This article is still being edited and added to. Please contribute if you can.
Introduction
This is all about modern plastic fly lines used on single-handed rods, mainly for UK trout.
The fly line provides the weight necessary to enable your fly rod to propel your fly to its intended target. It also determines where in, or on, the water it will fish. It does this by being lighter or heavier than water.
We all like our rods and they get the most money and attention spent on them, but there's a serious case to be made that the line you put on it is more important. Some say far more important.
Like all things in fly fishing, the fly line started as a simple product and has evolved into a multitude of very specialist tools marketed for different applications. This subject can get very complicated very quickly; but only if you let it.
Many anglers carry many lines but equally many choose to fish just the one. Which path you follow depends mostly on the type of fishing you do - stream, river, lake; large or small fish, tiny dries or nymphs or heavy, gaudy lures - don't automatically think that you need several types.
However, the fly fisher that does not own a floating fly line (quite probably a #5 weight) does not exist and it's a rare angler that hasn't got a bag full of cast-offs in his garage or attic - we all get trapped into retail fishing at some point.
![1606067962831.png]( "1606067962831.png")
History
Fly lines started off being made of horse hair for dapping live insects, then graduated to silk and are now mostly plastic. If you're interested in historic detail, this chap makes a decent story of it.
The Fly Line Nerd Out - Part 3: History and Development of Fly Lines - blog.fishwest.com
And another from an American perspective. Weight forward lines in the Victorian era and double hauling and exploding rods in the 1920's! You want volume 41, number 1
Materials and Manufacture
Most fly lines are made of a low-stretch braid core (of nylon or dacron) coated with a plastic. But you can also get solid nylon cores too - Sunray lines are an example. The plastic coating is usually PVC but Airflo go their own unique way by using polyurethane. All the manufacturers have their secret recipes, but luckily we don't really have to get into them.
The line's core provides its strength while the coating gives it weight and its floating or sinking characteristics. The core's breaking strength is a minimum of 15lb for lighter trout lines going up to 60lb or more for salt water fishing. Unfortunately, manufacturers don't normally tell you the breaking strength of their lines so you have to trust that the size of the line and the description of its use is appropriate for your kind of fishing. For the sort of trout fishing we do in the UK, the core breaking strength is not really a concern as your leader will always be weaker.
PVC or Polyurethane?
PVC lines use a plasticiser to make them supple and low memory, Airflo say that this plasticiser leeches from the line over time causing it to degrade and crack, damaging the environment with dioxins. PVC is not recyclable while polyurethane is; though it's doubtful how many lines actually are recycled. Airflo also claim that their lines are thinner and longer lasting.
Polyurethane has the advantage of not being affected by chemical solvents often used by fly-fishers - in particular DEET insect repellent which can destroy a line. (And whisky apparently but most of us are far too careful with that stuff for it to matter.)
Strange then, that only Airflo use polyurethane, probably because of the development effort required to get it right. The line-making industry is quite small scale and once committed to a particular technology it's hard to change.
Both PVC and polyurethane are denser than water so would naturally sink. So lines use various additives to change the density of the lines - hollow microscopic balls (microbeads) for floating lines and tungsten or even titanium for sinking.
An exception to the two-material core/cover make-up of lines is one form of intermediate line which is solid nylon; the slime line (see later).
To see how lines are made and hear the various competing claims, these two videos set it up.
Airflo video
Rio video
Line Density
The density of a line determines whether it floats or sinks and how fast. A line's density is its major property; when asked what you're using, the answer is going to be the fly's name followed by "on a sinker", "floater" etc.
There are four main types of fly line densities:
The opposite of the floater is the sinker - as you'd expect, the whole of this line sinks. It's used mostly on still waters where you sometimes need to get the fly down really deep really quickly. They are generally, but not exclusively, used with lures and often in the colder months. An extreme example is in booby fishing where the line actually lies on the bottom and the floating fly, on a very short leader, keeps the fly just a couple of feet above bottom. Retrieving then pulls the fly down and stopping allows the fly to rise creating a sinusoidal pattern of travel.
Sinking lines come in various sink-rates which are labelled in inches per second. As a guide, 3" per second is regarded as medium. The very fast sinkers are generally used by loch-style, drifting boat anglers who have to get down quickly before the boat passes over the line. Bank fishers can use much slower sinkers, simply waiting longer before the retrieve to get deeper.
There's a good post from Rob Edmunds (International Fly Fisherman) about sinking lines in the Miscellaneous section at the end of this article.
The intermediate is strange beast, neither one thing nor the other but is actually a slow sinker. How slow is often hard to establish as it's not always written on the box. If a line is marked as a slow intermediate it's around ½" per second; a so-called fast intermediate is about 2" per second. So you can reckon on an unmarked intermediate at around 1" per second. Their purpose is to fish just sub-surface. One advantage over a floater is that an intermediate fished just subsurface doesn't form a surface wake which always looks off-putting on a calm lake. Intermediates can be used with nymphs and buzzers but are probably more used with lures and attracters.
Intermediates can be made like other lines with a braided core and plastic cover but there is a variant made of single thick nylon often called a slime line because it feels slick and slightly, well, slimy. Some say this line casts better than others but to my mind its obvious line memory detracts from this.
The sink-tip line is a hybrid line made of a floating body with a tip of variable length that sinks at various rates. It has various uses from 'anchoring' a floating line while buzzer fishing so that it drifts more slowing to getting nymphs fishing deeper.
A tip about sink-tips
You don't actually need to buy a sink-tip line, you can attach a length of sinking line to your floater and you have a sink tip. Have a look at the Rio Versileaders and the Airflo Polyleader systems.
You'll find that lines get thinner as they get denser, that is, from floating through intermediate to fast sinking.
The picture below is a visual summary. 'Slow slime' could also be 'Slow intermediate', similarly for 'fast slime'. Di-3, Di-4 etc is the sink rate; 3" per sec etc. "Di" stands for Depth in inches. They used to be called 'Dips' - Depth inches per second.
![1606414208449.png]( "1606414208449.png")
It's worth pointing out that these sinking rates only apply in still water. In flowing water the speed of the flow cancels out some of the density of the lines. Fast sinking lines will still lie lower in the river than slower ones, but they may never reach bottom - depending on flow speed.
Mill ends
You'll often see very cheap lines being sold as 'mill ends'. These originated as lines made at the beginning of a new run where often colours weren't quite right but otherwise the line is perfect. Those lines were sold on to retailers for next to nothing and can be very good value. The trouble is, you rarely know what you're getting beyond floating/sinking and weight.
Now the 'mill end' can be any non-fatal fault in the line found in quality control, from lumps and bumps to incorrect length, normally called 'seconds'.
The really expensive brands like RIO destroy their failed QC lines.
All things Standard
"Today, any angler with the need to select a line to balance with a 6-weight fly rod can by a #6 line - regardless of the brand, whether level, double of weight-forward taper, floating, sinking or sink-tip - and feel secure in the knowledge the line he has selected will match the rod. This was a real breakthrough and many consider the establishment of the AFTMA Fly Line Standards one of the most important factors in the sport of fly fishing during modern history."
J. Leon Chandler, lead creator of the AFTM line standard in 1959
That was then but things have moved on somewhat. Some would say moved backwards but let's keep it simple for now.
You may see at least three line standards referred to:
The AFTM (Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers) System
The AFTMA (American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Association)
The AFFTA (American Fly Fishers Tackle Association)
They're all the same thing, but even though it's out of date now - AFTTA is the current one - you'll probably see AFTMA used most.
Lines come with numbers on their boxes which tell us their weight. That weight is related to the rod it's designed to be used on. So generally, you match a #5 weight rod with a #5 weight line.
The weight that the number is based on is the weight of the first 30 feet of fly line less the level section at the front of the head which is used to connect your leader. By tradition this tip section was 6" long and because it's used to connect the leader and is a consumable it's not part of the line specification. These days most manufacturers just measure from the end of the line as it often contains a welded loop and isn't consumed by adding leaders.
It is possible to deliberately over or under-weight your rod with heavier or lighter line weights than the label on your rod in search of obtaining your own personal "sweet spot" and many experienced casters routinely do. All rods can use all lines to various extents. (More on this later.)
Occasionally you'll find a rod with a couple of AFFTA numbers on it eg #6/7. Most people would match that with a #7 but a #6 would work. In fact there's an acceptable range with all rods of at least one weight or more.
Line Profiles and Tapers
So far so simple but profiles and tapers is where it can all go pear shaped. Few average anglers delve deeply into profiles, it can get quite confusing. But line profiles is where it's at for the manufacturers and retailers of lines because they can sell you thousands of variants. Every brand will have dozens of line profiles and every catalogue that drops through your door will have pages of them. Scientific Anglers has 74 lines available, It's a minefield for the uneducated. But here's the average guy's explanation as a start. There's a separate section later that gets more into it.
This sort of diagram is what you'll find on the adverts for the fly lines that are made. They are extreme caricatures because they exaggerate the width of the line and wildly shrink its length, but they do show the overall shape of the line.
![1606476187781.png]( "1606476187781.png")
Most lines are about 90' long. Apart from level tapered lines which are very rarely used these days, all our lines are thinner at both ends than in the centre. This means that there is more weight in the first 30' of the fishing end of the line than there would be if the line was level. This aids casting. A spinning rod works by having a very thin line with heavy weight at the tip. Fly lines distribute the weight along the front part of the line. As a consequence a spinning rod needs very little line outside the rod to cast, while a fly rod needs quite a lot.
Some nomenclature. A head normally describes the whole of the fat part of the line including where it thins (tapers). The belly is normally just the thick flat section between the two tapers. In practice it's quite difficult to find where a taper actually ends; it requires a micrometer.
![1606063336705.png]( "1606063336705.png")
Double Taper (DT) lines have the same taper on each end. These lines have long bellies which aid some forms of cast - notably the roll casts and spey casts if you have more than 30' of line outside the rod tip. On a DT fly line the first fifteen feet of the fly line gradually widens in diameter. The next 60 feet of the fly line remains a constant weight and width. The final 15 feet of the fly line then gradually loses width and weight at exactly the same rate as was gained on the front of the fly line.
These were the first kind of modern lines to be used and you'll often hear that they can be reversed if one end begins to wear. They're no longer as popular as they were because of the development of the weight forward line which can have exaggerated profiles.
Weight Forward (WF) lines are by far the most popular line design, almost every angler will own a weight forward line.
Shooting Head (SH) lines are rather specialist. They have a very small diameter running line - often just mono - leading into 20' or so of thick, heavy body. These lines are designed for overhead distance casting as the overweight heavy head shoots line. They can be a bit clumsy to use as the thin running line can tangle and turning over a small fly can be difficult.
