Scientific Anglers Sharkskin
Fly Fishing Line Review

The Next Generation of Fly Line Performance

Scientific Anglers Sharkskin Fly Fishing Line
Ultimate Trout Taper

Specifications
• Fly Line Density: Floating
• Fly Line Taper: Long belly, weight forward with welded front loop
• Total Head Length: 51 feet (for 5 weight line - varies by line weight)
• Running Line Length: 49 feet (for 5 weight line- varies by line weight)
• Total Line Length: 100 feet
• Core: Braided multifilament for cold water use
• Coating: Sharkskin Micro-textured surface on 3M PVC
• Line Weights: 3 through 8 weight
• Colors: Blue Heron (gray) or Chartreuse

What’s the word?

Fly Fishing, as popular as it may seem from its prominence in television ads, is still a very, very tiny industry. The total money spent on our several hundred year old art form pales in comparison to even recent phenomena like Pilates, for example.

Yet, because fly fishing holds a fascination for a dedicated following, there are intelligent people in our world who devote themselves to finding ways to improve the fly fishing tackle that we all use. Almost all of these improvements are small ones. As manufacturers learn technologies from one another, product categories are slowly refined; Rods get lighter, faster, and more powerful. Reels become smoother, more rigid, with better drag performance. But rarely does a piece of new equipment come along with multiple attributes that clearly sets it apart from others.
 
Well, that’s just what’s happened with the introduction of the new Scientific Anglers Sharkskin Fly Fishing Line. And I’m going to tell you why you’ll probably want to spend $100 to get a Sharkskin, if you can find one. Even if you’ve just bought a new fly line.

Features

The new Scientific Anglers Sharkskin Floating Fly Line features a remarkable, patented micro-replication embossed surface that greatly improves overall fly line performance in virtually every category; higher flotation, less friction, less line flash, less line spray, less line coil and, purportedly, greater durability. The result is enhanced fishing performance with increased casting distance, easier mending, easier line pick up, greater stealth and better drifts.

• Patented, micro-textured fly line surface greatly enhances overall fly line performance
• Superior shoot-ability with greatly reduced friction through the guides for easier casting and greater distance
• Higher flotation reduces drag and greatly increases line mend-ability
• Greater pliability significantly reduces fly line drag component in moving water
• Fly line surface sheds water more effectively – less line spray
• Line is purported by manufacturer to be up to 3 times more durable than other fly lines.
• Textured surface eliminates line glare or flash—more stealth
• Line lifts off water and roll casts with ease

Enter the Shark

The Sharkskin Fly Line made its official debut at the recent 2008 American Fly Fishing Trade Association Show in Denver, CO, where retailers gather every year to see the new gear and decide on their inventory for the following season. Of all the new products, the conversational buzz I most often overheard in the aisles was, “Have you cast the new Sharkskin Line from S.A.!?”, or, “It makes a lot of noise when you haul, but I’ve never cast that far!”, or, “I swear it was floating above the water!” I didn’t get to cast one at the Show ponds; I was too busy trying to see all the other new stuff, and besides, I’d heard sales hype so often in the past that my expectations, honestly, weren’t that great. But I was handed a new Sharkskin line at the Scientific Anglers booth, as were hundreds of other trades people, and I put it in my bag as I left.

I took the line out in my hotel room that night, as I read the information on the 3M box cover. My floating 6 weight Sharkskin line was called “Blue Heron” but appeared a very dull gray with a texture similar to cloth. The line was very supple in my hand and felt like dry snakeskin. The box explained that the surface of the Sharkskin Line was modified with “micro-repeating structures” that “achieve surface interface properties that mimic nature, such as the ability of insects to walk on water, the shedding and self-cleaning ability of Lotus leaves, or the adhesion that allows a gecko to walk up vertical surfaces.” Wow! That sure sounded impressive. I made a mental note to read up on Lotus leaves later. Although I didn’t have a magnifying glass handy, the close-up photo of the line surface looked like fuzzy fish scales. The performance claims were equally grand, but, like rods or reels, you never really know until you fish them hard.

Casting Performance

A couple of weeks later, I was on one of my favorite Northern California freestone streams. The nymphing was outstanding after a recent rain. I could see big Rainbow trout in exposed positions, feeding comfortably in the stained current. My relatively new long belly floating fly line, however, felt a little sticky, and was causing me to labor as I forced it through the guides. The front eight feet of the line was sinking. Even after I polished it to remove accumulated dirt and algae, I still felt I was working too hard. That night in camp I remembered I had the Sharkskin Line with me, and I mounted it on a spare reel to use the next day.

