James Beeson spends some time with the RIO In Touch LT fly line, does he like it?
The push of current presses your waders against your shins. The stream bed is lit in patches by sunlight filtered through a canopy of leaves overhead. It is mottled grey and brown with stones and gravel. A boulder deflects the flow, creating a slack pocket of water twenty feet upstream of where you are standing. A trout is rising steadily, picking off the insects the river brings. You bring the rod tip slowly back, arm raised to create the d-loop that will load the rod. On the forward stroke the RIO In Touch Trout LT unrolls, turning over the leader and landing the fly softly in the seam of current. It hangs there for a fraction of a second, begins to drift, and disappears in a swirl. At least that’s the idea.
The In Touch Trout LT WF#5 is part of a new range of lines from RIO designed specifically with trout in mind. I took it out for a test drive paired with a Sage ZXL 8’6”.
Out of the box you can tell straight away that this is a high quality line. A lot of thought has gone into the taper and marked colour changes that will help to measure distance and tell you which section of the line you have outside the rod tip. It feels slick in the hand owing to the AgentX Coating. This coating ensures the line slides through the guides well, peels off smoothly from the water surface, resists the accumulation of dirt which can cause a line to sink, and helps to prevent memory. It’s also stamped with ‘In Touch Trout LT WF5F’ on the tip so you can’t lose track of which line you’ve got on what reel.
Beneath the special coating is the ConnectCore. This is made from braided monofilament and is designed to make the line ultra-low stretch. A line that doesn’t stretch will have improved hooking qualities because you are better connected to the fish. It is also suggested to mend more responsively and help with cast timing because there’s less in the way of delay or energy loss.
The line comes with welded loops front and back which makes attaching it to your backing and leaders easy. This is a line that should last a long time as well as be a pleasure to fish with. The long life span of RIO lines is an important thing to consider when working with a budget (how I long for the day I can spend money on gear without a budget). The best rod in the world won’t cast a bad line well so it’s always worth getting a decent line. I used a few value lines in the early days of my fly fishing life and deeply regret all the frustration I caused myself by doing so.
The LT is not what you might expect from a weight forward line. A standard WF line would normally have a thick front section which tapers aggressively and a long section of running line. This is great for shooting line but not so good for soft landings. The difference with the LT is that the front part of the head (coloured beige) has a gentle taper, the majority of the line’s weight, its body, is in the back section of the head (coloured dark grey). Then you have the running line (coloured green, or sage if you prefer).
What all that does for you is allow you to present flies such as dries, emergers, and unweighted nymphs with more delicacy than other WF lines. It should also turnover the leader smoothly and softly, avoiding the disturbance a heavy front taper can make on landing. Having the ‘junk in the trunk’ should also mean the line mends well on the water as you aren’t trying to shift a heavy front section. It should also load the rod well when roll casting as there will be plenty of weight in the D-loop, and that in turn opens up a whole range of Spey casts as well.
In assessing the credentials of the LT I wanted to put it through a variety of different situations with a bias on river fishing (because that’s what it’s intended for and that’s what I like to do). I took the line out on the West Dart and Teign where there are plenty of different water types from deep pools and fast runs to smaller pocket water. The first thing to note is that the front taper turns over a long leader very well. This was useful to me in presenting dry flies in the calmer sections where the trout are more easily spooked.
Conflicting flows are a fact of life on moorland streams so if you want a drag free presentation mending is essential. All flies will drag in the end of course, but a few precious seconds of natural drift is usually enough to bring up a hungry trout, if there is one in situ. I found the LT did mend well as promised, whether it was better than other lines I’ve used I’m really not sure because I don’t know how you would go about measuring that.
What it does do noticeably better than any of my other lines is roll cast. When working up a foam line or stepping upstream on the tree-lined Teign I found myself instinctively roll casting because the rear weight bias makes it smooth and natural. I generally use a roll pick-up when fishing duo or NZ style and with the LT it was easy to eliminate the pick-up part and just put the flies where I wanted them on the roll. That means my flies are spending a fraction less time in the air with each cast which reduces the chances of spooking fish by a similar fraction.
Nymphing in the faster stuff was straightforward with unweighted flies. I like to use a brightly coloured furled leader for this as it helps me detect takes and the LT cast that just as well as a more usual tapered copolymer leader. It did struggle with a heavier nymph, which is entirely reasonable given it’s not really meant for fishing heavy nymphs. That said, by opening up the loops and casting with an oval stroke I was still able to fish - which is plenty good enough for me given I prefer to fish on the surface whenever possible.
On the way back from the river I had the idea of stopping at a local reservoir. It holds a modest number of wild browns and sees a nice hatch of Hawthorns at this time of year. The only problem from the fly angler’s point of view are the steep banks that make getting any kind of overhead cast out quite tricky. Given the LT’s ability to roll cast I had a feeling it would jump roll and circle Spey well too, which it did. By using the circle Spey in particular I was able to get a good distance out into the chop with my hawthorn imitation and pick up fish that are usually much harder to reach.
Overall I was impressed with the how well the LT turns over a long leader, how it casts at short range, how well it mends, and how it roll casts. I would say that the LT takes a little getting used to with overhead casting if you’re accustomed to standard WF or DT lines so it’s worth having a go on the lawn or in the park before taking it out on the water. This is an excellent line if you like to fish on, in, or just under the surface where delicate presentations and long leaders can make all the difference. It’s also perfect for close range, tight quarters fishing where mending is essential and space is at a premium.
The In Touch Trout LT series of lines from RIO comes in both DT (double taper) and WF (weight forward) varieties with a range of sizes in each. You can get one from Guide Fly Fishing and it will cost you £69.99
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