Traditionally shooting heads don't roll or spey cast as the running line is not heavy enough to turn over the weight of the heavy head in front of it unless the head is inside the rod tip. But there are modern hybrid forms of shooting heads designed mainly for spey casting, usually, but not always, for double handed rods called Skagits.
Shooting Heads are increasingly being used in saltwater fishing where distance matters a lot. This is a good article on their pros and cons and instructions on how to make your own.
globalflyfisher.com
That's the basics, I get more into detail on line profiles later.
Which Weight?
Given all the fly line weights available, which is used and when?
The first rule is to pick the line to match the number written on your rod! (More on that in the "Understanding Rods" thread.)
The second rule is that you need weight to cast weight. So if you're chucking heavy lures you need a heavy line (and rod).
But after that:
#1-3 These weights are primarily for small fish - very small trout or, maybe, larger trout in very small streams.
#4 Best used on small/mid-sized streams and small lakes where longer casts aren't needed.
#5 The "all-round" trout fisherman's line weight. Covers virtually all trout-fishing situations an angler is likely to find. Works ok for smaller fish too, but it's not as much fun catching small fish on a heavier fly rod. Will cast a lure too.
#6 Another good "all-around" weight for trout fishing. Overkill for tiny trout. Probably used mostly for bank fishing still waters.
#7 This used to be the all-rounder category back in the 80's stocked reservoirs but less so now as rods have become lighter and more powerful. #7 weight fly lines are best used for larger, more powerful fish such as sea trout and salmon on single-handed rods. But they are useful for chucking bigger lures for stocked rainbows (and pike) too.
#8+ The fly line weights from #8 upward are designed for very powerful, large fish - pike, saltwater and salmon species in particular.
All this makes it seem that there's a big difference between the lines. In fact the difference between a #5 and a #6 is just 20 grains; the weight of a business card. This video from RIO is illuminating
Fly Line Codes
Fly lines then, can be different weights, shapes and densities. To differentiate one line from another the manufacturers have developed a code eg
![Orvis Clearwater Fly Line]( "Orvis Clearwater Fly Line")
WF-4-F This fly line is a weight-forward taper fly line, with a weight of 4, and it floats.
DT-6-F This fly line is a double taper fly line, with a weight of 6, and it floats.
WF-7-S This fly line is a weight-forward taper fly line, with a weight of 7, and is a sinking line. How fast the line sinks (its sink rate) will be listed on the box.
DT-3-F/S - This fly line is a double taper fly line, with a weight of 3, and is a sink-tip fly line. The sink rate of the fly line, as well as how much of the line actually sinks, may be listed on the box.
WF-6-I This fly line is a weight-forward taper fly line, with a weight of 6, and is an intermediate sinking line. The sink rate of the fly line may be listed on the box.
ST-5-F This code means that the fly line is a shooting taper fly line, with a weight of 5, and it floats.
Loops or no loops?
The line has to be attached to the backing on the reel and to the leader. The simplest method is loop-to-loop.
![fly line connector loops]( "fly line connector loops")
For this reason, many lines have loops at both ends but many don't, particularly the cheaper ones.
Note: slime lines and lines with solid cores can not be used with the popular needle knot to joint the leader.
If you need to know more about making loops or using lines without loops or how to attach leaders to fly lines please see an earlier thread 'Understanding Fly Line to leader Connections' here:
Understanding Fly Line to Leader Connections
Fly Line Colour
You'll notice that fly lines come in all sorts of colours from camouflaged to fluorescent outrages. At first this seems weird, don't garish colours put fish off? Well it seems not. One reason is that from below, against a light sky, they all look black and very obvious so if they do upset fish, they all probably do it equally. It's generally regarded as good practice to use as long a leader as you can manage to fully turnover in order to distance your fly from the fly line.
Generally, you'll find that floating lines are bright colours while sinkers and intermediates are dark - greys, brown and olives.
Given this, it seems reasonable to choose a floating line that you can see best. Or matches your fingernail gloss. Or something.
Rumour has it though that things are different in low-light and night fishing where colour seems to matter. Darker colours are generally considered better here but strangely not pure black.
On slightly more expensive lines you'll often see lines made in two-tone colours. This can mark the taper from the running line or the sink tip from the floating part. Both are useful if you find them.
Textured Lines
These are lines that either have fine ridges running along their lengths (eg Airflo's Ridge) or lines that have tiny diamond shapes embossed into them (eg Scientific Angler's SharkSkin).
If I remember correctly these lines were introduced with the claim that they reduced friction on rod rings giving better distance and that they float higher in the water. The first claim seems unlikely to be true as friction is not dependent on contact surface area. Certainly Airflo is far more circumspect in their claim today though SA still say that they "vastly reduced friction, leading to lines that floated higher, shot farther, and lasted longer than any previous line ever produced." in their 'about history'.
The claim that they float higher may well be true, those that fish them with dry flies say that they are easier to lift off the water because of it.
They do have downsides; they're noisy through the rings and can be harsh on fingers, particularly if you're a stillwater angler pulling flies all day.
Another downside - that people here complain of here - is that they get dirty; all those tiny grooves...
Which brings us onto
Cleaning and Maintaining Fly Lines
The universal recommendation is to clean your line from time to time by washing it in warm, soapy water and pulling it through a dry cloth. Use hand soap, not detergent as detergents are too aggressive. Lines can get a bit claggy from algae, mud, grit etc which does affect performance. Casting on grass coats your line with grit particles and acts as an abrasive which will quite quickly groove and damage rod rings.
This is RIO's method. Part 1
Line Dressings
More controversially, to dress or not to dress? Should lines be coated with lubes and line slicks after washing? Well the advice from the manufactures is contradictory, Airflo say no the slickness in modern lines is created by the additives imbedded into the plastic coat - teflon - and is a function of the line; it's not an addition after, so don't lube. But RIO say yes, it helps.
Feeling here is that it's a nice thing to do but doesn't last long and the stuff you coat the line with - usually silicone of some form - washes off into the environment.
Whether lube is necessary, beneficial, useless or even harmful to a line may depend on the composition of the fly line. The Airflo lines are polyurethane (PU) and the manufacturer says do not lube.
PU lines are pretty impervious to most chemicals whereas PVC lines can be damaged by solvents - alcohol, insect repellent (DEET), sun lotions being the most obvious so you have to be careful putting anything on them.
Most lines are PVC and use plasticisers to make them pliable and low memory, losing plasticiser causes lines to crack. Historically PVC lines leeched their plasticisers gradually over time and with use. Many of the practices anglers use to condition their lines are from 25 or more years ago when line formulations were relatively simple but also little understood and may cause harm to PVC lines by removing these plasticisers more quickly.
Car product like Armer All and Rain X have been used to coat lines in order to make them slick and move through rod rings with less friction but they're are not generally recommended on many modern lines. For example, RIO have a new line coating system called SlickCast which has micropores that 'bleed' slickness, putting a coating on top of these lines negates that effect.
Muscilin line grease has also been used for decades on the tips of floating fly lines to stop the tip sinking and to make the line float on the water rather than in it. Unfortunately Muscilin also contains a solvent which will remove plasticisers from a PVC line so again, it's not recommended.
These days you're best advised to use only what the manufacturer recommends on your line. Pure Silicone is generally regarded as ok, but it only makes a line slippy, it doesn't replace plasticisers.
Whatever you do, do not use any product - even silicone - from an aerosol. Aerosols use volatile propellants to force the product out of the can. These propellants are solvents which will very quickly destroy your line.
For balance, there are several here who say that they use products like Armor All Protectant on a daily basic on PVC lines without any harm at all. Go figure.
www.halfords.com
What the manufacturers say:
Airflo's (polyurethane) advice from Tim Rajeff
RIO's (PVC) advice
Epic advice
Curly-Wurly Lines
When you get a new line or use a line that's been stored for a long time you'll often find that it's full of waves and curls and won't lie straight on the water. Often all you need to do is cast and fish for a while and it straightens out. But sometimes the line set is stubborn. There are a few methods you can use to straighten your line by stretching it. Here's Orvis's advice.
news.orvis.com
Organising your Fly Lines
Most anglers will have a selection of lines. We can't help falling for the marketing. But once they're out of their boxes and on you're reels, it's hard to remember what it is you've got. Some reels have tabs on their spools that allow you to mark the line type but most don't.
Some manufacturers have started printing on the line itself eg
![DB415A03-898F-4873-AA7E-55FFDEC5C164.jpeg]( "DB415A03-898F-4873-AA7E-55FFDEC5C164.jpeg")
The bands are strip of velcro used as cable ties, buy it on 3m reels for a couple of quid. I've written the description on with permanent marker. It has the double advantage of holding your line in place.
![Image]()
You can buy posh purpose made ones from Airflo and Snowbee, google 'spool tenders'. But remember, you'll want something you can write on.
In a pinch thick elastic bands work fine but they perish fairly quickly.
An alternative is to mark the line itself with your own code using a sharpie. 5 dots denotes a #5. A dash means weight forward, a ring a sinker etc.
More on Profiles
So, suppose your rod is a #5 and you've decided on a floating line and you want it to be a weight forward line so you want a WF-5-F.
Unfortunately the problem with choosing the best line for you doesn't end there. You'll find that even though you've narrowed it down that far you've still got a bewildering choice in front of you and it's all about the line profile - there are hundreds.
Here's a bit of detail on a Scientific Angler line
![1606412396043.png]( "1606412396043.png")
You can see that the normal 90' length is broken down into different sections denoting differing widths - and therefore differing weight - of line. All lines have slightly differing head profiles depending on how the manufacturer thinks he can best suit a particular fishing circumstance - distance, delicacy, size of fish, type of cast (roll or overhead), size of fly and so on.
How much of these claims are real or marketing puff is a furious debate. Many of us just want a general purpose line, we don't want to have to mess about changing lines for marginal changes in fishing circumstances.
There are real differences between line types, but you need to know what you're doing in order to choose them.
The physics of the profiles requires there to be differences that we should be able to find and exploit if we're good enough. And some profiles are better for beginners and intermediates than others, an overweight line can help a beginner feel the rod load and a very overweight line can help in learning to double haul. A line with a short head that's two or three sizes overweight can be used to cast large flies easily. An overweight or puropose
As a small example of how manufacturers are making different WF-5-F line profiles and weights (different weights for a #5 weight line!) for different purposes here's RIO again, and Simon Gawseworth. (btw, Simon is a great casting teacher and has lots of good casting videos on RIO's site).
