or you have a very fast rod, I’d recommend bumping up one size. I casted the 5wt Clear Infinity on a Winston Air 2 8’6″ 4wt and an Echo Trout X 9′ 4wt, and the line kicked in a fashion that would make turning over larger rigs at shorter distances easier. For the most part I would urge you to stay true to weight, unless you have a very specific use in mind.
Overall, I am happy with the line. I am extremely impressed with the final product released from SA, and have many other places that I am excited to try it later this month. I also am planning on taking a lighter version of this line to the spring creeks of the Midwest’s driftless area for large picky browns and brookies. This line will excel both at throwing Tricos for the late morning spinner fall, and throwing hoppers and beetles against the bank in the afternoon. I chose the 1o foot tip over the 49 foot head so that I could keep track of my fly more closely. The one thing that takes some getting used to is having a clear tip. I never noticed how much I use the head of my fly line for orienting myself to my fly until I tried out one of these lines. It is not a dealbreaker by any means, but something you will notice and adjust to quickly.
Line Guide
Starting with the line that I fished, the Magnitude Infinity with a 10 foot clear tip, this will be the most popular line by far. This line comes in a textured and smooth version, and comes in weights 3-8. This line is based on Scientific Angler’s most popular and versatile trout taper, the Infinity. Every line in this new collection comes in a Smooth and Textured option, which I will explain below. This line is the most versatile for the angler that fishes many different venues. It can offer you stealth when you need it on a spring creek or alpine lake, but can also give you a little extra help on a small freestone stream in the summer. It would make a fantastic option out of the front of a drift boat on the Mckenzie or Willamette in the summer. The Metolous and Fall are two local spring fed fisheries that anyone can greatly benefit from 10 feet of extra help. If you’re someone who likes to explore new places, this can help give you an upper hand in new fisheries that you don’t have fully dialed yet. Fish this in a 3-4wt on small streams, especially spring fed ones like the Driftless. This line in a 6wt is a dream in Montana or New Zealand for large picky fish. Lastly, the 7-8wt is a fantastic option for carp fanatics.
Next up is the Magnitude Infinity with a 49 foot clear head. This line also comes in a textured and smooth options from weights 3-8. This line offers maximum stealth, and because of that, it limits what you can do with it. For smaller, more intimate spring fed systems a line like this would be great. You can track your fly easily, and you generally will not shoot past your clear head. On a high lake where stealth is key, this is another fantastic application for this line. The water is clear, fish move slow, and they have all day to look at your fly, leader, and line; this is exactly where an ultra technical line like this can benefit you. The turbulent, fast water of the Upper Mckenzie makes for fast paced, technical fishing where you need to shoot your fly in the zone and you only have one shot. A line like this would be a disadvantage, because whether you like it or not, you do use the head of your fly line to orient yourself to your fly. In high energy situations like this, the full clear head would hold you back and you’d constantly be losing your fly. If you are on a guided trip, your guide will also have a hard time seeing where your line is. This isn’t to say this is not a fantastic line, it just has more niche uses than the 10 foot tip.
The next two lines have a different taper than the Infinity, and are more closely based on Scientific Angler’s Trout taper. The taper of the Magnitude Trout Expert Clear Tip is more mellowed out compared to the Infinity and really focuses on a delicate presentation of a dry fly. This line comes in a smooth and textured option, comes in weights 4-6, and only comes with a 10 foot clear tip. This more narrow range of weights really highlights this line’s dedication to technical trout fishing. This is the type of line for the dry fly purist who loves nothing more than challenging themselves with the demanding trout that make spring fed creeks their home. This line would also make a fantastic paring with more medium action rods that are geared to dry flies specifically. Glass aficionados will love how this feels on their new or old fiberglass rods. This is the type of line that you do not rush to cast, and is a game of finesse. This line has its place on the many legendary spring creeks all over the country. Within our home state, this is really geared to the Upper Metolious, the Fall River, The Wood River, the Williamson, and fishing dries on the Owyhee. This line would also excel on any of our high lakes sight casting at fish cruising the shallows, sipping bugs. If you like the feel of a more “old school” taper, or like to fish more medium action rods, this would be the line for you.
A quick note on textured vs smooth lines for all of you wondering. Smooth lines refer to the standard finish that you feel on most fly lines. In contrast, textured lines are dimpled at a microscopic level. These lines are generally more expensive, but have superior shooting capabilities. They also float higher in the surface film making picking the line up, and mending easier. For these reasons I personally only fish textured lines. They do make more noise than a smooth line, but it is something you can get used to. In fact, when I use a smooth line I like the textured noises so much, I feel like something’s missing. If you are a wade angler, the textured lines are also superior due to their ability to seamlessly feed line downstream. Places where downstream presentations are paramount will benefit from a textured line whether you are in a boat or on foot.
If you have any questions about these lines feel free to contact the shop by phone (541) 342-7005, Email: Support@caddisflyshop.com, or message us on Instagram @caddisflyshop. We are happy to answer any questions for you, and help you get the right clear tipped line for the type of fishing you do. We are pumped these lines came just in time for the turn of the season, and are excited to see what everyone does with them this summer. Have fun out there.
-Simon
