Scientific Anglers Mastery Series Review

GPX line on Scott A3 4wt

Scientific Anglers Mastery Series fly line are my all time favorite lines. I have fished the SA Mastery "Trout" series as well as the Mastery "GPX" series and recommend them over other lines for the East Coast small stream fishing I do.  Simply put, they do what you want them to do. The GPX is a half weight heavier, helping you to load faster action rods.

I've fished Rio Trout taper, SA Shark Skin, and SA Head Start and feel that the SA Mastery Lines out performed them all. It's a little easier to explain why I don't like the lines mentioned above than it is to tell you why I like the Mastery Series.

The SA Headstart just performed like a cheap line. Not Wal-Mart cheap, but too cheap to put on any rod that retails over $150. At $50 bucks, spend the extra $20 and get the real deal. The SA Shark Skin was too expensive and noisy.  It did shoot through the guides well, but unless I'm double hauling on a bone fish flat, I don't need that speed, especially on a North Carolina trout stream.  The grooves in the line, which decrease friction, also collect micro debris in the line, essentially creating more drag and slowing the line down over time.  The Rio Trout taper is the most comparable, but I still feel like the SA Mastery is a bit more supple and sensitive. The Rio did do well with distance and wind on big Colorado rivers.

I also have a SA Mastery Bass line on a Reddington 9.5 ft 7wt Cross Water.  I use this rod for small mouth, carp, and redfish.  I don't fish for redfish and carp often, so I got this inexpensive Reddington stick to fill a need for a heavier rod.  This rod is heavy, and with work, I can cast it far and true, it just takes some muscle.  I think this boasts well for the SA bass line, helping the Cross Water to perform out of it's league.

The rods and lines fished on them with my grade:

Scott Voyager 8ft 4wt: SA Trout (A); SA Sharkskin (C+); Headstart (C-)
Scott G 7.5 ft 4wt: SA Trout (A+), Headstart (C)
Scott A3 8.5 4wt: SA GPX (A+)
St. Croix Imperial 9 ft 5wt:  Rio Trout Taper (B)

Headstart on SA English made reel and Scott G