After struggling to create this next section myself I found that Angling Active have already done a really good job on it so instead of re-inventing the sliced-bread, I've just posted it in full for your convenience below. Thanks AA.
A fly line taper refers to the overall profile of a fly line design. Line profiles can be manufactured to vary in line thickness at various points in the fly lines length through a tapered design. Thicker denser parts of the fly line are used to add weight and mass. Thin areas of the fly line are used to reduce friction and offer better presentation. The transition from thick to thin can be gradual or steep tapers offering vastly different performance outcomes, depending on your fishing objectives.
Basic fly line profile concept:
Line tapers are created to provide individual characteristics to a fly line; these enhance features such as casting distance and overall fly presentation.
![1606922809735.png]( "1606922809735.png")
Running Line
The running line of a fly line often referred to as a shooting line is thinner and lighter than the head and normally has a level taper. Distance can be achieved easier as the narrow diameter of the running line creates less friction through the fly rod guides.
Head
The head of the fly line is made up of 3 sections, below we highlight these sections and explain how the mechanics of these sections work.
Rear Taper
The length of the rear taper determines how smoothly the energy is transferred to the belly of the fly line. A longer rear taper can hold the fly line head steady in flight offering more accurate casting. Lines with a longer back taper can be cast at various distances along the back taper. Lines with a longer back taper can be useful if you want to aerialise a long line and achieve good accuracy at distance.
Compare this to a short back taper where the line can only be false cast only with the rod top near to the back taper. An advantage of a heavy head and short back taper is that you can load the rod quickly and cast distance with fewer false casts. Beware if you have too much-running line out the rod tip while casting, the line will collapse as the thin running line cannot transfer the energy of the cast to the head.
Belly
This section of the fly line carries the thickest diameter and also carries the majority of the weight and, therefore, helps load the rod shoot the fly line. Longer bellied fly lines help increase casting distance and accuracy as they allow the angler to carry out several false casts at various distances without the chance of casting into the running line.
Shorter bellies load the rod quicker and cast easily as the mass or weight of the fly line is concentrated into a smaller length.
Accuracy and presentation can be sacrificed though, as the shorter the belly and front taper are the more aggressive the line can wander during flight.
Front Taper
The length of the front taper of a fly line will determine how a fly is delivered (or how it will turnover). The longer the front taper is the more delicate the presentation will be, as the energy is distributed evenly over the length of the front taper. Shorter front tapers mean more powerful turnovers because the energy is transferred from the belly to the tip much quicker. This provides a far more aggressive turnover and can impede fly presentation if not used in conjunction with the appropriate setup.
What Are The Various Fly Line Tapers And What Situations Should I Use Them?
Fly line tapers can become quite confusing, so below we have highlighted the most commonly used fly line tapers and broken them down into specific fishing scenarios to provide you with a better understanding how each individual fly line taper works.
1. General All Rounder
For general use, we would recommend something with a fairly standard head length, around about 35-40 foot with a 5 to 7-foot front taper.
This style of line taper is classed as a great all-rounder and is generally favoured by general Stillwater anglers. These fly lines are easy to cast and provide good fly presentation which is ideal for a beginner who is trying to hone their casting skills.
This style of fly line tapers is ideal for casting teams of flies. They do have limitations though, so if you're fishing a specific method, we do recommend looking at some of the specialist fly line tapers that we cover below.
![1606922934663.png]( "1606922934663.png")
2. Dry Fly
When dry fly fishing with a tapered leader and a single dry fly, you will want to use a very fine and long front taper.
You want to look at a 45-foot head length on your fly line. This will provide an elegant turnover while the belly of the line will transmit enough energy to turn the fly over. Having the weight towards the rear of the head also allows the line to be controlled and mended. (see diagram below)
![1606922981453.png]( "1606922981453.png")
If you try and turn over something like a big heavy indicator on this style of taper, it's not going to have the mass required at the end of the line in order to turn it over efficiently due to the long front taper. You are going to really struggle as the transmitted energy will dissipate due to the mass being spread over a long belly length and a long front taper. Think of it like creating a rope wave using your arm, the wave created initially is strong and high but the further down the rope the energy is transferred the smaller the waves become.
If you're looking to fish a team of dry flies on a tapered leader then we recommend using a fly line with a slightly longer rear taper and shorter belly to allow you to keep your flies in flight longer. The shorter concentrated mass helps shoot the line easier, while the elongated front taper will still turn over the flies more elegantly.
The shorter belly length is a popular choice with reservoir anglers that cast teams of flies and also provides a good all-round dry fly line. The shorter belly provides the required concentrated mass for shooting these lines at distance easier, while the extended rear taper allows you to keep more line in flight for increased distance and accuracy.
![1606923037411.png]( "1606923037411.png")
3. Nymph Fishing
[Ed, Don't confuse this with what we would call nymph fishing, this is a line made to cast an indicator not a nymph]
These lines have a very short and acute front taper. This style of taper is designed for casting a great big air-resistant indicator, primarily aimed at the sight indicator angler where casting big thingamabobbers or similar style indicators is common practice.
UK fly anglers take influence from the American market when it comes to fishing indicators where a longer back taper is required so they can mend the line easily when fishing rivers. This gives them more control of the line with that longer head but also gives them the ability to keep more line in flight for improved distance and accuracy.
UK Stillwater anglers find these tapered lines beneficial for fishing the bung. The bung is not the most aerodynamic indicator and requires a short front taper to provide that aggressive turnover needed for larger flies or indicators.
![1606923203577.png]( "1606923203577.png")
If we tried using a really short shooting head it would be near impossible to mend the line effectively because the thin running line would not be able to move and manipulate the short heavy shooting head.
Think of a matchstick trying to pick up an anvil, it's not possible. We require mass to move mass, this is when the elongated rear taper comes into its own.
4. Casting Competitions
The one thing that new anglers get confused with is the naming on packaging, for example, they see a fly line advertised as a distance line and think "I'll buy that and I'll be able to cast really easily because it's a distance line" but in actual fact, they should be looking at the line taper to distinguish if the line is appropriate for them.
Most distance lines are going to be more suited to a more advanced fly caster because it's got a really long, elongated taper. This means the whole fly line can support itself during flight when more line is paid out during the cast. The fly line's mass is spread over a longer head length of the line, which means more line in flight will vastly improve accuracy and distance.
Distance lines or long belly lines are ideal for fishing teams of flies and are designed for the more experienced or competent caster to really get the best from these lines.
The downside to a really long belly and an elongated back taper is that you need a lot of line out to really have the weight of the line to load the rod.
As a result, an average caster or a beginner is not going to have the ability to handle a line that long. They will not be used to managing that much line out of the rod tip, particularly if they have been using a really short and heavy fly line taper, like a more standard head length.
![1606923256181.png]( "1606923256181.png")
5. Tight Casting
If you're fishing with limited backcasting space due to tree-lined banks or steep banks, then you require a fly line with a shorter belly and shorter front and rear tapers.
This will allow you to shoot a lot of line with minimal false casts. The shorter head and shorter front and rear tapers will load faster due to the shorter concentration of mass. These fly lines are easy to cast and are ideal for casting larger flies or teams of flies, especially into a headwind.
These fly line tapers are also good for roll casting and Spey casting with a single-handed fly rod. They are good because there's a shorter concentration of mass to load the rod quickly, however, they turn over aggressively so are not appropriate when a more finesse presentation is required.
![1606935011135.png]( "1606935011135.png")
End of Angling Active's content.
Recommendations & General Comments
Which brand?
All the well known brands make decent lines of decent quality.
Rio is generally regarded as one of the best brands available but lately their prices have rocketed to rather ridiculous levels.
Barrio is a small independent, good value brand with good customer service and made here in the UK. (Rumour has it that they may have switched to Canada now.)
At the cheap end of the market is Maxcatch, Chinese imports that are both very cheap and very well regarded here. Their Real Gold line is recommended and maybe a copy of the RIO Gold. They appear to have copied several of their line profiles. This means that you can afford to buy several lines and experiment.
Airflo lines are made here in the UK but the company was bought by the US fishing aggregator Mayfly Outdoors in 2019.
Other notable lines are Scientific Angler and Cortland (the 444 is a 50 year old classic).
So which line for which purpose?
This is where it all gets messy again. Very messy, sadly. I think it's worth keeping in mind what Trident found when they tested 43 #5 floating lines
![Screenshot 2021-04-22 at 09.15.35.png]( "Screenshot 2021-04-22 at 09.15.35.png")
Lines (and it turns out, rods too) are not always, or even usually, what their labels say they are. As rods got lighter for the same power as older heavier rods, some manufacturers started downsizing their # weight (~power) rating. Rods became stiffer and consequently the lines became routinely non-standard by increasing their weight at 30' to return some 'feel' to the angler. But it is what it is, so if you need to know what the actual weights are you're going to have to do a lot of research.
All that aside, in general, a heavier, forward-weighted head and/or a half or one overweight line does seem to help the beginner as the caster can feel the rod load a little easier.
If it's only distance you want, then a shooting head line is a good choice so long as you don't need to roll or spey cast or need delicate presentation. In order to prevent the fly landing in a pile at the end of the cast you have to get your timing right.
To get a line to do really long distances AND have a bit of subtlety about it (and be pleasant to use) you need one with a long tapering body AND the ability and a stiff enough rod to keep a lot of that body in the air - it's called carry. Most of us can't do this and most fishing circumstances neither require it nor make it possible - mind that hedge behind you! (With, say, 60' of line outside the rod tip, your #5 rod is casting an #11 weight line! The ratio is about 1 line weight every 5' beyond 30'.)
As a general statement it seems quite important to know where the line designer's 30' point is on your line and where the head meets the running line. Remember, that 30' is the amount of line outside your rod tip that the manufacturer reckons hits the standard for the line and your rod manufacturer has recommended for your rod.
The point where the line moves from tapered head to flat running line (the overhang) is also useful to know as you ideally want that inside your rod-tip to roll cast efficiently and carrying line beyond it becomes counter productive. So if you spend a lot of time roll casting and spey casting just check that your WF line has enough head to allow you to do that within the rod tip.
There are raging arguments about the 30' here and elsewhere, Originally that 30' weight was intended as the optimal loading point for a rod without a haul. It's theoretically the weight of line that will make an average angler feel comfortable casting. Now we have to treat that idea with suspicion partly because of the industry messing with weights and standards and partly because the industry is making some very advanced rods these days that they say are designed for a whole line, not just 30' of it.
In the 2020 Yellowstone #5 rod review they even went as far as splitting rods into "Power Rods" and "Presentation Rods" - all #5! For more on this, see the Understanding Carbon Trout Rods thread here.
