Leland on Rio Gold Fly Fishing Line
If you could design the perfect fly line what would be
like? Ours would have the ability to quickly load a fly rod no matter
the action, by having the weight within the first 30-35 feet, it would
have a
long taper for roll casts and long distance casts, and it would
look something like the RIO Gold fly line! With a weight distribution of more 60% within the first 30 feet
the RIO Gold fly line
loads quickly for precise casting and leader
turn-over. The longer taper/head gives this fly line the strength
needed for aerializing a ton of fly line while maintaining control over
mends, traditional roll casts, and even single hand Spey casts.
Utilizing the modern science of XS Technology, Agent X and Super
Floatation Technology the RIO Gold provides a near friction free, high
floating scientifically advanced fly line that is second to none.
Leland on Specifications
Here is comes, if we had to choose one fly line,
it would be … Seriously folks the RIO Gold fly line is a fly line for all
fly fishing conditions. Sure with its extended head length of
47-feet
to 49.5-feet it a great line for medium to medium-fast action fly rods,
distance casting and roll casting but with its unique head weight
distribution this floating fly line can quickly load any fly rod and
easily turn-over longer length leaders. The braided
multifilament core
keeps this line limber in the cool waters of streams and rivers and
when fused with Agent X and through the use of Super Floatation
Technology the RIO Gold floats higher than any fly line available. The
two-tone color is another unique aspect to the RIO Gold; the head is
moss color while the running line is gold. The RIO Gold is a
true all around fly fishing line.
Specifications:
- Line Weights: 3-weight through 8-weight
- Type of Taper: Weight Forward Floating
- Head Length: 47’ to 49.5’
- Total Length: 90-100 ft
- Core: Braided multifilament nylon
- Coating: XS Technology, Agent X and Super Floatation Technologies
- Color: Moss head with Gold running line
Rio on the Gold Fly Fishing Line
"The Ultimate Fly Line With a revolutionary design that
allows for incredible loop stability at distance, a unique taper that
allows a rod to load at close range and a positive front taper that
delivers perfect presentation of flies between sizes #22 and #2, the
RIO Gold is the ultimate all round, floating line for freshwater fly
fishing. The long back taper is excellent for mending and for roll and
spey casting and the running line and head are different colors, making
it easy to find the line’s perfect loading point. The line features
RIO’s new XS Technology™ for an extraordinarily slick, dirt-repelling
coating, in addition to RIO’s AgentX® and Super Floatation Technology™
that ensure the tip and the running line will float high. A welded loop
on the front end of the fly line facilitates changing leaders, though
this can be cut off without compromising the taper."
RIO Gold: All That Glitters
"At
the risk of dating myself, I started on silk fly lines way back when.
Over the years, I’ve tried every new innovation as it’s come along, so
it wasn’t a single incident that led us to the RIO Gold line, it’s more
of an accumulation.
Over time, stalking big rainbows on the
Henry’s Fork, browns on the MO, or coaxing bonefish on Los Roques, all
of this has helped me appreciate and understand fly lines. The taper,
coatings, durability, and floating characteristics of any fly line are
all
second nature here at RIO.
I’ve come to know what
makes a better trout line, and the RIO Gold is it. The RIO Gold taper
design loads modern high performance rods with ease. The taper design
in combination with the supple, ultra slick XS Technology coating,
makes long casts a joy. Yet at close range, the line will turn over
long leaders with pinpoint accuracy. The coating is so slick the line
slips easily through the guides for downstream presentations to wary
trout. The two-tone color provides me with a visual reference to
optimally load my rod. In addition, the RIO Gold also features the high
floating AgentX and SFT Technologies that minimize drag for the perfect
drift. After all
these years, the RIO Gold is now my “go to” trout line."
John Harder
V.P. and COO
RIO on XS Technology
Every fly fisherman is looking for a slicker line.
And for good reason – slicker line means longer casts, more control and
less wear and tear from abrasion and the accumulation of grime. So the
how we came up with the XS Technology® is far more interesting than the
why.
XS (Extreme Slickness) Technology all began when RIO’s
Labcoats began peformulating 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’."
XS Technology:
"I was stuck. On
the far, far side of a shallow bar laid a suspicious shadow — could be
a log, but the more I looked, the more it swayed and it soon became a
very patient, very large pike. Cast after cast, I came up short. I
couldn’t get the boat any closer, so I eased into the water and tried
to wade closer, but the mucky bottom sucked at me like a kid does a
finger full of brownie batter.
There I stood, stuck in the
mud, thinking about how to get more distance... the slicker the
farther, I repeated again and again...then, wiggling my feet, I started
to work on getting out of the muck... and the log twitched into the
reeds.
So, home I went, thinking about distance and smoothness, and how I’m going to explain needing yet another new pair of boots.
