Rio AFS

[Chris C Crane]

Jan 3, 2008 6:40:05 GMT -5 Nick Pionessa said:

i have those afs lines to demo as well, but i don't like them. the taper is long and fine at the front and does not turn over well with any amount of weight up front. it feels just like a WC to me and i'm seriously disapointed in them. the scandi head from airflo is about the same length and will turn over any polyleader. or the same from guideline. i hate to sound all down on Rio, but this is my truthful opinion and the more lines i try from other manufacturers, the less i like rio spey lines anymore. if you want to try one and give us a review of what you think i would be happy to loan you one. the original rio outbound is a better line for our area imo. same length but with a much more agressive taper up front it will turn over well with anything from a intermediate poly leader to 15' of t-14. if you look at the tapers shown the difference is obvious.

So I'm still playing around with this line. Agree with Nick's assessment that it can be a challenge chuck'n anything with some serious weight to it, However, so far this summer it has been a fun line to fish streamers for bass.
After overcoming my own casting deficiencies ie. line management, I find that I can cast this line as effectively as the Mid-Speys that I've grown to love.
Probably not a great steelhead line for getting down to the fish, but it is lot's of fun for bass.

BTW- Here's the summer bass spey rig

13' maxima 8lb 'green'
Rio AFS Outboud 7/8
Loop 'yellow' 12'4 8wt
Albright GPX 9/11 reel

Two months until Steelhead.

[Nick Pionessa]

i have found that the afs 7/8 is a dream match up with the DH echo 7130. one of the best fit combo's i've had the pleasure of casting. it's smooth taper goes very well with the traditional action of the decho where i find the airflo scandi head to be a much better match to the faster T&T's. it is a shame the thing won't throw tips much but as you say for floating line stuff it's killer. in correspondance with Simon from Rio he says the lines will throw poly leaders if you stick to the 10' with lines up to the 7/8 and 14' with the heavier ones. all i can say is that he is clearly a way better caster than me!!