Having said that I still think it worthwhile the average caster knowing where that 30' point is because most fishing rather than casting rods are still on or about that.
I measure it out and mark it with a sharpie. I put another mark 10' further up (so at 40') so that I can see it in my hand too and use that mark for a longer cast. If you are aerialising much more than that you're often into running line - depending on taper. So it's best to know where the head ends too. If you have a two-tone line you'll see the transition, otherwise you lave to measure the line and mark it where the box it came in tells you the head ends.
If you have a 9' rod, a 12' leader, 30' of line outside the tip plus another 10' or so to shoot (hence the 40' mark) you're overhead casting 61' from your feet. That's almost always more than enough and makes for very easy fishing.
Of course rods don't stop working either side of that 30', they're designed to work through a range of distances both short and long, and weights and profiles so there's no need to be obsessive about that 30' it's just a guide and we have to start somewhere.
Given the way the makers of both rods and lines play fast and loose with the standard, you may need to experiment a bit to find out what's actually best for your rod, your situation and your casting style. It's quite normal for experienced casters to under or overload their rods with line weights outside the range of the rod to get them to perform the way they prefer. For a beginner with a modern stiffish rod, it's worth trying a line a little heavier than the rod's label so as to 'feel' the rod work.
All this could lead to a conclusion which is "just try a few lines" to see what best fits your casting action, ability and the rod that you have. Well that's great if you can borrow a lot of lines but not great if you have to buy them to find out. RIO and Airflo have just hiked their priced to the $100 - $130 level - an absurd amount for plastic coated string.
Luckily, at the time of writing you can get an excellent, general purpose line - the Starter Line - from Maxcatch for just £3.50. If you're a beginner I suggest you buy a couple of these starting at different weights and see which you prefer.
Tight (tapered) lines.
Tangled
Miscellaneous information, controversies, gripes and groans
I now often overline my rods - it makes casting very easy. Here's why:
Great - but long - video by Simon Gawseworth on lines
Rob Edmund's take on sinking lines
OK ....this is my personal and totally honest view as regards Sinking Lines.
I'm methodical with sinkers, I never mix and match different manufacturers as I want to be sure the sink rates are clearly distinguishable between the different lines.
As regards sinking lines for me Airflo are unquestionably the best out there The rest just aren't close. But like everything you need to pick a product that suits your needs if it's to meet your expectations.
Airflo 40+ Lines
There are 2 different ranges within the Airflo 40+ range. The "40+ Expert" and the "40+ Extreme"
The "40+ Expert" had a longer head length of 45ft ( the part of the fly line that's got the weight in it) its aimed at those who like to hold a lot of line in the air.
The "40+ Extreme" has a 35ft head and aimed at the " everyday angler".
Whichever one you choose always go one size heavier than your rods AFTM to get the best out of the line
These lines are basically " manufactured shooting heads" . The big advantage of both ranges is they allow easy casting ( they load the rod quickly) and good distance for almost anyone. They are excellent if you fish the bank a lot on reservoirs and need that extra distance, or in a flat calm from a boat when you need extra distance.
However because the running line is so thin they are prone to tangling, especially in a strong wind. The running line ( intermediate) also doesn't "dig in" as a full sinking line does, so in a good wave you are not always in direct contact with your flies as its wave effected !. Finally if you arielise too much line the head will drop around your head making casting very difficult.....it also will hinge and crack where the running line meets the head. This problem gets worse the faster the sinking line . So with weekly use expect an intermediate to last 3 or 4 years, and a Di-7 around 6 - 8 months.
Finally 40+ lines are not as pleasurable in the hand as a thicker full line.
Sixth Sense Sinking Lines
These are full sinking lines with a low stretch braided core (6% stretch as opposed to other manufacturers lines with 15 - 19% stretch in the core)... The low stretch means you feel every take and knock, they are great when fishing at distance or depth as you can set the hook easily.
However don't strike on every little knock, remember these are very soft takes you often wouldn't even feel on a stretcher standard line.....so keep retrieving and just wait until it locks up to set the hook ( this is the main reason some anglers believe they " bump" to many fish on these lines, they strike too early at every opportunity.
The manufacturer claims that as its low stretch it helps you generate more line speed and greater distance......Look it's an easy casting line and nice to use, but not a patch on the 40+ range for distance.
These Sixth Sense lines just last and last, especially the slow intermediate down to a Di-3 they are virtually bomb proof and should last 6 years even with weekly use...A Di-5 a little less perhaps 4-5 years and the super fast sinkers Di-7's and Di-8's 1-2 years max.
The Standard Sixth Sense Range are all density compensated that is the Tip of the fly-line sinks first.
Because they have slightly thicker running line ( than the 40+ range) they are nicer to the touch when retrieving, suffer from less tangles and sink the whole way down the line so aren't affected by wind or waves as the 40+ range is .....
Sixth Sense Sweep Range.
Within the Sixth Sense Range there are 3 lines all with the word Sweep after them... so Di-3 Sweep, Di-5 Sweep and Di-7 Sweep.
These lines have all the benefits of the above Sixth Sense lines, but the sink "Belly" first. ( rather than tip first) Airflo basically continued the idea from Scientific Anglers Hi Speed Hi -De lines of the 1980's and created a range of modern lines.
As the line sinks belly first it creates a U shape, this can induce the take with the change of angle and speed as the flies come round the arc or U ( think fishing the Rudder but up and down).
For me these are my favourite sinking lines on the market and great for searching the depths when fishing.
Competitor Range
This is a small range of 3 lines ( all sixth sense) with duel sink rates... a Di-5 head with a Di3 running line......a Di-7 head with a Di5 running line and finally the bad boy Di-8 head with a Di7 running line.
These are specialist lines, and very long at 120ft. Designed for competition anglers. The duel sink rate gives a slightly different angle of retrieve which can help occasionally.
I only use the Di-8 with Di7 running line model in extreme conditions when I want to get ultra deep......This thing drops line a brick and is my favourite deep booby line. It is however a pain to cast as it's so heavy, and will wreck your arms.
If you do a lot of Rudder fishing or Backdrifting the extra length is very advantageous......if not for the everyday angler it's a range that's best left alone.
** just remember that the faster the sink rate of a fly-line, the more sinking compound ( powdered tungsten) and less plastic there is in the product... this means the ultra faster sinkers will crack more easily and wont last as long as slower sinkers....even without use ultra fast sinkers become brittle and can deteriorate. * - This applies to ALL brands
Under and over-lining your rod
Nice article by Lefty Kreh
Manufacturers
Airflo - Based in the UK, now owned by Mayfly Outdoors, an American company.
Cortland - USA
Monic - USA
Northern Sport Fishing- UK and Canada, now probably only manufacturing in Canada
22M Ltd - UK, probably no longer manufacturing.
Rio - USA. Owned by Fairbank who also own Sage
Scientific Anglers (Orvis owned) - USA
Leichi - China. Best known for their brand Maxcatch. (Not much is known about Leichi they may outsource production and there may be many more Chinese manufacturers.
The manufacturers make and retail their own branded lines but they can also make lines for other retailers in a process called OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). If you know who makes the lines for these brands please let us know!
Branded OEM fly lines
(Some educated speculation here)
Barrio, made by Northern Sports Fishing (we think). UK & Canada
Hardy
Greys
Wychwood
Shakespeare - probably made by Northern Sports
Royal Wulff - Scientific Anglers
Snowbee
Sunray
Loop - made by Scientific Anglers (which Orvis own). USA.
Vision
Orvis - made by Scientific Anglers (which Orvis own). USA.
Guideline
Scierra
Mackenzie
LTS
Sage - made by RIO
Daiwa
Leeda
Ron Thompson
MDI Aquapro - made by Northern Sports Fishing, Uk & Canada
Arc - made by Airflo
SKB (UK)
Teeny - made by Cortland
Maxcatch - made or possibly outsourced by Leichi, China
Sexyloops
Ballistic
Spartan - made by 22M
Off-the-shelf or Design?
Some of the brands simply buy a line off the rack and stick their own label on it - which may/will be one used by others - but a few others are designers that have their unique lines made for them. Who are they?
Barrio
Here's a thread from 2007, with information which may or not be out of date...
Line Manufacturers
Is the AFTMA standard out of date?
Some regard the whole standards system as outdated and defunct because the system was designed in 1959 before weight forward lines and differing line profiles were available.
Surprisingly, the first section of a fly line - the level section - is excluded from the 30' measurement, yet it IS added weight. How much you won't know because it's not on the box. Some lines have as little as 6", some a few feet.
For an extreme opinion on this, see
History of the AFTMA standard
This is written by the guy mainly responsible for it
Actual line weights
It's a commonplace claim that some, possibly most, manufacturers create lines that are overweight, often by more than one weight.
The reason they do this, it is said, is to make it easier for beginners to load their rod, to feel the weight of the line in the cast, to feel the rod bend. It's also said that the increasingly powerful - ie stiffer rods - need this.
Trident measured the weights of 43 WF#5 lines:
It does seem odd that there's a standard that isn't a standard isn't it?
This from Sexyloops
" I do a lot of research on fly lines, both for myself, my friends, and for Big Sky Anglers (the fly shop I work for). As a result, I've been exposed to a wide variety of fly line designs - tapers, 30-feet weights, total head weights, head lengths, cores, and coatings vary WIDELY from line to line and brand to brand. I love taper diagrams, tables, and spreadsheets that might give me a hint about how a line will cast when paired with a given rod for a specific fishing approach. The more research I do, the more variations from the standard I find. Even for someone who likes this stuff, it can be downright confusing. For most folks that I know who just want to get a smooth casting outfit that is fun to fish with, it's just black magic."
It's well worth reading that whole article.
Line length Odd one this. Although lines are normally 90' long, not all are. I bought an Airlo line a while back that wouldn't fit on my reel. I had to cut half a mile off the back of it to get it on. It turns out that the line is 120' long! No one can aerialise that length of fly line so who knows why it's that long. Check before you load it onto your reel.
The Physics of fly lines
Interesting science paper on how flylines work
Sexyloops discussion with 3M
The Northern Sport Fishing Scandal
www.yorkpress.co.uk
Introduction
This is all about modern plastic fly lines used on single-handed rods, mainly for UK trout.
The fly line provides the weight necessary to enable your fly rod to propel your fly to its intended target. It also determines where in, or on, the water it will fish. It does this by being lighter or heavier than water.
We all like our rods and they get the most money and attention spent on them, but there's a serious case to be made that the line you put on it is more important. Some say far more important.
Like all things in fly fishing, the fly line started as a simple product and has evolved into a multitude of very specialist tools marketed for different applications. This subject can get very complicated very quickly; but only if you let it.
