Cortland 444 Sink Tips

For some anglers, fishing is as much an art form as a sport. This may be especially true for fly fishermen, who cast lazy loops of line through the air, hoping to put a fly in just the right spot to entice a trout to come out of hiding. Based in the New York State town of the same name, Cortland has been manufacturing fishing line since 1915. The 444 series made its debut in the late 1960s.

  1. Identification

    • Cortland 444 Classic sink tip fly line integrates a 10-foot Type 3 sinking tip onto the 444 Classic line. Type 3 sink tips sink at a rate of 3 1/2 to 4 inches per second -- an intermediate range. The line is peach in color with a brown tip. Nylon braid is at the core of the line.

    Design

    • Cortland 444 Classic sink tip line is of the weight-forward type; the line is thicker and heavier near the tip to assist the angler in casting it forward. The front of the line tapers to the end. The final segment is of an equal diameter. On the 444 Classic WF 5 F/S (weight forward, size 5, sink tip) line, for example, the running line from the butt (end of line tied to reel) is 57 1/2-feet long. It is followed by 4 feet of back taper that gradually increases in diameter until it reaches the body of the line -- the thick, weight-forward part -- which is 20 feet in length. Some 8 feet of taper then leads to 6 inches of tip.

    Attributes

    • Sink tip lines offer the advantages of floating line -- including ease of cast -- with the ability to get the fly down in the water faster. The sink tip line works well for anglers fishing nymphs and streamers for trout and is a good choice for fishing deep holes in rivers and streams.

    Availability

    • As of early 2011, Cortland offered Classic 444 sink tip line in sizes ranging from WF4 to WF10.