Product Review by Doug Macnair

The Mastery Series Trout Taper ©
From Scientific Angler

by Doug Macnair

  If you are interested in gentle presentations, this review is worth your time.  It’s my view that Scientific Anglers has done it again with the advent of the Mastery Series Trout Taper.  To simplify things, from here on I will simply refer to the line as the Trout or Trout Taper.

 For the last days of summer, I’ve been fortunate in working with two lines taken from the Trout Taper array.  Both are weight forward configurations—one a 3-weight and the other a 5-weight.  If you’ve already assumed that both lines are part of the AST family, otherwise known as “Advanced Shooting Technology,” you’ve assumed correctly. 

What sets the Trout Tapers apart from other well known Mastery configurations is simple:  the trout taper offers (1) a mid-length head along with (2) a unique concave compound front taper and (3) a convex compound rear taper.  As advertised, you end up with a line that offers a positive turnover and a delicate delivery on the front-end … and on the back-end, you have a line that offers improved mending and casting capabilities.    

 Whenever you go for the best of both worlds, the usual result is something long on one end and short on the other.  It’s my opinion that Scientific Anglers has avoided this in the development of the Trout Taper.  This is a well balanced line—balanced between distance and presentation.  If you are a fly caster who exercises control over the size of your  loop, I think you will take an immediate shine to this line.  After literally hundreds of casts, it seems to me that this line will do anything your casting stroke asks.  Depending on the line weight, leader/tippet length, and the fly, you can hang the  line in the air and watch it fall gently to the surface or, as an alternative, you can drive it for distance.  Either way, once on the water the Trout floats high and dry.  That’s neat! 

In this review of the Mastery Trout tapers, both the 3 and 5-weight received extensive workouts.  I threw them from all sorts of rods ranging from three vintage 3, 4, and 5-weight bamboos, to two retro-fiberglass rods in 4-weight, and finally a group of more conventional 3, 4 and 5-weight graphites made by a broad assortment of manufacturers to include Winston, G.Loomis, and Sage.  In each case, the line(s) performed well, especially since my self-imposed ground rule was to use only 12-foot leaders.  I hate 12-foot leaders.  Long leaders inhibit the cast.  The rule you should follow is straight forward: the shorter the leader length that catches fish, the better off the fly fisher.  There are times, however, when a 12-footer (or even longer) is necessary if you are to catch a fish simply because its length and slender tippet gives you a softer presentation.  If circumstances dictate that you must throw a longer leader, this is surely the line to do it with.

 If I had to find favor in one thing over others, I liked the performance of these lines best on the rods that measured from 8.5 and 9-feet—that, of course, is with the 12-foot leader.  However, you can forget doing tricky things, such as the curve cast, because the long leader won’t turnover the fly.  It will, of course, if you heavy-up the tippet, but that defeats the whole purpose.  On the other hand, it mends as well or better than any other line I can call to mind in the tested weights.  It even roll casts!

 All this aside, the Mastery Trout Taper coupled to the 12-foot leader did the ordinary extraordinarily well—whether married to a fast, moderate, or slow rod.  Each rod in turn sent the line winging on its way with long or short casts, and with a tight or open loop as the casting stroke requested.  This fact is especially important and worthy of special note! 

 I think one of the reasons the Mastery Trout performs so well is that the line(s) are  tailored for each individual line weight with the front and rear tapers varying accordingly.  In the case of the double taper version, it follows that both front and rear tapers are the same.  Don’t forget that one of the unsung advantages of the double taper line is that it can be switched end to end at any time. (Being a true Scot, I’ve always considered the DTs a better buy.  I’m not sure whether I’m simply cheap or frugal as the case may be.)  The Trout Taper is available in weight-forward weights ranging from 3 to 7, and 2 to 6 in double taper.  The length of all lines in the Mastery Series Trout Taper is 90-feet.  For the specifics of either line, check out the chart.    

One other important point you should consider: the new Trout possesses very low memory retention.  That means all you folks who fish cooler waters need not concern yourself wasting time stretching a coiled line: you won’t!  And for fly fishers down South, fear not: this line will not turn into spaghetti when it touches warmer waters.

  As the second picture inset indicates, there is something special in this for you—for a limited period of time the Mastery Trout Taper lines will feature a free matching “Trout” leader.  Take advantage of this special offer because just happens to be a great leader.  After all these years of making my own (with some limited exceptions) I’m considering buying these instead.  The one included with my 3-weight gave me better performance than any of mine.  Before going further, I want to reassure you that I didn’t fib about using only a 12-foot leader during the formal review.  But after the review was over and I had recorded most of my thoughts, I removed the 12-footer.  Taking the “free” leader in hand, I tied it onto the 3-weight Trout Taper and proceeded to throw it from my two retros and the bamboos.  Suffice it to say—I really like it!  I just wish I had been smart enough to wait until this marketing ploy had been approved and implemented by Scientific Anglers.  I wasn’t—consequently my 5-weight Trout Taper did not include the freebie.  Don’t wait too long or you, too, will miss this deal—for sure! 

Folks, the Trout Taper is one outstanding line as well as yet another example of how fly lines seem to get better with each passing year.  If it’s good for trout, you can bet it is equally great for Texas Trout, otherwise known to you folks from out of state as the smallmouth bass.  Once again Bruce Richards has done a fantastic job of making an even greater great line.

  For more information, contact:

3M Scientific Anglers, 3M Center, Bldg. 223-4NE-05, St. Paul, MN 55144-1000.  Telephone:  1-(800) 525 -6290.

 

© Copyright:  Douglas G. Macnair, 2003-2005.