Many anglers carry many lines but equally many choose to fish just the one. Which path you follow depends mostly on the type of fishing you do - stream, river, lake; large or small fish, tiny dries or nymphs or heavy, gaudy lures - don't automatically think that you need several types.
However, the fly fisher that does not own a floating fly line (quite probably a #5 weight) does not exist and it's a rare angler that hasn't got a bag full of cast-offs in his garage or attic - we all get trapped into retail fishing at some point.
History
Fly lines started off being made of horse hair for dapping live insects, then graduated to silk and are now mostly plastic. If you're interested in historic detail, this chap makes a decent story of it.
The Fly Line Nerd Out - Part 3: History and Development of Fly Lines - blog.fishwest.com
And another from an American perspective. Weight forward lines in the Victorian era and double hauling and exploding rods in the 1920's! You want volume 41, number 1
Materials and Manufacture
Most fly lines are made of a low-stretch braid core (of nylon or dacron) coated with a plastic. But you can also get solid nylon cores too - Sunray lines are an example. The plastic coating is usually PVC but Airflo go their own unique way by using polyurethane. All the manufacturers have their secret recipes, but luckily we don't really have to get into them.
The line's core provides its strength while the coating gives it weight and its floating or sinking characteristics. The core's breaking strength is a minimum of 15lb for lighter trout lines going up to 60lb or more for salt water fishing. Unfortunately, manufacturers don't normally tell you the breaking strength of their lines so you have to trust that the size of the line and the description of its use is appropriate for your kind of fishing. For the sort of trout fishing we do in the UK, the core breaking strength is not really a concern as your leader will always be weaker.
PVC or Polyurethane?
PVC lines use a plasticiser to make them supple and low memory, Airflo say that this plasticiser leeches from the line over time causing it to degrade and crack, damaging the environment with dioxins. PVC is not recyclable while polyurethane is; though it's doubtful how many lines actually are recycled. Airflo also claim that their lines are thinner and longer lasting.
Polyurethane has the advantage of not being affected by chemical solvents often used by fly-fishers - in particular DEET insect repellent which can destroy a line. (And whisky apparently but most of us are far too careful with that stuff for it to matter.)
Strange then, that only Airflo use polyurethane, probably because of the development effort required to get it right. The line-making industry is quite small scale and once committed to a particular technology it's hard to change.
Both PVC and polyurethane are denser than water so would naturally sink. So lines use various additives to change the density of the lines - hollow microscopic balls (microbeads) for floating lines and tungsten or even titanium for sinking.
An exception to the two-material core/cover make-up of lines is one form of intermediate line which is solid nylon; the slime line (see later).
To see how lines are made and hear the various competing claims, these two videos set it up.
Airflo video
Rio video
Line Density
The density of a line determines whether it floats or sinks and how fast. A line's density is its major property; when asked what you're using, the answer is going to be the fly's name followed by "on a sinker", "floater" etc.
There are four main types of fly line densities:
- Floating lines which float on the surface.
- Sinking lines, which sink at various speeds
- Intermediate lines, which actually sink, but very slowly
- Sink Tips, where the main line floats but the tip, well, sinks.
The opposite of the floater is the sinker - as you'd expect, the whole of this line sinks. It's used mostly on still waters where you sometimes need to get the fly down really deep really quickly. They are generally, but not exclusively, used with lures and often in the colder months. An extreme example is in booby fishing where the line actually lies on the bottom and the floating fly, on a very short leader, keeps the fly just a couple of feet above bottom. Retrieving then pulls the fly down and stopping allows the fly to rise creating a sinusoidal pattern of travel.
Sinking lines come in various sink-rates which are labelled in inches per second. As a guide, 3" per second is regarded as medium. The very fast sinkers are generally used by loch-style, drifting boat anglers who have to get down quickly before the boat passes over the line. Bank fishers can use much slower sinkers, simply waiting longer before the retrieve to get deeper.
There's a good post from Rob Edmunds (International Fly Fisherman) about sinking lines in the Miscellaneous section at the end of this article.
The intermediate is strange beast, neither one thing nor the other but is actually a slow sinker. How slow is often hard to establish as it's not always written on the box. If a line is marked as a slow intermediate it's around ½" per second; a so-called fast intermediate is about 2" per second. So you can reckon on an unmarked intermediate at around 1" per second. Their purpose is to fish just sub-surface. One advantage over a floater is that an intermediate fished just subsurface doesn't form a surface wake which always looks off-putting on a calm lake. Intermediates can be used with nymphs and buzzers but are probably more used with lures and attracters.
Intermediates can be made like other lines with a braided core and plastic cover but there is a variant made of single thick nylon often called a slime line because it feels slick and slightly, well, slimy. Some say this line casts better than others but to my mind its obvious line memory detracts from this.
The sink-tip line is a hybrid line made of a floating body with a tip of variable length that sinks at various rates. It has various uses from 'anchoring' a floating line while buzzer fishing so that it drifts more slowing to getting nymphs fishing deeper.
A tip about sink-tips
You don't actually need to buy a sink-tip line, you can attach a length of sinking line to your floater and you have a sink tip. Have a look at the Rio Versileaders and the Airflo Polyleader systems.
You'll find that lines get thinner as they get denser, that is, from floating through intermediate to fast sinking.
The picture below is a visual summary. 'Slow slime' could also be 'Slow intermediate', similarly for 'fast slime'. Di-3, Di-4 etc is the sink rate; 3" per sec etc. "Di" stands for Depth in inches. They used to be called 'Dips' - Depth inches per second.
It's worth pointing out that these sinking rates only apply in still water. In flowing water the speed of the flow cancels out some of the density of the lines. Fast sinking lines will still lie lower in the river than slower ones, but they may never reach bottom - depending on flow speed.
Mill ends
You'll often see very cheap lines being sold as 'mill ends'. These originated as lines made at the beginning of a new run where often colours weren't quite right but otherwise the line is perfect. Those lines were sold on to retailers for next to nothing and can be very good value. The trouble is, you rarely know what you're getting beyond floating/sinking and weight.
Now the 'mill end' can be any non-fatal fault in the line found in quality control, from lumps and bumps to incorrect length, normally called 'seconds'.
The really expensive brands like RIO destroy their failed QC lines.
All things Standard
"Today, any angler with the need to select a line to balance with a 6-weight fly rod can by a #6 line - regardless of the brand, whether level, double of weight-forward taper, floating, sinking or sink-tip - and feel secure in the knowledge the line he has selected will match the rod. This was a real breakthrough and many consider the establishment of the AFTMA Fly Line Standards one of the most important factors in the sport of fly fishing during modern history."
J. Leon Chandler, lead creator of the AFTM line standard in 1959
That was then but things have moved on somewhat. Some would say moved backwards but let's keep it simple for now.
You may see at least three line standards referred to:
The AFTM (Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers) System
The AFTMA (American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Association)
The AFFTA (American Fly Fishers Tackle Association)
They're all the same thing, but even though it's out of date now - AFTTA is the current one - you'll probably see AFTMA used most.
Lines come with numbers on their boxes which tell us their weight. That weight is related to the rod it's designed to be used on. So generally, you match a #5 weight rod with a #5 weight line.
The weight that the number is based on is the weight of the first 30 feet of fly line less the level section at the front of the head which is used to connect your leader. By tradition this tip section was 6" long and because it's used to connect the leader and is a consumable it's not part of the line specification. These days most manufacturers just measure from the end of the line as it often contains a welded loop and isn't consumed by adding leaders.
AFTM number | In grains (range) | In grams | In ounces |
3 | 100 +/- 6 | 6.48 | 0.228 |
4 | 120 +/- 6 | 7.78 | 0.274 |
5 | 140 +/- 6 | 9.07 | 0.32 |
6 | 160 +/- 8 | 10.42 | 0.366 |
7 | 185 +/- 8 | 11.99 | 0.422 |
8 | 210 +/- 8 | 13.61 | 0.48 |
9 | 240 +/- 10 | 15.55 | 0.55 |
10 | 280 +/- 10 | 18.14 | 0.64 |
11 | 330 +/- 12 | 21.38 | 0.75 |
12 | 380 +/- 12 | 24.62 | 0.86 |
It is possible to deliberately over or under-weight your rod with heavier or lighter line weights than the label on your rod in search of obtaining your own personal "sweet spot" and many experienced casters routinely do. All rods can use all lines to various extents. (More on this later.)
Occasionally you'll find a rod with a couple of AFFTA numbers on it eg #6/7. Most people would match that with a #7 but a #6 would work. In fact there's an acceptable range with all rods of at least one weight or more.
Line Profiles and Tapers
So far so simple but profiles and tapers is where it can all go pear shaped. Few average anglers delve deeply into profiles, it can get quite confusing. But line profiles is where it's at for the manufacturers and retailers of lines because they can sell you thousands of variants. Every brand will have dozens of line profiles and every catalogue that drops through your door will have pages of them. Scientific Anglers has 74 lines available, It's a minefield for the uneducated. But here's the average guy's explanation as a start. There's a separate section later that gets more into it.
This sort of diagram is what you'll find on the adverts for the fly lines that are made. They are extreme caricatures because they exaggerate the width of the line and wildly shrink its length, but they do show the overall shape of the line.
Most lines are about 90' long. Apart from level tapered lines which are very rarely used these days, all our lines are thinner at both ends than in the centre. This means that there is more weight in the first 30' of the fishing end of the line than there would be if the line was level. This aids casting. A spinning rod works by having a very thin line with heavy weight at the tip. Fly lines distribute the weight along the front part of the line. As a consequence a spinning rod needs very little line outside the rod to cast, while a fly rod needs quite a lot.
Some nomenclature. A head normally describes the whole of the fat part of the line including where it thins (tapers). The belly is normally just the thick flat section between the two tapers. In practice it's quite difficult to find where a taper actually ends; it requires a micrometer.
Double Taper (DT) lines have the same taper on each end. These lines have long bellies which aid some forms of cast - notably the roll casts and spey casts if you have more than 30' of line outside the rod tip. On a DT fly line the first fifteen feet of the fly line gradually widens in diameter. The next 60 feet of the fly line remains a constant weight and width. The final 15 feet of the fly line then gradually loses width and weight at exactly the same rate as was gained on the front of the fly line.
These were the first kind of modern lines to be used and you'll often hear that they can be reversed if one end begins to wear. They're no longer as popular as they were because of the development of the weight forward line which can have exaggerated profiles.
Weight Forward (WF) lines are by far the most popular line design, almost every angler will own a weight forward line.
