Barrio Line Care fly line dressing review

What is Barrio Line Care?

Barrio Line Care is a fly line dressing for floating fly lines which can be used to make them feel slicker, shoot better and stay on the surface better. Once applied it will let the line zip through the guides much more easily, which takes the effort out of casting and can increase the distances you can achieve. It's made for Barrio by Mucilin who have been producing this stuff for decades.

How do you use this fly line dressing?

Technically, as with other fly line dressings, you're really supposed to apply Barrio Line Care at home after cleaning your fly line with an unscented baby wipe or tissue. Firstly, pull your fly line through some kitchen roll or a baby wipe and remove as much dirt as you can, then apply some of the Line Care dressing to the felt pad provided.

Put a good layer of dressing onto the pad and then pull the line through it several times to give it a good coating. Once you've done this, leave it to dry for 30 minutes or more and then buff it off with some dry kitchen roll. The line should feel shiny and slick without being greasy and it will now float better, lift off more cleanly when you cast and shoot a lot better than before.

What is Barrio Line Care like to use?

Barrio Line Care is really effective at dressing floating fly lines and leaves them feeling shiny and slick. It will definitely add some extra metres to your cast by reducing friction and also means you need to use less effort to get the line out too. 

While it's not the correct method, you can also use this product while on the bank too. I often use it as a way of improving the buoyancy of my floating line if the tip starts to sink, or if it's sitting too low in the water, and to improve the way that it casts and shoots. While it can temporarily leave the line feeling a bit greasy, it can work well at improving slickness which greatly aids shooting. 

As it's based on silicone, it's only suitable for use on floating lines and it will cause intermediates and sinking lines to be buoyant if applied, so don't be tempted. (Try Royal Wulff's Line Dressing instead for these applications.) It can also be prone to melting when temperatures are high, so it's worth keeping it in a plastic bag to prevent any stains appearing on your gear.

How much does it cost?

Barrio Line Care is very inexpensive at just £2.52 including delivery. It's a tried and tested product and is well worth keeping in your bag to spruce up your line mid-session, as well as to prepare it for action before you go.

Available from: Barrio Fly Lines