Leland on the RIO Bonefish Fly Line:
To a saltwater fly angler one of the most exciting sights is a bonefish tail waving in less than a foot of water. To a saltwater angler there is no worse feeling than trying to cast to that tailing bonefish and have your fly line tangle. That is where the RIO Bonefish fly line comes into play. Complete with the latest RIO fly line technologies XS and Agent X plus a new saltwater coating over a medium stiff core, this new bonefish fly line for 2009 won’t tangle, won’t melt in the tropical sun, will float higher and will zip through the guides easier. Designed for loop control and long casts the RIO Bonefish line makes life on the flats so much easier. Regardless if you use it in Ascension Bay, MX or Christmas Island, the RIO Bonefish fly line won’t let you down.
Leland on the Specifications
Casting into a stiff tropical breeze is tough in its self. The RIO Bonefish fly line provides all the technologies to make your casting life easier. The saltwater coating with a medium stiff core gives the fly line a relaxed feel along with the stiffness needed to combat warm water conditions. So it handles the conditions and it feels good on your fingers. The XS technology gives it the slickness for increased distance and abrasion resistance while Agent X provides unparalleled buoyancy for easy pickup. The gradual taper of the head allows for a smooth turnover and the increased back taper length provides stability over longer distances. The two tone color scheme provides a quick reference for the loading point of the fly line. Increased distances, high float, and smooth to the touch, the RIO Bonefish Fly Line.
Specifications:
- Fly Line Density: Floating
- Fly line Coating: Saltwater
- Fly Line Taper: Special tuned, line-weight-specific Weight Forward with welded front and back loop
- Total Head Length: 49'6" including a 11'6" back taper
- Running Line Length: 50'6"
- Total Fly Line Length: 100 feet
- Core: Medium stiff warm water specific
- Line Weights: 6 through 9 weight
- Color: Two tone Sand head and Blue running line
RIO on the Bonefish Fly Line
"RIO’s new bonefish fly line features a unique taper design that allows a rod to load at close range, a medium-length front taper for great turnover and a long back taper to smooth out the casting loop and keep the line stable on long shots. A hard, saltwater coating over a medium stiff core results in a fly line that will not wilt in most tropical conditions, while RIO's XS Technology keeps the line slick for fast, long casts. The line also features an AgentX under coat that produces a line that floats higher than competitors’ lines, is easier to pick up off the water, and unlike competing products the running line will not sink and tangle while wading. The head is incredibly easy to see in all light conditions, while the contrasting color of the running line makes it easy to find the line's perfect loading point. Includes a welded loop at both ends for easy rigging.'
Rio on AgentX and XS Technology:
"AgentX is a manufacturing process in which two coatings are applied to the fly line at the same time. As a result of these coatings being produced simultaneously, they fuse together in what RIO calls "Fusion Technology," forming a seamless single coating that will never separate or break down. The advantages of Fusion Technology are vast. The "under coating" not only seals the core and covers any blemishes in the braid; it also adds a super low-density proprietary coating. This under coating fuses to the outer coating, resulting in the smoothest, slickest, highest floating fly lines ever made. The combination of these processes ensures that the outer coating is perfectly centered around the core and allows for greater durability, less dirt pick up and longer casts.
To accomplish this, RIO developed a radically new chemical that gives a floating fly line a specific gravity as low as 0.65 - something unattainable with normal microspheres. This new chemical is five times lighter than the standard microspheres used in fly line manufacturing, but with much increased durability. By making the under coating with this new super floating material and the outer coating with lesser amounts of abrasive microspheres, the result is a fly line that has both a much higher buoyancy (around 0.70 specific gravity) than competitors' fly lines (normally 0.85 to 0.90 specific gravity) and the extreme durability for which RIO fly lines are known.
AgentX is the future of fly line manufacturing. The buoyancy as well as unbelievable smoothness and slickness that result from this fusion of coatings make the use of standard microspheres and 'one coat' fly lines prehistoric. Have a great year of fishing - All of us at RIO will keep on working to make your favorite sport even more fun!
XS (Extreme Slickness) Technology all began when RIO’s Labcoats began reformulating conventional chemical compounds and material combinations. Although RIO’s formulas continually exceed all others, our scientists are fly fisherpeople, and by definition they want an even slicker fly line, it’s just part of the deal. So first, they tackled the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coating and through intense scrutiny down to the polymeric mix level, (say that 10 times fast) they defined some fundamental limitations. Out went the old PVC / silicone formula combinations and by methodically adding a little more of this, and a little less of that, the Labcoats cooked up a completely new and improved recipe.
Next, using the “excuse” of R&D, they took the lines out and tested them in the harshest (and the best) conditions they could find. They took the experience and some notes, went back to the lab to twiddle a couple of knobs and perfect a couple of proportions. Then (surprise) it was back out for more fishing. Finally, sunburned and fished out, the RIO Labcoats had what they felt to be the
perfect polymeric partnership, the most polished fly lines ever developed.
How do we know? We measured them.
Instron is an American company that makes ultra-precise measuring instruments for all sorts of industrial applications. These instruments can poke things, prod, freeze, bake, drown, twist, pull, electrify stuff, and take measurements, and we have our very own. They can measure how hard materials are, how they flex, bend, shear, but most importantly for you and us – we’ve developed an infallible and micro-accurate way for it to test friction and tensile strength. This is one of the methods RIO uses to test the slickness of fly lines—the most precise, duplicatable, and consistent measurements being made in the industry. So, naturally we were more than a little curious to evaluate our new XS Technology fly lines on our Instron. Well, quite simply, the line maxed out our machine. That’s right, the line was so smooth, had so little friction, that it actually registered off the scale - if Instron’s rating was 1-10 this line topped out well past ‘10’.
With our new XS Technology, RIO has developed a fly line that is slicker, more stable, and far less apt to attract dirt, and paired with our AgentX Technology, it engineers a line that is far less dense. These new fly lines with XS Technology cast further and more accurately, float higher, last longer, and offer more consistent performance cast after cast, strike after strike, fish after fish. Try one and feel the difference.
As for the good folks at Instron, The Labcoats have asked them to build us another machine. One that goes to ‘11’."