Shooting Head (SH) lines are rather specialist. They have a very small diameter running line - often just mono - leading into 20' or so of thick, heavy body. These lines are designed for overhead distance casting as the overweight heavy head shoots line. They can be a bit clumsy to use as the thin running line can tangle and turning over a small fly can be difficult.
Traditionally shooting heads don't roll or spey cast as the running line is not heavy enough to turn over the weight of the heavy head in front of it unless the head is inside the rod tip. But there are modern hybrid forms of shooting heads designed mainly for spey casting, usually, but not always, for double handed rods called Skagits.
Shooting Heads are increasingly being used in saltwater fishing where distance matters a lot. This is a good article on their pros and cons and instructions on how to make your own.
Shooting heads | Global FlyFisher
In this article I will try to cover some advantages and disadvantages of the shooting head over the WF line, and I will thoroughly describe the way you can configure a good shooting head system for your rod.
That's the basics, I get more into detail on line profiles later.
Which Weight?
Given all the fly line weights available, which is used and when?
The first rule is to pick the line to match the number written on your rod! (More on that in the "Understanding Rods" thread.)
The second rule is that you need weight to cast weight. So if you're chucking heavy lures you need a heavy line (and rod).
But after that:
#1-3 These weights are primarily for small fish - very small trout or, maybe, larger trout in very small streams.
#4 Best used on small/mid-sized streams and small lakes where longer casts aren't needed.
#5 The "all-round" trout fisherman's line weight. Covers virtually all trout-fishing situations an angler is likely to find. Works ok for smaller fish too, but it's not as much fun catching small fish on a heavier fly rod. Will cast a lure too.
#6 Another good "all-around" weight for trout fishing. Overkill for tiny trout. Probably used mostly for bank fishing still waters.
#7 This used to be the all-rounder category back in the 80's stocked reservoirs but less so now as rods have become lighter and more powerful. #7 weight fly lines are best used for larger, more powerful fish such as sea trout and salmon on single-handed rods. But they are useful for chucking bigger lures for stocked rainbows (and pike) too.
#8+ The fly line weights from #8 upward are designed for very powerful, large fish - pike, saltwater and salmon species in particular.
All this makes it seem that there's a big difference between the lines. In fact the difference between a #5 and a #6 is just 20 grains; the weight of a business card. This video from RIO is illuminating
Fly Line Codes
Fly lines then, can be different weights, shapes and densities. To differentiate one line from another the manufacturers have developed a code eg
WF-4-F This fly line is a weight-forward taper fly line, with a weight of 4, and it floats.
DT-6-F This fly line is a double taper fly line, with a weight of 6, and it floats.
WF-7-S This fly line is a weight-forward taper fly line, with a weight of 7, and is a sinking line. How fast the line sinks (its sink rate) will be listed on the box.
DT-3-F/S - This fly line is a double taper fly line, with a weight of 3, and is a sink-tip fly line. The sink rate of the fly line, as well as how much of the line actually sinks, may be listed on the box.
WF-6-I This fly line is a weight-forward taper fly line, with a weight of 6, and is an intermediate sinking line. The sink rate of the fly line may be listed on the box.
ST-5-F This code means that the fly line is a shooting taper fly line, with a weight of 5, and it floats.
Loops or no loops?
The line has to be attached to the backing on the reel and to the leader. The simplest method is loop-to-loop.
For this reason, many lines have loops at both ends but many don't, particularly the cheaper ones.
Note: slime lines and lines with solid cores can not be used with the popular needle knot to joint the leader.
If you need to know more about making loops or using lines without loops or how to attach leaders to fly lines please see an earlier thread 'Understanding Fly Line to leader Connections' here:
Understanding Fly Line to Leader Connections
Fly Line Colour
You'll notice that fly lines come in all sorts of colours from camouflaged to fluorescent outrages. At first this seems weird, don't garish colours put fish off? Well it seems not. One reason is that from below, against a light sky, they all look black and very obvious so if they do upset fish, they all probably do it equally. It's generally regarded as good practice to use as long a leader as you can manage to fully turnover in order to distance your fly from the fly line.
Generally, you'll find that floating lines are bright colours while sinkers and intermediates are dark - greys, brown and olives.
Given this, it seems reasonable to choose a floating line that you can see best. Or matches your fingernail gloss. Or something.
Rumour has it though that things are different in low-light and night fishing where colour seems to matter. Darker colours are generally considered better here but strangely not pure black.
On slightly more expensive lines you'll often see lines made in two-tone colours. This can mark the taper from the running line or the sink tip from the floating part. Both are useful if you find them.
Textured Lines
These are lines that either have fine ridges running along their lengths (eg Airflo's Ridge) or lines that have tiny diamond shapes embossed into them (eg Scientific Angler's SharkSkin).
If I remember correctly these lines were introduced with the claim that they reduced friction on rod rings giving better distance and that they float higher in the water. The first claim seems unlikely to be true as friction is not dependent on contact surface area. Certainly Airflo is far more circumspect in their claim today though SA still say that they "vastly reduced friction, leading to lines that floated higher, shot farther, and lasted longer than any previous line ever produced." in their 'about history'.
The claim that they float higher may well be true, those that fish them with dry flies say that they are easier to lift off the water because of it.
They do have downsides; they're noisy through the rings and can be harsh on fingers, particularly if you're a stillwater angler pulling flies all day.
Another downside - that people here complain of here - is that they get dirty; all those tiny grooves...
Which brings us onto
Cleaning and Maintaining Fly Lines
The universal recommendation is to clean your line from time to time by washing it in warm, soapy water and pulling it through a dry cloth. Use hand soap, not detergent as detergents are too aggressive. Lines can get a bit claggy from algae, mud, grit etc which does affect performance. Casting on grass coats your line with grit particles and acts as an abrasive which will quite quickly groove and damage rod rings.
This is RIO's method. Part 1
Line Dressings
More controversially, to dress or not to dress? Should lines be coated with lubes and line slicks after washing? Well the advice from the manufactures is contradictory, Airflo say no the slickness in modern lines is created by the additives imbedded into the plastic coat - teflon - and is a function of the line; it's not an addition after, so don't lube. But RIO say yes, it helps.
Feeling here is that it's a nice thing to do but doesn't last long and the stuff you coat the line with - usually silicone of some form - washes off into the environment.
Whether lube is necessary, beneficial, useless or even harmful to a line may depend on the composition of the fly line. The Airflo lines are polyurethane (PU) and the manufacturer says do not lube.
PU lines are pretty impervious to most chemicals whereas PVC lines can be damaged by solvents - alcohol, insect repellent (DEET), sun lotions being the most obvious so you have to be careful putting anything on them.
Most lines are PVC and use plasticisers to make them pliable and low memory, losing plasticiser causes lines to crack. Historically PVC lines leeched their plasticisers gradually over time and with use. Many of the practices anglers use to condition their lines are from 25 or more years ago when line formulations were relatively simple but also little understood and may cause harm to PVC lines by removing these plasticisers more quickly.
Car product like Armer All and Rain X have been used to coat lines in order to make them slick and move through rod rings with less friction but they're are not generally recommended on many modern lines. For example, RIO have a new line coating system called SlickCast which has micropores that 'bleed' slickness, putting a coating on top of these lines negates that effect.
Muscilin line grease has also been used for decades on the tips of floating fly lines to stop the tip sinking and to make the line float on the water rather than in it. Unfortunately Muscilin also contains a solvent which will remove plasticisers from a PVC line so again, it's not recommended.
These days you're best advised to use only what the manufacturer recommends on your line. Pure Silicone is generally regarded as ok, but it only makes a line slippy, it doesn't replace plasticisers.
Whatever you do, do not use any product - even silicone - from an aerosol. Aerosols use volatile propellants to force the product out of the can. These propellants are solvents which will very quickly destroy your line.
For balance, there are several here who say that they use products like Armor All Protectant on a daily basic on PVC lines without any harm at all. Go figure.
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What the manufacturers say:
Airflo's (polyurethane) advice from Tim Rajeff
RIO's (PVC) advice
Epic advice
Curly-Wurly Lines
When you get a new line or use a line that's been stored for a long time you'll often find that it's full of waves and curls and won't lie straight on the water. Often all you need to do is cast and fish for a while and it straightens out. But sometimes the line set is stubborn. There are a few methods you can use to straighten your line by stretching it. Here's Orvis's advice.
Tuesday Tip: Stretch for Success - Orvis News
If you haven’t been out fishing for a few months, weeks, or even days, chances are that your line has settled into a series of coils from being on your reel for so long. When you peel line off the spool, you can see how the line’s “memory” causes it to coil on the ground. (The core and coating. . .
news.orvis.com
Organising your Fly Lines
Most anglers will have a selection of lines. We can't help falling for the marketing. But once they're out of their boxes and on you're reels, it's hard to remember what it is you've got. Some reels have tabs on their spools that allow you to mark the line type but most don't.
Some manufacturers have started printing on the line itself eg
This is what I do
The bands are strip of velcro used as cable ties, buy it on 3m reels for a couple of quid. I've written the description on with permanent marker. It has the double advantage of holding your line in place.
You can buy posh purpose made ones from Airflo and Snowbee, google 'spool tenders'. But remember, you'll want something you can write on.
In a pinch thick elastic bands work fine but they perish fairly quickly.
An alternative is to mark the line itself with your own code using a sharpie. 5 dots denotes a #5. A dash means weight forward, a ring a sinker etc.
More on Profiles
So, suppose your rod is a #5 and you've decided on a floating line and you want it to be a weight forward line so you want a WF-5-F.
Unfortunately the problem with choosing the best line for you doesn't end there. You'll find that even though you've narrowed it down that far you've still got a bewildering choice in front of you and it's all about the line profile - there are hundreds.
Here's a bit of detail on a Scientific Angler line
You can see that the normal 90' length is broken down into different sections denoting differing widths - and therefore differing weight - of line. All lines have slightly differing head profiles depending on how the manufacturer thinks he can best suit a particular fishing circumstance - distance, delicacy, size of fish, type of cast (roll or overhead), size of fly and so on.
How much of these claims are real or marketing puff is a furious debate. Many of us just want a general purpose line, we don't want to have to mess about changing lines for marginal changes in fishing circumstances.
There are real differences between line types, but you need to know what you're doing in order to choose them.
The physics of the profiles requires there to be differences that we should be able to find and exploit if we're good enough. And some profiles are better for beginners and intermediates than others, an overweight line can help a beginner feel the rod load and a very overweight line can help in learning to double haul. A line with a short head that's two or three sizes overweight can be used to cast large flies easily. An overweight or puropose
As a small example of how manufacturers are making different WF-5-F line profiles and weights (different weights for a #5 weight line!) for different purposes here's RIO again, and Simon Gawseworth. (btw, Simon is a great casting teacher and has lots of good casting videos on RIO's site).
