Skip to main content

RIO SlickCast

RIO SlickCast

The Holy Grail in fly fishing has always been fly lines that have less friction sliding through the line guides, and greater durability so they don’t crack. As soon as they crack, friction increases, and floatation decreases.

RIO says they have found this Holy Grail in their new SlickCast coating. A RIO press release said that SlickCast lines have “the lowest amount of friction to ever have been measured in a fly line.” The same lab tests—which measure friction and durability by repetitively pulling a new fly line against a standard fly line guide—show that SlickCast is also “33% more resistant to cracking, and over 140% more resistant to abrasion than the next toughest fly line on the market.”

According to Chris Walker, RIO’s research and development engineering manager, the lines are made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) like other RIO lines. It’s the extra ingredients that make SlickCast so special.

“PVC lines have a bunch of additives that go into them to maintain their properties for fishing,” said Walker. “They have everything from plasticizers to make the fly line more flexible, to UV inhibitors to prevent it from breaking down when exposed to sunlight, and of course there are slickness additives as well. In this formulation, it’s the slickness additives that have changed the most to give us these special properties.”


According to Walker, SlickCast lines do help you make long hero casts, but less friction is even more important for feeding line into your drift through up-and-down stack mends and reach mends to improve the presentation of your fly.

The SlickCast coating is available only on RIO’s core trout tapers—the Gold, Grand, Perception, and Technical Trout. Together with RIO’s new ConnectCore Plus core, they are branded as the Elite Tier: Elite Tier RIO Gold, Elite Tier RIO Perception, and so on. These same tapers with the SlickCast coating and a regular core are called premium tier. They are $30 cheaper, and the only difference is the core. $120 | rioproducts.com

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
Fly Tying

Perdigon Fly

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
News

Mag Promo April-May 2023

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
Gear

Finding and Catching Trout in Mountain Lakes

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
Destinations/Species

Packing for Fly Fishing Mountain Lakes

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
Gear

Bugs, Aquatic Invertebrates, and other Forage Food of Mountain Lakes

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
How-To/Techniques

Over the Guardrail: Sometimes a Monumental Journey Can be Close to Home

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
Gear

Tying Matt Winkler's Balanced Leather Leech

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
How-To/Techniques

Angler And Artist Inspiration: Nick Mayer Art

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
Gear

Tying the Kamchatka Mouse

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
Gear

Tying Villwock's The Roamer–A Streamer for All Species

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
How-To/Techniques

Blood Run: Fly Fishing with Amazon Warriors

On newsstands January 3rd! Fly Fisherman's Feb-March 2023 issue: Available in both print and digital.
News

FF-Feb-Mar-23 Promo

Fly Fisherman Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Buy Single Digital Issue on the Fly Fisherman App

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All Fly Fisherman subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now