Some may ask “Why would I need a niche fly line? My current fly line works just fine.” Well, niche fly lines are not for everyone. That is why we have called it “niche” fly line. However, a sand or lob wedge could be considered a “niche” golf club. You don’t need it, but they are really nice to have at times.
I am just going to call it like it is; the Scientific Anglers Sharkwave Siege fly line is a niche line. That is not a bad thing. So what niche does the Scientific Anglers Sharkwave Siege fly line fit?
Streamer fishing.
Plain and simple, the Siege fly line was made for hucking meat. The Duranglers crew was able to test out the 6 and 7 weight versions of the Siege fly line. This line is triple textured and triple colored with a 30 foot reference point where the belly ends and the running line begins. It is almost like a reference point for the sweet spot of a spey line…but made for traditional fly casting. The reason for this is that is makes for quick one shot casts often made from a boat.
Here are a few thoughts we found while fishing this line:
- • We really liked the textured nature and it feels dialed back from previous lines. The line texture is nice but not overly noticeable. (Textured lines help with floatablity, shootability, and longevity of the line).
- • The colored reference loading point is really nice to make quick but longer casts. (As this is a heavy line, we have questioned if we could even slap this rod on a 2 hander and spey cast…we may try this out later.)
- • The belly of this line is short…but HUGE. Seriously, it looks like a 12 weight line. This short but fat belly makes for quick casts where you need to shoot a lot of line.
- • Due to the heavier nature of the line, it shoots like a rifle. (We did like the line on a medium fast as opposed to fast and ultra fast rod)
- • You cannot over power this line…so don’t try. Attempting to throw very tight loops with double hauls and high line speeds will be difficult. We recommend slowing down your casting stroke; you will be amazed at how much of a difference this makes with heavy flies. When you have figured out the rhythm of this line, you find that it can make big casts with little effort.
The 7 wt SA Siege fly line cast this articulated wool head with cone slip weight like a champ.
To answer the question, “Why would I buy a niche fly line?” Our best answer is this: “for the same reason you would buy a niche rod.” Many have come into our shop looking for a streamer or nymph specific rod. It stands to reason that if you have a streamer specific rod, you should have a streamer specific fly line. The Scientific Anglers Sharkwave Siege fly line serves a specific purpose, and serves that purpose extremely well.
[button title=”Shop Siege Fly Line” link=”https://duranglers.com/shop/made-in-usa/scientific-anglers-sharkwave-siege/” color=”green”]
G’Day Guys my name is Brian and I was wondering if the S/A Sharkwave Seige is 1/2 a line weight heavier than normal fly lines . Tight Lines Brian
Hey Brian,
Interesting question and it actually took a little more digging than I thought. The Sharkwave Siege is a very different line in terms of the “Weight”. As SA puts it:
“Designed to turn over even the largest flies with just a single backcast, the SharkWave Siege has power in spades. The short, aggressive head pushes weight toward the back of the taper, resulting in a line that might not win a casting contest, but will certainly catch you a lot of fish…”
What that means is the SA Siege has a short, aggressive head meant to LAUNCH flies with little effort. There is a specific “sweet spot” on these lines that marks the separation of the head and running line that are usually marked. Essentially, the angler should not let any line out past this “sweet spot” when they make their cast. Once they make the cast, the head will launch the fly and carry the running line. (these are somewhat akin to a skagit spey line for a single handed rod with a short heavy head.) As stated, it is pretty difficult to make super long casts…but casts from 30 to 60 feet are no problem.
Many fly line manufacturers are doing this with a handful of their fly line “lines” and they are becoming increasingly popular. Examples of this include the Rio Tarpon and Bonefish Quickshooter, Scientific Anglers Titan series of lines, and Airflo’s Sniper line. They are lines designed for quick loading one-shots.
How this is actually accomplished is by making that short and compact head actually heavier in terms of “fly line weight”. The SA Siege was designed with a pretty specific purpose in mind: throwing big and heavy streamers from a drift boat. Often times, anglers only have a second to make the cast to structure before the opportunity has passed. You need your rod to load quickly, so to do that a lot of these manufacturers have essentially over weighted these fly lines…by a lot.
To make a short answer quite long (sorry about that by the way): no, the S/A Sharkwave Siege is not a 1/2 line heavier than normal fly lines. It is actually a little more that 2 line weights heavier in fact. If you look at the AFTMA standard fly line weights chart (weights that were decided about 50 years ago to be the standard for line “weights”; this measurement measures the first 30 feet of the line in grains), a 5 weight fly line should come in around 134-146 grains, with 140 grains being the standard. The S/A Sharkwave Siege 5 weight actually measures 210 grains. That is a whopping 70 grain difference.
Some might balk at this idea. Some may even say it isn’t proper fly cast. That it is just “hucking”. Whatever; some even say streamer fishing isn’t real fly fishing. Try one out and see if you like it.
If you are actually looking for a 1/2 size heavier fly line, look no further than the Scientific Anglers GPX Fly Line. However, if you are looking for a quick loading, big bug launcher; you should consider at least casting the Siege line
That was probably more information that you were hoping to hear. I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Andy McKinley
Duranglers Flies and Supplies
Have you tried this on a 2 handed rod yet? I was looking at it as a equivalent to Wulff Ambush. I am thinking on getting in the switch game. Possibly with a 4 or 5 wt for big trout, smallmouth, and pike. I have this line in a 7wt.
Hey Isaiah,
We have tried this on a two handed switch rod actually. We but the 7 weight line on a 5 weight rod. It roll casts really well, but if you are wanting to do spey casting specifically it works…but not great. It also overhead casts really well on the switch rod. It would work very well for smallies, trout, and pike though.
Hope that helps.
-Andy