After struggling to create this next section myself I found that Angling Active have already done a really good job on it so instead of re-inventing the sliced-bread, I've just posted it in full for your convenience below. Thanks AA.
A fly line taper refers to the overall profile of a fly line design. Line profiles can be manufactured to vary in line thickness at various points in the fly lines length through a tapered design. Thicker denser parts of the fly line are used to add weight and mass. Thin areas of the fly line are used to reduce friction and offer better presentation. The transition from thick to thin can be gradual or steep tapers offering vastly different performance outcomes, depending on your fishing objectives.
Basic fly line profile concept:
- 1. Thicker heavier parts of the line are used to add weight and mass. Weight forward lines have weight towards the front of the line to load the rod quickly.
- 2. Thin parts of the line, like the shooting line, offer less resistance on your rod eyes. A fine taper on the front of the line will allow for delicate presentation.
- 3. The taper from thick to thin or vice versa allows for a smooth transfer of energy. A line with a long gradual front taper that tapers fine at the front will offer a smooth delicate turnover for presenting smaller flies.
- 4. A steep/aggressive short taper can be used to turn over heavier weighted tips or flies.
Line tapers are created to provide individual characteristics to a fly line; these enhance features such as casting distance and overall fly presentation.
Running Line
The running line of a fly line often referred to as a shooting line is thinner and lighter than the head and normally has a level taper. Distance can be achieved easier as the narrow diameter of the running line creates less friction through the fly rod guides.
Head
The head of the fly line is made up of 3 sections, below we highlight these sections and explain how the mechanics of these sections work.
Rear Taper
The length of the rear taper determines how smoothly the energy is transferred to the belly of the fly line. A longer rear taper can hold the fly line head steady in flight offering more accurate casting. Lines with a longer back taper can be cast at various distances along the back taper. Lines with a longer back taper can be useful if you want to aerialise a long line and achieve good accuracy at distance.
Compare this to a short back taper where the line can only be false cast only with the rod top near to the back taper. An advantage of a heavy head and short back taper is that you can load the rod quickly and cast distance with fewer false casts. Beware if you have too much-running line out the rod tip while casting, the line will collapse as the thin running line cannot transfer the energy of the cast to the head.
Belly
This section of the fly line carries the thickest diameter and also carries the majority of the weight and, therefore, helps load the rod shoot the fly line. Longer bellied fly lines help increase casting distance and accuracy as they allow the angler to carry out several false casts at various distances without the chance of casting into the running line.
Shorter bellies load the rod quicker and cast easily as the mass or weight of the fly line is concentrated into a smaller length.
Accuracy and presentation can be sacrificed though, as the shorter the belly and front taper are the more aggressive the line can wander during flight.
Front Taper
The length of the front taper of a fly line will determine how a fly is delivered (or how it will turnover). The longer the front taper is the more delicate the presentation will be, as the energy is distributed evenly over the length of the front taper. Shorter front tapers mean more powerful turnovers because the energy is transferred from the belly to the tip much quicker. This provides a far more aggressive turnover and can impede fly presentation if not used in conjunction with the appropriate setup.
What Are The Various Fly Line Tapers And What Situations Should I Use Them?
Fly line tapers can become quite confusing, so below we have highlighted the most commonly used fly line tapers and broken them down into specific fishing scenarios to provide you with a better understanding how each individual fly line taper works.
1. General All Rounder
For general use, we would recommend something with a fairly standard head length, around about 35-40 foot with a 5 to 7-foot front taper.
This style of line taper is classed as a great all-rounder and is generally favoured by general Stillwater anglers. These fly lines are easy to cast and provide good fly presentation which is ideal for a beginner who is trying to hone their casting skills.
This style of fly line tapers is ideal for casting teams of flies. They do have limitations though, so if you're fishing a specific method, we do recommend looking at some of the specialist fly line tapers that we cover below.
2. Dry Fly
When dry fly fishing with a tapered leader and a single dry fly, you will want to use a very fine and long front taper.
You want to look at a 45-foot head length on your fly line. This will provide an elegant turnover while the belly of the line will transmit enough energy to turn the fly over. Having the weight towards the rear of the head also allows the line to be controlled and mended. (see diagram below)
If you try and turn over something like a big heavy indicator on this style of taper, it's not going to have the mass required at the end of the line in order to turn it over efficiently due to the long front taper. You are going to really struggle as the transmitted energy will dissipate due to the mass being spread over a long belly length and a long front taper. Think of it like creating a rope wave using your arm, the wave created initially is strong and high but the further down the rope the energy is transferred the smaller the waves become.
If you're looking to fish a team of dry flies on a tapered leader then we recommend using a fly line with a slightly longer rear taper and shorter belly to allow you to keep your flies in flight longer. The shorter concentrated mass helps shoot the line easier, while the elongated front taper will still turn over the flies more elegantly.
The shorter belly length is a popular choice with reservoir anglers that cast teams of flies and also provides a good all-round dry fly line. The shorter belly provides the required concentrated mass for shooting these lines at distance easier, while the extended rear taper allows you to keep more line in flight for increased distance and accuracy.
3. Nymph Fishing
[Ed, Don't confuse this with what we would call nymph fishing, this is a line made to cast an indicator not a nymph]
These lines have a very short and acute front taper. This style of taper is designed for casting a great big air-resistant indicator, primarily aimed at the sight indicator angler where casting big thingamabobbers or similar style indicators is common practice.
UK fly anglers take influence from the American market when it comes to fishing indicators where a longer back taper is required so they can mend the line easily when fishing rivers. This gives them more control of the line with that longer head but also gives them the ability to keep more line in flight for improved distance and accuracy.
UK Stillwater anglers find these tapered lines beneficial for fishing the bung. The bung is not the most aerodynamic indicator and requires a short front taper to provide that aggressive turnover needed for larger flies or indicators.
If we tried using a really short shooting head it would be near impossible to mend the line effectively because the thin running line would not be able to move and manipulate the short heavy shooting head.
Think of a matchstick trying to pick up an anvil, it's not possible. We require mass to move mass, this is when the elongated rear taper comes into its own.
4. Casting Competitions
The one thing that new anglers get confused with is the naming on packaging, for example, they see a fly line advertised as a distance line and think "I'll buy that and I'll be able to cast really easily because it's a distance line" but in actual fact, they should be looking at the line taper to distinguish if the line is appropriate for them.
Most distance lines are going to be more suited to a more advanced fly caster because it's got a really long, elongated taper. This means the whole fly line can support itself during flight when more line is paid out during the cast. The fly line's mass is spread over a longer head length of the line, which means more line in flight will vastly improve accuracy and distance.
Distance lines or long belly lines are ideal for fishing teams of flies and are designed for the more experienced or competent caster to really get the best from these lines.
The downside to a really long belly and an elongated back taper is that you need a lot of line out to really have the weight of the line to load the rod.
As a result, an average caster or a beginner is not going to have the ability to handle a line that long. They will not be used to managing that much line out of the rod tip, particularly if they have been using a really short and heavy fly line taper, like a more standard head length.
5. Tight Casting
If you're fishing with limited backcasting space due to tree-lined banks or steep banks, then you require a fly line with a shorter belly and shorter front and rear tapers.
This will allow you to shoot a lot of line with minimal false casts. The shorter head and shorter front and rear tapers will load faster due to the shorter concentration of mass. These fly lines are easy to cast and are ideal for casting larger flies or teams of flies, especially into a headwind.
These fly line tapers are also good for roll casting and Spey casting with a single-handed fly rod. They are good because there's a shorter concentration of mass to load the rod quickly, however, they turn over aggressively so are not appropriate when a more finesse presentation is required.
End of Angling Active's content.
Recommendations & General Comments
Which brand?
All the well known brands make decent lines of decent quality.
Rio is generally regarded as one of the best brands available but lately their prices have rocketed to rather ridiculous levels.
Barrio is a small independent, good value brand with good customer service and made here in the UK. (Rumour has it that they may have switched to Canada now.)
At the cheap end of the market is Maxcatch, Chinese imports that are both very cheap and very well regarded here. Their Real Gold line is recommended and maybe a copy of the RIO Gold. They appear to have copied several of their line profiles. This means that you can afford to buy several lines and experiment.
Airflo lines are made here in the UK but the company was bought by the US fishing aggregator Mayfly Outdoors in 2019.
Other notable lines are Scientific Angler and Cortland (the 444 is a 50 year old classic).
So which line for which purpose?
This is where it all gets messy again. Very messy, sadly. I think it's worth keeping in mind what Trident found when they tested 43 #5 floating lines
Remarkably, they also found that
Lines (and it turns out, rods too) are not always, or even usually, what their labels say they are. As rods got lighter for the same power as older heavier rods, some manufacturers started downsizing their # weight (~power) rating. Rods became stiffer and consequently the lines became routinely non-standard by increasing their weight at 30' to return some 'feel' to the angler. But it is what it is, so if you need to know what the actual weights are you're going to have to do a lot of research.
All that aside, in general, a heavier, forward-weighted head and/or a half or one overweight line does seem to help the beginner as the caster can feel the rod load a little easier.
If it's only distance you want, then a shooting head line is a good choice so long as you don't need to roll or spey cast or need delicate presentation. In order to prevent the fly landing in a pile at the end of the cast you have to get your timing right.
To get a line to do really long distances AND have a bit of subtlety about it (and be pleasant to use) you need one with a long tapering body AND the ability and a stiff enough rod to keep a lot of that body in the air - it's called carry. Most of us can't do this and most fishing circumstances neither require it nor make it possible - mind that hedge behind you! (With, say, 60' of line outside the rod tip, your #5 rod is casting an #11 weight line! The ratio is about 1 line weight every 5' beyond 30'.)
As a general statement it seems quite important to know where the line designer's 30' point is on your line and where the head meets the running line. Remember, that 30' is the amount of line outside your rod tip that the manufacturer reckons hits the standard for the line and your rod manufacturer has recommended for your rod.
The point where the line moves from tapered head to flat running line (the overhang) is also useful to know as you ideally want that inside your rod-tip to roll cast efficiently and carrying line beyond it becomes counter productive. So if you spend a lot of time roll casting and spey casting just check that your WF line has enough head to allow you to do that within the rod tip.
There are raging arguments about the 30' here and elsewhere, Originally that 30' weight was intended as the optimal loading point for a rod without a haul. It's theoretically the weight of line that will make an average angler feel comfortable casting. Now we have to treat that idea with suspicion partly because of the industry messing with weights and standards and partly because the industry is making some very advanced rods these days that they say are designed for a whole line, not just 30' of it.
