Here in Florida, the intense heat and humidity during summer can turn the average fly line into a sticky mess. It takes a specialized "tropical" type of fly line to withstand these harsh conditions and remain user-friendly. Over my years of fishing down here, I have tried several types of these specialized lines ranging from offerings geared towards bonefishing to more general-purpose tapers. Most of these lines have at least been good, but there's always a few that make the top of the list. Could the Liquid Crystal Guide fly line from Cortland be one of these shining stars?

The timing for this review couldn't be more perfect. I had first seen this line in person at the 2015 IFTD show in Orlando and subsequently kept catching glimpses of it on social media. When it recently came time for me to purchase a new fly line for my local beach snook fishing, I knew I had to give this Cortland line a shot. It seemed like a lot of thought, testing, and input went into this product, so I was pretty confident I had nothing to worry about. I grabbed a WF7F line a couple months ago and hit the water!

After using the Cortland Liquid Crystal Guide on several trips I'm thoroughly impressed. One of my favorite features of this line is simply the unique Seafoam green color. Not only is it attractive to look at, but it stays visible on the surface without being too "loud" in clear waters. Color aside, other features include a smooth, firm PE+ coating that's permanently bonded to the monofilament core for minimized line stretch and durability, as well as welded loops.

Despite stifling summer heat, the line casts and shoots smoothly and easily at any distance while staying very manageable. It has excellent stiffness and didn't frustrate me with any odd handling characteristics. Touching on the color again, this is probably my favorite color of any tropical line I've used. It blends in just enough to the beach waters I frequent but is still easy to track on the surface—very important when sight fishing with precise presentations.

Cortland's Liquid Crystal Guide Taper fly lines are 90-feet-long and come in WF7F–WF13F sizes at a price of $90 each.

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