About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the fly line, which I purchased with my own money in January of 2023.

My take

The Orvis Pro Trout Textured Fly Line is perfect for the delicate presentation of dry flies and wonderful for dry-dropper setups. The extra buoyancy of this line keeps it riding high and dry and is very easy to mend and retrieve with far less water disturbance than smooth fly lines.

About the line I own

• Model: 2022 WF5F Orvis Pro Textured Fly Line
• Weight: 5wt
• Fly line taper: Weight forward
• Core: Hollow braided monofilament
• Ideal Temp Range: Cold water
• Loops: Welded loops
• Sink rate: N/A
• Total Length: 90ft
• Line Profile:

About me

• Preferred fishing style(s): Dry fly, hopper dropper
• Experience: 28 years of fly fishing

Test conditions

• When I bought it: January 2023
• Rod and Reel Paired with Line: Battenkill 3 Disc and 5wt Orvis Superfine Carbon
• Days tested: 60
• Waters I’ve used it on: Freshwater smaller streams up to larger, 40ft-wide fresh water rivers
• Species targeted with rod: Brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout
• Fly Size: 6–22

How it performs

What I was looking for

I was tired of having the tip of my old WF5F smooth line sink in faster water. I found that it was just not floating as well as I wanted—especially with heavier flies on. There was more drag than I wanted, and I really only fish the rod I have this line paired with for dry flies, so I decided to try the textured line.

Why I chose this gear

I like Orvis products and work for the company, so it was an easy choice to choose this line. I considered the SA Amplitude Textured Trout WF5F, but it was out of stock at the time I purchased this line.

What I love about it

• Performance: This line shoots great. I definitely feel like the textured line is much easier to shoot than the smooth line.
• Quality: In my opinion, this line is definitely the best-quality line Orvis produces between how well it casts (I can feel the ATS slickness on the surface of the line) and how nice the textured line feels on my fingertips. This is definitely not the old shark-skin-type textured line of a decade or two ago.
• Casting: It casts and lands so softly and smoothly on the water. It is a joy to fish with. I feel like my distance when casting a smaller fly is longer and far more accurate with how well this line casts.
• Weight: This is a lighter fly line. So on a more mid or full-flex rod, it makes one’s casting experience so much more enjoyable. I love how it pairs with my lighter, full-flex carbon fiber Superfine rod. I feel like the line weight is very true to the measurement.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Versatility: This line is really only good for dry flies or nymphing. When I try to fish a streamer pattern with it, even with a sink tip leader on it, there is a hinge at the loop-to-loop connector with the fly line. The leader and the line float back to the surface, making it very difficult to fish sub-surface.
• Aesthetics: This line is very light in color throughout. I wish the head came in a camo color option because I feel like the line is very obvious out there on the surface of the water when I am fishing more wooded streams.

Value for the money vs. other options

If one is an avid dry fly enthusiast, this fly line can elevate one’s experience on the water immensely. The ease of mending, casting, and landing that perfect presentation of even the tiniest of dries is much improved due to this line. The fact it stays riding high and dry even in faster water has improved my drift dramatically, and I think my rate of catching fish in tricky presentations and lies has gone up exponentially as a result. In my opinion, this line outperforms the Rio Elite Technical Trout Textured line as far as performance and longevity go. The SA Amplitude Trout Textured might be a slightly longer-lasting line, but overall there is little difference between these Orvis and SA lines in durability. Performance-wise, SA has a shorter, wider head, which will be helpful if one plans to fish more hopper dropper rigs. For my true dry-fly setups, I prefer the Orvis Pro Line with its longer, more delicate taper—as it just presents those small dries more precisely and delicately.

Final verdict

For those who are strict dry fly or hopper dropper anglers, I believe this fly line is worth the money and can up one’s game dramatically. For those looking for an all-around fly line to experiment with any style of fly fishing, I’d recommend sticking with a smooth fly line.