In the 2020 Yellowstone #5 rod review they even went as far as splitting rods into "Power Rods" and "Presentation Rods" - all #5! For more on this, see the Understanding Carbon Trout Rods thread here.
Having said that I still think it worthwhile the average caster knowing where that 30' point is because most fishing rather than casting rods are still on or about that.
I measure it out and mark it with a sharpie. I put another mark 10' further up (so at 40') so that I can see it in my hand too and use that mark for a longer cast. If you are aerialising much more than that you're often into running line - depending on taper. So it's best to know where the head ends too. If you have a two-tone line you'll see the transition, otherwise you lave to measure the line and mark it where the box it came in tells you the head ends.
If you have a 9' rod, a 12' leader, 30' of line outside the tip plus another 10' or so to shoot (hence the 40' mark) you're overhead casting 61' from your feet. That's almost always more than enough and makes for very easy fishing.
Of course rods don't stop working either side of that 30', they're designed to work through a range of distances both short and long, and weights and profiles so there's no need to be obsessive about that 30' it's just a guide and we have to start somewhere.
Given the way the makers of both rods and lines play fast and loose with the standard, you may need to experiment a bit to find out what's actually best for your rod, your situation and your casting style. It's quite normal for experienced casters to under or overload their rods with line weights outside the range of the rod to get them to perform the way they prefer. For a beginner with a modern stiffish rod, it's worth trying a line a little heavier than the rod's label so as to 'feel' the rod work.
All this could lead to a conclusion which is "just try a few lines" to see what best fits your casting action, ability and the rod that you have. Well that's great if you can borrow a lot of lines but not great if you have to buy them to find out. RIO and Airflo have just hiked their priced to the $100 - $130 level - an absurd amount for plastic coated string.
Luckily, at the time of writing you can get an excellent, general purpose line - the Starter Line - from Maxcatch for just £3.50. If you're a beginner I suggest you buy a couple of these starting at different weights and see which you prefer.
Tight (tapered) lines.
Tangled
Miscellaneous information, controversies, gripes and groans
I now often overline my rods - it makes casting very easy. Here's why:
Great - but long - video by Simon Gawseworth on lines
Rob Edmund's take on sinking lines
OK ....this is my personal and totally honest view as regards Sinking Lines.
I'm methodical with sinkers, I never mix and match different manufacturers as I want to be sure the sink rates are clearly distinguishable between the different lines.
As regards sinking lines for me Airflo are unquestionably the best out there The rest just aren't close. But like everything you need to pick a product that suits your needs if it's to meet your expectations.
Airflo 40+ Lines
There are 2 different ranges within the Airflo 40+ range. The "40+ Expert" and the "40+ Extreme"
The "40+ Expert" had a longer head length of 45ft ( the part of the fly line that's got the weight in it) its aimed at those who like to hold a lot of line in the air.
The "40+ Extreme" has a 35ft head and aimed at the " everyday angler".
Whichever one you choose always go one size heavier than your rods AFTM to get the best out of the line
These lines are basically " manufactured shooting heads" . The big advantage of both ranges is they allow easy casting ( they load the rod quickly) and good distance for almost anyone. They are excellent if you fish the bank a lot on reservoirs and need that extra distance, or in a flat calm from a boat when you need extra distance.
However because the running line is so thin they are prone to tangling, especially in a strong wind. The running line ( intermediate) also doesn't "dig in" as a full sinking line does, so in a good wave you are not always in direct contact with your flies as its wave effected !. Finally if you arielise too much line the head will drop around your head making casting very difficult.....it also will hinge and crack where the running line meets the head. This problem gets worse the faster the sinking line . So with weekly use expect an intermediate to last 3 or 4 years, and a Di-7 around 6 - 8 months.
Finally 40+ lines are not as pleasurable in the hand as a thicker full line.
Sixth Sense Sinking Lines
These are full sinking lines with a low stretch braided core (6% stretch as opposed to other manufacturers lines with 15 - 19% stretch in the core)... The low stretch means you feel every take and knock, they are great when fishing at distance or depth as you can set the hook easily.
However don't strike on every little knock, remember these are very soft takes you often wouldn't even feel on a stretcher standard line.....so keep retrieving and just wait until it locks up to set the hook ( this is the main reason some anglers believe they " bump" to many fish on these lines, they strike too early at every opportunity.
The manufacturer claims that as its low stretch it helps you generate more line speed and greater distance......Look it's an easy casting line and nice to use, but not a patch on the 40+ range for distance.
These Sixth Sense lines just last and last, especially the slow intermediate down to a Di-3 they are virtually bomb proof and should last 6 years even with weekly use...A Di-5 a little less perhaps 4-5 years and the super fast sinkers Di-7's and Di-8's 1-2 years max.
The Standard Sixth Sense Range are all density compensated that is the Tip of the fly-line sinks first.
Because they have slightly thicker running line ( than the 40+ range) they are nicer to the touch when retrieving, suffer from less tangles and sink the whole way down the line so aren't affected by wind or waves as the 40+ range is .....
Sixth Sense Sweep Range.
Within the Sixth Sense Range there are 3 lines all with the word Sweep after them... so Di-3 Sweep, Di-5 Sweep and Di-7 Sweep.
These lines have all the benefits of the above Sixth Sense lines, but the sink "Belly" first. ( rather than tip first) Airflo basically continued the idea from Scientific Anglers Hi Speed Hi -De lines of the 1980's and created a range of modern lines.
As the line sinks belly first it creates a U shape, this can induce the take with the change of angle and speed as the flies come round the arc or U ( think fishing the Rudder but up and down).
For me these are my favourite sinking lines on the market and great for searching the depths when fishing.
Competitor Range
This is a small range of 3 lines ( all sixth sense) with duel sink rates... a Di-5 head with a Di3 running line......a Di-7 head with a Di5 running line and finally the bad boy Di-8 head with a Di7 running line.
These are specialist lines, and very long at 120ft. Designed for competition anglers. The duel sink rate gives a slightly different angle of retrieve which can help occasionally.
I only use the Di-8 with Di7 running line model in extreme conditions when I want to get ultra deep......This thing drops line a brick and is my favourite deep booby line. It is however a pain to cast as it's so heavy, and will wreck your arms.
If you do a lot of Rudder fishing or Backdrifting the extra length is very advantageous......if not for the everyday angler it's a range that's best left alone.
** just remember that the faster the sink rate of a fly-line, the more sinking compound ( powdered tungsten) and less plastic there is in the product... this means the ultra faster sinkers will crack more easily and wont last as long as slower sinkers....even without use ultra fast sinkers become brittle and can deteriorate. * - This applies to ALL brands
Under and over-lining your rod
Nice article by Lefty Kreh
Manufacturers
Airflo - Based in the UK, now owned by Mayfly Outdoors, an American company.
Cortland - USA
Monic - USA
Northern Sport Fishing- UK and Canada, now probably only manufacturing in Canada
22M Ltd - UK, probably no longer manufacturing.
Rio - USA. Owned by Fairbank who also own Sage
Scientific Anglers (Orvis owned) - USA
Leichi - China. Best known for their brand Maxcatch. (Not much is known about Leichi they may outsource production and there may be many more Chinese manufacturers.
The manufacturers make and retail their own branded lines but they can also make lines for other retailers in a process called OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). If you know who makes the lines for these brands please let us know!
Branded OEM fly lines
(Some educated speculation here)
Barrio, made by Northern Sports Fishing (we think). UK & Canada
Hardy
Greys
Wychwood
Shakespeare - probably made by Northern Sports
Royal Wulff - Scientific Anglers
Snowbee
Sunray
Loop - made by Scientific Anglers (which Orvis own). USA.
Vision
Orvis - made by Scientific Anglers (which Orvis own). USA.
Guideline
Scierra
Mackenzie
LTS
Sage - made by RIO
Daiwa
Leeda
Ron Thompson
MDI Aquapro - made by Northern Sports Fishing, Uk & Canada
Arc - made by Airflo
SKB (UK)
Teeny - made by Cortland
Maxcatch - made or possibly outsourced by Leichi, China
Sexyloops
Ballistic
Spartan - made by 22M
Off-the-shelf or Design?
Some of the brands simply buy a line off the rack and stick their own label on it - which may/will be one used by others - but a few others are designers that have their unique lines made for them. Who are they?
Barrio
Here's a thread from 2007, with information which may or not be out of date...
Line Manufacturers
Is the AFTMA standard out of date?
Some regard the whole standards system as outdated and defunct because the system was designed in 1959 before weight forward lines and differing line profiles were available.
Surprisingly, the first section of a fly line - the level section - is excluded from the 30' measurement, yet it IS added weight. How much you won't know because it's not on the box. Some lines have as little as 6", some a few feet.
For an extreme opinion on this, see
History of the AFTMA standard
This is written by the guy mainly responsible for it
Actual line weights
It's a commonplace claim that some, possibly most, manufacturers create lines that are overweight, often by more than one weight.
The reason they do this, it is said, is to make it easier for beginners to load their rod, to feel the weight of the line in the cast, to feel the rod bend. It's also said that the increasingly powerful - ie stiffer rods - need this.
Trident measured the weights of 43 WF#5 lines:
It does seem odd that there's a standard that isn't a standard isn't it?
This from Sexyloops
" I do a lot of research on fly lines, both for myself, my friends, and for Big Sky Anglers (the fly shop I work for). As a result, I've been exposed to a wide variety of fly line designs - tapers, 30-feet weights, total head weights, head lengths, cores, and coatings vary WIDELY from line to line and brand to brand. I love taper diagrams, tables, and spreadsheets that might give me a hint about how a line will cast when paired with a given rod for a specific fishing approach. The more research I do, the more variations from the standard I find. Even for someone who likes this stuff, it can be downright confusing. For most folks that I know who just want to get a smooth casting outfit that is fun to fish with, it's just black magic."
It's well worth reading that whole article.
Line length Odd one this. Although lines are normally 90' long, not all are. I bought an Airlo line a while back that wouldn't fit on my reel. I had to cut half a mile off the back of it to get it on. It turns out that the line is 120' long! No one can aerialise that length of fly line so who knows why it's that long. Check before you load it onto your reel.
The Physics of fly lines
Interesting science paper on how flylines work
Sexyloops discussion with 3M
The Northern Sport Fishing Scandal
Fraudster jailed for £150k online sports goods scam
A BUSINESSMAN has urged customers to only buy branded products from authorised retailers as the man behind a £150,000 fake sporting goods fraud was…
www.yorkpress.co.uk
