ARC 99+ Fly Line Review

Trident Fly Fishing is a full service fly shop. We spend a lot of time testing gear and writing shootouts to give you all of the tools to make your next trip a success. We are not a blog, or a review site. 100% of our funding comes from your gear purchase, so if this shootout helps you on your next fly fishing adventure, support us by buying your next fly line (or better yet, your next rod and reel), from us. This post is part of our Fly Line Shootout, so if you haven't read our main post, you probably want to check it out.

About ARC Fly Lines

ARC is a new brand in the world of fly fishing. Started just a few years ago, they are committed to innovation in the tippet, fly line and leader markets. They sent us their ARC 99+ line for this test, so read on to see how it stands up. Please note: While our taper diagrams are really great for most lines, they didn’t work as well for Airflo (and therefore ARC). The reason for this is twofold. First, ARC lines are ridged. This means that they are not round and when we’re talking about 1000ths of an inch, it makes a big difference. Second, ARC lines have larger diameters. That means that ARC lines have more air inside for any given weight of line. This makes them float better, but it also makes them squishy and hard to measure.

The Review:

Arc 99+

Price: $79.95 The Hype: Designed for today’s faster action fly rods, the ARC 99+ is a half line size heavier and features a more condensed taper than standard true-to-size fly lines. Taper Diagram:

Casting Notes: The ARC 99+ was a good short-to-middle distance line. In fact, it reminded us a lot of Airflo Xceed (both are made by Airflo). The key difference between ARC 99 and Xceed was a much lighter feeling, particularly in close. This is likely due to its longer level tip. Unfortunately, ARC suffered the same shortcomings as Xceed and didn’t have great loop stability at distance. This was one of the lines that did everything just fine and didn’t really surprise us in any way. Pros:

• Will work well for 99… er, probably more like 85% of anglers.

Cons:

• Didn't blow us away in any category.

Bottom line: If you’re a fan of ARC’s brand and are looking for a trout line that will get you out on the water, this will do the trick.