In the morning, my first cast sailed ten feet past the fish I had spotted! In fact, the Sharkskin Line had so little friction going through the guides, I had to adjust my casting and mending over the next couple of hours to accommodate this phenomena. I was used to using far more power to accomplish these tasks with other fly lines. Now, it seemed I needed only half the energy to extend or shoot line. Single and double hauling was easier with fewer false casts.

Texturing a fly line surface to reduce friction is not a new concept. Original silk fly lines were naturally uneven. The old Chancellor Chalkstream lines from England, and to a lesser degree, the old Sunset lines, had a dimpled surface, not unlike a golf ball, to reduce the amount of surface area making contact with the guides. Airflo, England’s premier fly line maker, recently introduced their bumpy surfaced Ridge fly line series in 2006. Scientific Anglers claims the patterning of the Sharkskin process reduces the contact surface area of the line up to 70%. Whatever it is, the Sharkskin, at least when new, has far less friction than any fly line I’ve ever used. I should mention that casting textured fly lines through fly rod guides creates more of a rasping noise than smooth lines, and with the Sharkskin, quite a bit more noise. It doesn’t bother me at all, any more than my click-pawl reel drag.

So is the Sharkskin the ultimate distance full-length floating line? Well, that’s hard to say at the moment. Aside from texturing, fly lines in the past have either been stiffer and/or smaller in diameter to increase casting distance. The Sharkskin is much more flexible and softer, than other lines, bending more like a bicycle chain. Fly line taper comes into play for distance as well. The Sharkskin currently is offered in only one taper configuration, called the “Ultimate Trout Taper” in line weights 3 to 8. (note: after this review was published, SA has since introduced several new Sharkskin fly lines; Ultimate Trout Double Taper, GPX, Magnum indicator line, Steelhead Taper, Shooting Line for heads, and an ideal general purpose Saltwater Line - DS 4/09) This long belly, weight forward profile has a head length of about 45 for the 3 weight, ranging to 55 feet for the 8 weight, with a thinner, running line adding to the 100 foot overall length. This taper in a 6 weight performed extremely well for me, fishing at short to fairly long distances (70+ feet), both roll casting and overhead casting. I didn’t test the Sharkskin in a raw distance competition with my other high performance lines as I was mainly interested in assessing the Sharkskin’s fish-ability. The Sharkskin technology, either in the current Ultimate Trout Taper, or a future configuration, may very well prove to cast further than any other line. However, what I can tell you, from a practical standpoint, is that the Sharkskin Ultimate Trout will probably cast further, with less effort, than any other fly line for most casters in typical trout fishing situations. Note: This line is designed for mainly cold water use. Tropical saltwater fly lines typically have stiffer cores, so if that’s what you need, wait until S.A. comes out with a Sharkskin model suitable for that purpose (they have - see note above).

Fish-Ability and the Holy Grail

The most impressive, and important feature, by my reckoning, of 3M’s micro-replication process is its awesome flotation properties. I couldn’t believe how high my new Sharkskin line floated on the water, even the line tip! Fly line manufacturers have been struggling to improve line floatability for decades with decidedly mixed results. There’s only so much that you can do with a given mass of PVC with internal micro spheres to reduce specific gravity. Not many years ago, one could expect the best distance floating lines to start sinking immediately, and even most recently, the first six to eight feet of my dry lines will sink unless they were cleaned that morning, and they’ll still sink by the end of the day. Sinking fly lines increase drag and make line mending much more difficult and far less effective. The coatings on most floating fly line tips are barely capable of keeping them on the surface at all.

According to Scientific Anglers, the micro-texturing of the Sharkskin Fly Line “Greatly increases the upward meniscus force (surface tension) through a combination of the water’s interaction with the new surface and the trapping of air into the valleys of the texture. The result is an over 200% improvement in resistance of the line to be forced into the water….effectively improving “floatation” of the line significantly beyond anything that can be achieved through the addition of glass bubbles or surface chemistries.”

The incredible flotation of the Sharkskin had a profound effect on my ability to make drag free presentations. Firstly, the high floating fly line better supported the floating portion of my leader, keeping it up near the surface in rougher water. Secondly, the Sharkskin lifted so damned easily off the water that mending, stack mending, and roll casting could be accomplished with a fraction of the energy of my other lines, particularly at distance across disparate currents. Thirdly, the Sharkskin line itself has less drag in moving water due to its high flotation, but it also has less drag due to its suppleness, compared to other fly lines. Softer material, be it line, leader or tippet, will create less drag in current. Most trout anglers stake their fish catching success on their ability to present dry flies or nymphs in the most natural manner, which usually means as close to dead-drift as possible. Veteran anglers will understand the import of what I’m saying here, but let me re-emphasize for the less experienced; the new Sharkskin line does everything so much better that it will improve your fly fishing, improve your casting and strengthen your learning curve.

