Cortland Travel Outfit
The Passion for Fishing Hasn’t Changed Much in Cortland New York in the Last Ninety-Five Years
When Ray Smith realized he was destined to make fishing his life long passion he decided to make a living by producing quality fly fishing lines. Back in 1915 most of the fly fisherman who lived around Cortland fished in the crystal clear trout streams that flowed through the rolling hills around the city. Images of a a picturesque Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post front cover scene seemed to dance through the minds of the residents.
Quality fly fishing lines were made of silk in those days, but the word quality didn’t have a real depth of performance associated with it to satisfy Ray or any of the other avid fly fishermen in town. Ray decided to develop fly lines using other modern materials. Ray experimented with nylon, PVC, and silicon as well as an assortment of other new materials. The rest of the story is quite a fish tale.
Ninety-five years later the Cortland Line Company is just hitting its stride in terms of line technology and materials. The employees of Cortland Line Company love to fish; they fish and talk fish when they’re on the clock working or whenever the time seems right. It seems like they talk about the performance of a new line or an innovative company initiative that makes the sport of fishing such an incredible life experience every chance they get.
The employees of Cortland Line Company don’t jut develop fishing lines for the masses; they do the research and put in the hours to improve the sport for the fishing aficionados that work next to them in the factory. Fishing is like eating in Cortland. Lunch hours in Cortland are spent on the river and the rest of the day is spent talking about that hour and how the fishing experience can be modified and improved for fish lovers everywhere. The passion for fishing hasn’t changed very much in the last ninety-five years in Cortland, but in terms of cutting edge fishing line technology Cortland Line Company is light years ahead of the fishing line industry.
The Cortland Travel Outfit is a Fisherman’s Dream
When Cortland introduced their Dyna-Tip technology the sport of fly fishing reach a completely new level. The tip of the fly line floats higher in the water and so does the whole line. That technology put Cortland in a league of its own in the minds of fly fisherman around the world. The core and the coating of Cortland lines make them special. Cortland manufactures fly line cores. The core is coated with PVC that can be filled with hollow glass microspheres for floating or various additives for sinking. The different elements in these additives account for the line’s characteristics like faster sinking or higher floating.
Line designations are listed on the front and the bottom of the Cortland Travel Outfit package. A package with WF6S is a line with weight-forward 6-weight sinking line, and a DT11F on the package means double-tapered 11-weight floating line. The length of the line is also listed and sink rate information is also included.
The new Cortland Travel Outfit kit is a perfect entry level kit. It includes a 9′ graphite fly rod, 333 grade fly line, a 333 grade tapered leader, a LTD II disc drag fly reel, and fly line backing and a knot tying tool plus a Cordura rod and reel carrier.
On a scale of 1 to 10 the Cortland Travel Outfit is rated a 4 for entry level fly fishing. The retail price is $125 and it’s worth every penny.