Head-to-Head: Scientific Anglers’ Amplitude Textured MPX and RIO Products’ Elite RIO Gold

Head-to-Head: Scientific Anglers’ Amplitude Textured MPX and RIO Products’ Elite RIO Gold

I’m on record as not being a big fan of “over-lining” fly rods. That said, many of the latest fast-action graphite rods seem like they’re engineered specifically to throw slightly heavier fly lines. Pick your cliché–chicken and egg, or the tail wagging the dog–but it is what it is, and truthfully, it can be a helpful combination that helps the caster feel a fast-action rod load while generating line speed at the same time. When I fish a fast-action rod, I often prefer the half-size heavier lines (often “weight-forward”), because I’m really using a “half-weight heavy” fly rod. When I fish a medium or slower action rod, I opt for a true standard weighted line (often a “double taper”).

Of course, a lot of a fly line’s performance depends on things like the length of the head and the taper (where the weight is concentrated in the line) and what size fly you’re tossing. Add to that how stiff or malleable they are, the slickness of their coatings (as well as how well you clean, stretch and take care of your line) and you can get lost in a maze of hundreds of options from only a handful of manufacturers.

So, for the sake of this comparison, I focused on the basics and chose two popular, general purpose, half-weight heavy lines designed for trout fishing, from two prominent manufacturers–Scientific Anglers’ Amplitude Textured MPX and RIO Products’ Elite RIO Gold–both WF-5-F. Walk into any fly shop that carries both brands and tell them you want a great “all-around,” long-lasting trout fishing line, and these should be two of the options you’re presented with. (Note: we will have follow-up reviews on some Airflo lines and others soon.)

Both the SA Amplitude Textured MPX and Elite RIO Gold are “premium” lines that cost $130, which seems like a lot of dough, but a premium fly line can help your cast as much as the premium rod that costs five times more.

I fished them in various trout settings, from small streams, to wide rivers, to open lakes, and I threw various flies, ranging from size #8 streamer patterns to size #20 dry flies. I threw dry-dropper rigs with nymph flies, but I didn’t fish any Euro rigs or weighted nymph rigs with indicators, because I really wanted to zero in on the casting feel (and there are special lines for those types of fishing). Spoiler alert: I like them both a lot, but for different reasons.

Here’s how they stack up:

Total length:  SA 90 feet, RIO 90 feet

Front taper length: SA 6 feet, RIO 5.6 feet

Total head length: SA 36 feet, RIO 47 feet

30-foot head weight: SA 150 grain (9.7 grams), RIO 146 grain (9.5 grams)

Total head weight: SA 175 grain (11.3 grams), RIO 208 grain (13.5 grams)

Both have a proprietary coating for slickness: SA “AST Plus,” RIO “SlickCast”

Texture: SA textured belly section, “Shooting Texture” in the running line, “Floating Texture” in the tip section; RIO smooth throughout

Line core: SA standard stretch with braided monofilament core; RIO-“Elite” means the line uses the company’s “ConnectCore Plus” which, in turn, means lower stretch

Welded Loops: SA yes; RIO yes

General impressions

The SA Amplitude Textured MPX is a newer generation of the GPX fly line, but with a little more delicate tip to make finesse presentations. The mass is well concentrated toward the front section of the head, so you can “pick it up and set it down” without false casting, and it rolls easy. But it isn’t limited to casts under 30 feet by any means. The textured AST coating makes the line shoot easily, so if you are adept at shooting line for long casts, it shines. But you have to shoot for distance.

The Elite RIO Gold line’s mass is more evenly dispersed throughout most of the head, with a light, finesse-focused front taper at the tip. It’s easy to form fairly compact, wind-busting loops over distances of 20-40 feet (or beyond), and control your line (mending, rolling and so forth), so it’s quite versatile. It’s adequate, though not super-suited for short casts and delicate presentations in tighter confines (that’s what an Elite RIO Perception line is made for). With this one, you false cast and form loops for distance, though the SlickCast coating lends itself to shooting also.

Situations

A brushy creek where you make tricky shots and roll casts, with minimal false casting–lean SA.

A broad, open river where you false cast to zero in on a target at distance, minus the shoot–lean RIO.

Belly boating on a flat lake, switching from streamers to dry flies–lean RIO.

Fishing hopper-dropper rigs in the breeze–lean SA, but I like the strike sensitivity of RIO.

The day when you fish streamers to start, then do a little nymphing, then throw dries at the heads you see poking through the film–a TIE.

Textured or Smooth?

Years ago, when SA came out with its “Sharkskin” lines, I was enthusiastic at first, but over time, I was not a fan. Sure, they floated well, and I could shoot casts, but the noise was, to me, like fingernails on a chalkboard. Some people didn’t mind at all, and others actually liked the noise. Moreover, I found that, because I wasn’t diligent about cleaning and caring for my lines, most of my early Sharkskin lines got gritty, brittle and some flat-out broke.

In my opinion, SA has figured that stuff out. Amplitude textured can be heard, but it isn’t like an insect buzzing overhead as you cast. And I do buy into the theory that the texture helps the line ride higher, at least in flat water, and shoot farther.

For the record, I fished both of these lines hard for many months, and they both still float reasonably well, in part because I’ve learned my lesson and clean and treat them. If you don’t want the texture, you can opt for the SA Amplitude Smooth MPX, which actually costs $30 less.

Intangible?

The “Line ID” SA prints in very small detail near the tip of the line is helpful. You might need a magnifying glass to read it, but if you have a number of reels spooled with different lines and you’re prone to forget which is which, it matters.

Bottom Line

They’re both great lines. And so far, so good on durability (line durability is really a matter of maintenance). I’d travel anywhere in the trout world with either. If you want a dedicated streamer line, or a dry-fly special, both companies make those also, and many more. But if you had to choose one line for trout fishing, or if you just got that new 5-weight and are all fired up to get started, you could do worse than either option. In fact, even if you didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg on a rod (and, trust me, you don’t have to) there is a tangible difference when it comes to budget lines versus more expensive lines if you really care about casting performance. In that light, either of these lines–for a faster action rod–is well worth it.