The fly fishing line is, arguably, the most important functional piece of tackle you own, so we’re talking about something approaching the Holy Grail of desirability here. With this technology, fly lines won’t have to be so closely matched to rods, guide sizes on rods could conceivably be smaller and lighter, improving rod performance, sinking lines (when available) fished under tension would have greater tactile sensitivity. Not only that, the Sharkskin’s dull surface has virtually no line flash to scare wary fish, making it the most stealthy line available and a no-brainer for fishing spring creeks and hunting New Zealand brown trout. I’d strongly recommend the Blue Heron (gray) color for subtlety in most trout fishing situations. The alternative color, Chartreuse, while having low flash, is day-glo bright, suitable for anglers who have difficulty seeing their line or for fishing in very low-light conditions.

Company Profile

Scientific Anglers was founded in 1945 by fellow anglers Leon Martuch, Clare Harris, and Paul Rottiers in Midland, Michigan. They developed the first modern, plastic coated fly line in 1952, replacing silk fly lines which had been in use for well over 100 years. In 1954, SA introduced the Air Cel, widely considered the first modern floating fly lines. The development of 3M Microballoons in 1959 revolutionized the way that fly lines float and is the standard technology by which all manufacturers float their lines today. 3M, then known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, acquired Scientific Anglers in 1973.

Today, 3M is one of 30 companies comprising the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is ranked about 100 in the Fortune 500 listing with over $23 billion in annual sales, operating in over 60 countries with 29 international companies and 35 laboratories. It’s probably the largest company in the world directly involved in the fly fishing industry. No wonder these guys can make fly lines float! They obviously wrote the book on early modern fly line development and it’s not surprising that they have research and development resources way beyond the means of the handful of other major fly line makers that we usually see on the shelves, which include Rio and Cortland in the U.S. and Airflo in the U.K. Most other brands you buy are actually made by one of these few companies or in Asia. Machines to build modern fly lines are very sophisticated, very expensive, and take up a lot of space, to satisfy a very small potential market. Hence the dearth of players.

So, why hasn’t Scientific Anglers simply rolled over their competition? Well, the other companies may be small by comparison, but they too, have been innovative at times, particularly in coming up with specialized tapers for different fishing situations. These tapers are designed by knowledgeable fishermen, not scientists, so sometimes the little guy gets the jump on the big guy. Rio Products, recently purchased by the Sage rod company, has been particularly active, and successful, pioneering whole new categories of Spey and single handed fly lines.
 
I’m not a patent lawyer, but I’m guessing that the 3M micro-replication process might pose a difficult challenge for all other fly line companies seeking to mimic the advantageous properties of the new Scientific Anglers technology. Certainly expect S.A. to capitalize on Sharkskin with an expansion of the product line in the near future.

Overall Rating - FIVE STARS

Out of the box, the Sharkskin certainly functions better than any other floating fly line I’ve fished, but the remaining question for all of us is, “How long does this party last?” Scientific Anglers testing indicates, by their accord, that Sharkskin Lines can last up to 3 times longer, overall, than their previous most durable lines. The micro-texturing that increases suppleness allows the line to bend with less cracking over time. S.A. has made some pretty durable lines in the past, so that’s encouraging. They also claim that used Sharkskin lines returned to their lab for re-testing actually exhibited improved flotation properties.

Frankly, we won’t really know the true durability of Sharkskin until enough of us go out and thrash the water for a while. Lines that last a year for a fishing guide might last ten years for a casual angler. My feeling is, even in the worst case scenario (that being Sharkskin isn’t any more durable than other modern fly lines), the $100 price would still be a bargain based simply on its performance advantages. When you think about the money that you spend on rods, reels, other tackle, and the gas just to get to where you fish, forty extra bucks is a small price to pay.

PROS- Technological breakthrough greatly improves overall fly line and fly fishing performance; less friction, greater casting distance, higher floatation, easier mending, better presentation, more stealth, less line memory, improved potential durability, with less effort from the caster.

CONS- $100 price is about $40 more than other premium fly lines.  Creates much more noise going through fly rod guides than smooth fly lines.
 
BOTTOM LINE – One of our basic fly fishing tools has experienced significant improvement! If the durability claims hold up, there’s no reason not to buy this line if you dry fly or nymph fish in moving water. The Sharkskin should be economical to use in the long run.

Reviewer. . .

Having been in the fly fishing industry for over 25 years as a guide, fly fishing school director, writer, retail and manufacturers sales representative, I’ve been fortunate to fish with a wide array of fly equipment from almost all of the top makers.

– Dean Schubert

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