SA Mastery Streamer Express

[MikeA]

Jim Mauries at Fly South loaned me a Scientific Angler Mastery Streamer Express 250-grain integrated fly line to try out and see how I liked it. I tried it out side by side with my Orvis Depth Charge at Priest Sat and felt obliged to post the results (eat my words…).

When I removed it from the box it didn’t feel as solid as my Orvis and I noticed it had a mono core. Hmm, I can see right now I’m not going like this stuff I told a buddy. I’m pretty loyal to the Orvis DC line.

I strung it up on my new Cabelas FT 11’ 6wt just to see how the rod performed with 250 more then anything (it was sweeet btw). I striped out most of the running line and started casting. The intermediate running line has a smaller dia. then the Orvis, that’s kind of nice. I immediately noticed how slick this stuff is as it slid in and out of the guides on the false casts. Then when I let it go it took off like it’d been fired out of a gun pulling most of the running line off the boat floor. It stretched all the way out and flipped the tippet over laying my fly at the end of the cast. Ok it has to be the rod I thought so I put it on my Xi 9’ 7wt and it still performed like a dream. 
The more I fished it the more I liked it. It sinks fast, it’s slicker then owl poo, shoots like no sinking line I’ve ever cast and lays out nice and flat, not as prone to dumping at the end.

I took the reel off the Xi and replaced it with another reel with Orvis DC and the difference was noticeable right away. My buddy even said I was getting further with the other line. It didn’t take me long to go back to the SA and I stayed with it the rest of the trip.

Since it’s a mono core and it was getting cold I was expecting it to coil up in a big nasty ball but it did pretty good. As the weather got colder the line started to stiffen up pretty good and tangles did become a bit of a problem. This is a problem with the Orvis line as well but it’s too soon to say if one is any worse then the other yet.
Another concern I had with Mono core lines is that the outer coating can slip off the mono core more easily then a braided core in IMO. This is easily fixed by using an Albright to connect to the backing and tying and whip finishing a loop on the sinking end (like the welded loops), or just using the Castwell knot if your in a hurry like I was. 

Durability is where the Orvis line shines. You can beat it, drag it, break off 20 pound tippet, stand on it, give it to clients to use, and abuse the hell out of it and it holds up exceptionally well. I have some that has sustained three years of abuse and is still in use. Its to soon to say if the SA can take the abuse that the DC line can but I’m not gonna cut it any slack. It’ll go through the same torture test the Orvis has and we’ll see if it holds up. I think it will.

My initial impression is that this line casts better then the Orvis hands down. It’s slicker and sinks faster (smaller dia.) and just feels better casting then the Orvis. There, I said it.

[Steve H]

Mike, thanks for the report. I still love my DC and have abused it like you as well and it keeps ticking. I will keep this in mind as I look ahead and look forward to more details on your use of the SA.

One question though, how do you measure the slickness of owl poo? 

[toddro]

One question though, how do you measure the slickness of owl poo? 

I do know that owl poo is slicker than hog snot...  I have compared them side-by side 

[Rockyraccoon]

I'll give a strong second on the SA streamer express lines. It seems all sinking lines want to tangle up, but the SA S Express lines seem to be much better about staying untangled.

And the good news is that they will take a beating. Had one on a boat rod for two years and it still performed well after being trampled on, snagged on rocks, wrapped around trees etc.

You'll love it more and more as you use it more often.

[Racer X]

I like the single strand mono (streamer express) better than the multi strand (wet tip express.)  All of my SA lines have been pretty durable except one.  I've had 2 of the 250 grain wet tip express lines and they have been soft.  One broke and the other cut really easy.  I like Airflo for the really heavy stuff (400+.) 

With so much line out of the reel there's going to be a lot of tangles with any sink-tip.  To curtail this problem I clean them often (even while fishing) and keep them stretched.  After a day of long use, it's not a bad idea to run the line out and retie to backing.  Stretching and getting all the twists out.  The more you reel up the twisted line, the more problems you'll have down the road.