Back
at the RIO lab, we’d been formulating some fly lines using very
promising new copolymers and an entirely new topical additive, but we
had yet to actually fish them.
Fortunately, as part of the
development and production team, I can sometimes jump toward the head
of the line for R&D testing.
On the next trip to the bar I
fished a line using the new XS Technology... and armed with that line I
was able to reach the log... didn’t even get my new boots wet."
Marlin Roush
Head of Development and Production
Rio on New Math or AgentX and Super Floatation (SFT)
A Perfect 11
RIO’s New Math
"It’s a pretty simple equation, actually:
We fish ourselves, so we know what works. We’re creative, so we
continually strive to improve every aspect of fly line design. And
we’re scientists, so we have the depth to implement technology and
create the advanced lines we all want to fish.
Added all
together, this unique blend of “Art meets Science meets Good Ol’
Fashioned Experience” has resulted in dozens of industry firsts. For
example, as any self-respecting, fly fishing scientists would do, the
team at RIO has been searching for ways to manufacture even-higher
floating lines for a long time. Our answer? The dynamic duo of AgentX®
and SFT™.
AgentX® -- Traditionally, getting a
line to float has required mixing a bunch of tiny glass balls (cleverly
called microspheres) into the line’s coating. More glass balls equals
higher floating line. But this creates a problem in that it leaves less
room for plastisol (the good stuff that smoothes the surface) and the
microspheres can create
a rougher, microscopically abrasive coating that results in a structurally weaker fly line that can crack.
So,
after years of experimenting with unique compounds and plenty of
on-the-water R&D, the RIO Labcoats in their dust-free rooms,
employed a unique element six times more buoyant than those made by our
competitors. But it took a huge revelation in the manufacturing process
to get that element into play. This revolutionary process is called
“Fusion Technology” (used in all AgentX and SFT lines). By
simultaneously processing this super-buoyant undercoating with an
ultra-smooth outer coating, the results are the smoothest, most
durable, and highest floating fly lines imaginable.
Super Floatation Technology (SFT™) --
And if one coating of AgentX is good, then two coats must be better
(just like those double-stuff cookies). SFT is a manufacturing
technique that allows us to fuse two coatings of AgentX seamlessly, so
the line floats even higher. SFT doesn’t use any regular microspheres
at all, it is a unique, specialized process applied to the front four
feet of the fly line. And true to form, The RIO Labcoats didn’t just
sit around the campfire gloating about how much better our specific
gravity of 0.65 is compared to the 0.88 industry average, but they
continually improved the process and for 2008 the SFT tips are even
smoother than ever. Go try it for yourself and see how productive
fishing with a tip that stays afloat can be.
Welded Loops -- RIO pioneered / originated PVC welded loops,
and with the development of SFT and high floating tips, the loops
eliminate water wicking up the core and sinking the line. These welded
loops also enable you to smoothly and quickly rig the leader to the fly
line. RIO’s VersiLeaders also have these small, neat loops allowing you
to instantly turn your floating line into a sink tip—without the use of
clunky level pieces of sinking line."
RIO on Saving the Silk Worm
Save the Silkworm
"The
RIO team casts to all edges of the globe looking for ways to improve
fly line design and performance. And considering the undeniable
importance of your line in relationship withyour rod, leader, tippet,
target and conditions, there’s little wonder why fly lines have
undergone so many radical changes.
Back in the 1890s, silk was
found to make a great fly line. Pliable, light and relatively durable
(with a lot of proper care), the cocoon of the silk worm beat the heck
out of the horsehair-and-linen lines of the time. This was fantastic
for the fishermen of yesteryear, but from the worm’s perspective, this
discovery was likely viewed a bit differently. Because, you see, the
silk worm doesn’t give up its cocoon without serious sacrifice... We’ll
spare you the details, but during the extraction process, the silk is
gathered only at the cost of the worm’s life.
Here at RIO, we
feel it’s a nice byproduct of our globetrotting quest that some of our
silkworm friends are spared. Another benefit of course, is that you’re
assured RIO develops the world’s finest fly lines using the most
technologically advanced materials
and manufacturing processes known
to man. We hook our lines up to exotic machinery that tests slickness
and we formulate new copolymers to enhance durability. Our advanced
tapers help with greater distance, improved accuracy, and softer
presentations. Proprietary coating technologies create a slick finish
that lets
your line shoot farther and float higher (or sink better).
And with specialized leader and tippet materials for any presentation,
you’ll be pulling more on fish and less on knots.
So, in the
interest of saving a certain mulberry-munching caterpillar, RIO
continues our trek and relentless perfection of fly lines... and it’s a
nice little bonus that we’ll all catch more fish because of it.
Save the silkworm, buy RIO."
