International Fly Fisher

Season Edition

Building Your Own Leaders

Dying Fly Lines

Dying CDC Feathers

Adding Removable Studs To Your Felt Soles

Secret Dry Fly Floatant From Argentina

Midges In The Snow

Death Of A Spring Creek

12 Pound Rainbows In The Shadow Of Glaciers

Destination England

Hooking Large Rainbows At 6 Degrees

Catching Atlantic Salmon On Dry Damsels

In View Of Bacon Ridge

Casting With Wolves

The Ghost Of Old Faithful Inn

Summer On The Test And Anton

Dying Fly Lines

Bob Kloskowski

When fly fishing Spring Creeks or Meadow Creeks where the water is slow and the trout are large and seemly well educated you need to take advantage of every opportunity to be successful in your quest. Many fly fishermen believe that the bright color of some fly lines sold by manufacturers today actually have a tendency to scare selective trout on many of our heavily fished trout streams. The answer is to dye your fly line to a more subdued color such as an olive or dark brown. A color that will reduce the possibility of reflecting light.

The dying process is easy and simple if you take your time and assemble the following prior to attempting the procedure of dying your fly line.

A 1 gallon pot or old large 3 pound coffee can.

A dark color (black, brown or golden yellow) Liquid Rit dye or Powdered Rit Dye. The liquid dye is sold in 235 ml bottles. Other brands of fabric dye should work OK if you are unable to obtain the Rit brand. Be sure to get the type intended for use in hot water. Don't use a dye which says it can be used in cold water. Experience has shown that those dyes will not be retained by the line.

A one gallon container filled with cold water or an old 3 pound coffee can.

A wooden spoon or dowel to stir the liquid dye.

Procedure:

It’s important to completely clean the flyline with a mild soap and water before the dying process begins.

The water needs to be really hot to fully dissolve the dye. I use boiling water. Once the water has boiled add about a teaspoon of RIT and stir until the dye is dissolved.

Take the water off of the stove. It will come off the boil and start to cool very quickly. It’s usually not necessary to dye more than the first 30 feet of your flyline. Coil that amount up into 5 inch diameter rolls. Place the coiled rolls of flyline into the container of hot dye. It is important to keep stirring the line in the water. Start examining the line for proper shade (light to dark). at about 30 seconds. The length of time that the line is in the water depends on the amount of dye in solution and the original color of the fly line. It’s always better to pull the line out too soon and end up with the line not dark enough than a line that is too dark. If you are unhappy with a light color of the line you can always drop it in the liquid again to darken it.

After removing the coiled fly line from the dye solution it’s important to immediately dip the dyed line in cold water to set the color in your line and to stop the dying process.

When dry, give the line at least two treatments with a line cleaning agent. Because the amount of time that the line is submerged in hot water is minimal the damage to the plasticisers within the line is also minimal.

I believe that you will enjoy the effectiveness of your new fly line color.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from Bob Kloskowski.

Copyright @ 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 by Bob Kloskowski


	Season Edition
Building Your Own Leaders Dying Fly Lines Dying CDC Feathers Adding Removable Studs To Your Felt Soles Secret Dry Fly Floatant From Argentina Midges In The Snow Death Of A Spring Creek 12 Pound Rainbows In The Shadow Of Glaciers Destination England Hooking Large Rainbows At 6 Degrees Catching Atlantic Salmon On Dry Damsels In View Of Bacon Ridge Casting With Wolves The Ghost Of Old Faithful Inn Summer On The Test And Anton		Dying Fly Lines Bob Kloskowski When fly fishing Spring Creeks or Meadow Creeks where the water is slow and the trout are large and seemly well educated you need to take advantage of every opportunity to be successful in your quest. Many fly fishermen believe that the bright color of some fly lines sold by manufacturers today actually have a tendency to scare selective trout on many of our heavily fished trout streams. The answer is to dye your fly line to a more subdued color such as an olive or dark brown. A color that will reduce the possibility of reflecting light. The dying process is easy and simple if you take your time and assemble the following prior to attempting the procedure of dying your fly line. A 1 gallon pot or old large 3 pound coffee can. A dark color (black, brown or golden yellow) Liquid Rit dye or Powdered Rit Dye. The liquid dye is sold in 235 ml bottles. Other brands of fabric dye should work OK if you are unable to obtain the Rit brand. Be sure to get the type intended for use in hot water. Don't use a dye which says it can be used in cold water. Experience has shown that those dyes will not be retained by the line. A one gallon container filled with cold water or an old 3 pound coffee can. A wooden spoon or dowel to stir the liquid dye. Procedure: It’s important to completely clean the flyline with a mild soap and water before the dying process begins. The water needs to be really hot to fully dissolve the dye. I use boiling water. Once the water has boiled add about a teaspoon of RIT and stir until the dye is dissolved. Take the water off of the stove. It will come off the boil and start to cool very quickly. It’s usually not necessary to dye more than the first 30 feet of your flyline. Coil that amount up into 5 inch diameter rolls. Place the coiled rolls of flyline into the container of hot dye. It is important to keep stirring the line in the water. Start examining the line for proper shade (light to dark). at about 30 seconds. The length of time that the line is in the water depends on the amount of dye in solution and the original color of the fly line. It’s always better to pull the line out too soon and end up with the line not dark enough than a line that is too dark. If you are unhappy with a light color of the line you can always drop it in the liquid again to darken it. After removing the coiled fly line from the dye solution it’s important to immediately dip the dyed line in cold water to set the color in your line and to stop the dying process. When dry, give the line at least two treatments with a line cleaning agent. Because the amount of time that the line is submerged in hot water is minimal the damage to the plasticisers within the line is also minimal. I believe that you will enjoy the effectiveness of your new fly line color. All Rights Reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from Bob Kloskowski.
	Copyright @ 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 by Bob Kloskowski