Tackle review - Barrio SLX

It's not often I get the chance to write about new tackle. Mainly because I don't really renew or replace anything too often. When I do replace something, it is because I have to and this is very much the case with my latest fly line.

Before I really begin, I am no way connected or affiliated to Mike Barrio or the Barrio fly lines business.

So, why is it necessary for me to replace my current line? 

My fly lines take a lot of abuse. Doing the bulk of my fishing in low water conditions with shooting heads, the running line takes a hammering on the rocks and stones. The number of times on each visit to the river that I go to cast only to find the line wrapped around a rock on the rocky beds that save me from wading, or to find that I'm standing on the line on top of the rocks. The lines start to get rough very quickly.

My running lines take a battering on the rocks in low water conditions

My entire fishing time now is spent with my old Zpey Real Steel, 11', switch rod. It is rated on the trout scale for head weights of between 15-19g. It covers all the fishing I need it to on my river Faughan. 

I use an 18g Zpey Unique II floating head and have it attached to a Rio Gripshooter running line. I find it's a combination that works very well for me. 

The head itself is in great condition but the running line has basically had it. The coated section is very rough at best with many cracks starting to appear in it. I'd hoped it would do this season but it seems to be getting worse and worse with every visit. 

My old line had definitely seen better days

I started looking online for a new running line. Rio Gripshooters were starting at £45. There were others makes and types available but I couldn't make my mind up on one. 

I've grown 'used' to the joint of the running line and shooting head clunking through the rod rings. I say used but I've never really been happy with it. 

There are a couple of places where I fish that require a short, square, cast. This certainly means having part of the head still within the rod and this is where I really do not like the 'clunking' through the rings. Perhaps I would go back to a full line again? But which one?

I had bought a line from Mike Barrio in the past when I first got the switch rod. I'd bought one his Switch lines but I could never get on with it. I always felt it was too heavy for the rod. At the time, I was quite new to shooting heads and switch rods were a bit of a mystery to me. The rod was rated as a #7 so I bought a 7/8 switch line. I now realise that this was based on the salmon scale so was definitely too heavy for the rod. I'm lucky I hadn't broken the rod. 

I went onto the Barrio site online to look at what lines he had on offer. Looking at the switch lines again. The lightest switch line was the 4/5 with a head weight of 19.5 grams. Slightly heavier than what I was used to. I then saw the Barrio SLX range of lines. The WF8F had a head weight of 17.5g and is designed for single hand spey casting. This could be right up my street. 

I ordered the line along with a Roman Moser leader loop for £31.50 with free postage. 

The order was placed at 12:33pm on Thursday according to my email receipt. I was out on the Friday morning and when I got home again before midday, the parcel was already through the door. The line had been posted using the Royal Mail 24 hour delivery service. What great service!

That evening, I loaded the new line onto my reel. The reel felt slightly heavier but that shouldn't be a problem.  I put a leader directly onto the leader loop and headed off to the river.

I really wasn't intending on trying anything drastic with the new line. I just wanted something that I could use and not really have to think about. 

I arrived at my first pool of the evening. My approach to this pool is to cast almost square at the neck and then lengthen out and cast more towards 45 degrees as I work my way down. Casting overhead, single handed to begin with then more waterborne casts as I go on. 

The very first cast wasn't all that great but that was my fault as much as anything. Second attempt went much better. What I noticed then was the noise generated when pulling line back through the rod rings. It was like a 'swooshy' squeaking sound. I thought I'd never get used to that. 

I had started off casting right hand, overhead, single handed. As I moved round, it became necessary to switch to the left hand. I had to move my hand slightly down the handle towards the reel as the reel still felt slightly heavier but once again, it didn't seem to be a problem. 

I would be much stronger doing single handed spey casts with my right hand than my left so I wasn't too bothered about the performance of those casts with my left hand.

When I reach the tail of the pool. I like to cover a wee spot that is slightly further away than the rest. I have always covered this with a double handed spey cast. 

So, left hand up, the double handed cast sailed through the air and landed as nice and delicately as I could of wished. I did give an audible "oooohhhh" as the line and fly kissed the water. 

I then moved onto the next pool. Same thing here. Starting off with a short line in the neck, usually single handed using the left hand and lengthening as you go. 

I really could not have asked the line to perform any better. 

I do a lot of my fishing using polyleaders. As yet I hadn't tried one. A rummage around the various pockets of my old, worn out, beat up, camo body warmer produced an intermediate poly. I attached the polyleader to the Roman Moser leader loop and attached the 12ft fluorocarbon leader to that. I could not believe the difference it made again to this lovely line.  The fluoro leader was turning over much nicer and it just seemed like cherry on top of the cake. 

It is not all that often that I fish with weighted tubes but I felt that was the only area I hadn't tried. So, I sat down on the bank and tied on a small Red Francis fly that was tied on a brass bottle tube.

Usually when I did try to fish these types of flies, it was very much a case of 'chuck and duck'. The line would come through first with a bottle tube fly and double coming behind it erratically. You had to duck in case you got the fly in the back of the head. 

Usually I would shorten the leader when using these types of flies but I just could not be bothered. I removed the small double from the leader and tied on the tube fly in its place.

It was the first time I've ever felt in control of these types of flies. My accuracy was not as good but this was more to do with leader length, and my own poor casting, than anything else. 

One thing I did struggle a bit with was distinguishing between the head and the rest of the line. When retrieving line, in the light I was fishing in that evening, it was quite difficult to distinguish between the whiter coloured main line and the pale olive head of the line. This isn't really a major problem and a permanent marker will be used at some point to put a mark on the main line when the head is a few inches from the tip of the rod. Not that casting with a few feet of the head within the rod rings is any problem whatsoever. 

I've had the Barrio SLX on the rod for over a week now. I am more than happy. That noise I mentioned earlier in the post did seem to quieten as the first evening went on. Perhaps it was just because it was new. A week later I don't think I notice a noise from the line at all.

Everything I've done so far has been with small flies in low water conditions.  As I type this, there are a few heavy, thundery, downpours happening with more rain being forecast later in the week.  I am looking forward to getting the chance to really cast this line and seeing how it swings.

So, anyone with a light switch rod based on the trout scale of line ratings could do well to look into these lines. The WF8F seems to suit me and what I have been used to. Perhaps the #7 would be a better line if all I wanted to do was single handed casting but this 8 weight line allows me to cast double handed too just as I was used to with my old setup. 

I'll state it again. I have no connection or interest in Mick Barrio or his business. I'm just an angler on the lookout for a new line and it would appear I've found exactly what I'm looking for.