Cortland Compact Specialty Intermediate Fly Line

Making delicate casts at redfish in the skinny stuff or working the first trough on a beach in New England for striped bass, Cortland’s Compact Specialty Intermediate Fly Line provides all of the stealth that you need for tackling a range of species. One of Cortland’s most versatile intermediate lines, the Compact Specialty Intermediate Fly Line is designed with an aggressive taper and a 26’ clear intermediate head to make subtle presentations easy while still providing all of the power you need to turn over large flies. Cortland makes this line in weights 5 through 12+ so that you can pursue anything from feisty river smallmouth to pelagic giants in the bluewater, and whether you’re making long casts or shots up close, Cortland’s Shooting Technology and Heat-Tempered Surface Treatment are there to ensure that you’re always hitting the target.

Features

Dual Welded Loops - Whether you’re dealing with your backing-to-fly line connection or fly line-to-leader connection, there’s no doubt that welded loops greatly simplify things. With their Compact Specialty Intermediate Fly Line, Cortland equips the line with dual welded loops. These loops are super strong and incredibly easy to use, giving you the best of both worlds in terms of functionality and convenience.

Shooting Technology (ST) - A technology created to decrease friction in your cast while increasing distance and shootability, Cortland’s Shooting Technology gives this line a super-smooth finish that will last for your line’s life. From mornings spent wading the flats to long casts out of a skiff, Cortland takes the hassle out of hitting those far targets with their Shooting Technology.

Heat-Tempered Surface Treatment - Cortland’s Heat-Tempered Surface Treatment works to create extreme slickness in your fly line. Not only does this greatly decrease friction in your cast, but it also keeps dirt, oils, and other water contaminants out in order to boost your line’s lifespan.

Uses

Streamers and Crustaceans - Utilizing an intermediate head that sinks around 1.5-2ips, Cortland’s Compact Specialty Intermediate Fly Line is the perfect choice for throwing streamers of all sizes. With its compact taper, you can look to this line whether you’re slinging flies in the foot-long range or smaller patterns like the Schminnow, and whenever you find yourself in shallow water and need to feed a fish a crab imitation, this line is also a great choice.

Temp

Warm to Tropical - Cortland makes their Compact Specialty Floating Fly Line for use in warm to tropical water. This temperature configuration allows you to fish over a range of temperatures starting at about 50 degrees and extending well above 70 degrees. This enables you to target things like warm water species in a freshwater environment just as well as tropical species in the salt.

Taper/Weight

More Mass Towards the Front of the Head - Just like its name implies, Cortland’s Compact Specialty Intermediate Fly Line has a compact taper that concentrates the mass towards the front of the line. This taper pairs a short 20’ body with a 3’ front and back taper to make it easy to turn over large flies in windy conditions while also loading your rod with minimal false casting.

More Info

Best for: Freshwater, Saltwater

Loops: Front Loop (Leader to Fly Line Connection) and Back Loop (Backing to Fly Line Connection)

Sinking/Floating: Floating

Other Resources

2020 Tropical Saltwater Fly Line Shootout & Buyer's Guide

Fly Line Temps: Tropical Vs. Coldwater

Freshwater Fly Line Shootout & Buyer's Guide