Understanding Fly Lines

[PaulD]

Don't try and understand a fly line, try it.
If it's good for you, it's good.

I've used the Mastery distance / competition series of lines for casting for the past 15 years or so.

 

[tangled]

Don't try and understand a fly line, try it.

No, no no! The point of doing this is to try to understand why lines are made the way they are and what purposes they can be best put to. To get an objective view. If you're hinting that it's subjective, art not science I'll scream.

If it's good for you, it's good.

Only and ***** would buy a dozen lines just to see whether they like them.
Ah.... now I get it!

 

[ohanzee]

Don't try and understand a fly line, try it.
If it's good for you, it's good.

Tried them, and along with others would hope to add understanding, maybe it should be clarified that both experience and understanding is necessary.

 

[ohanzee]

Only and ***** would buy a dozen lines just to see whether they like them.
Ah.... now I get it!

To be fair that was unfortunately what most of us did, hopefully you end up with something that prevents others having to do the same.

 

[Gary Ridgeway]

No, no no! The point of doing this is to try to understand why lines are made the way they are and what purposes they can be best put too. To get an objective view. If you're hinting that it's subjective, art not science I'll scream.



Only and ***** would buy a dozen lines just to see whether they like them.
Ah.... now I get it!

Therein my point sits. Despite going down this specific rabbit hole for 15 years plus and spending no doubt thousands of pounds (scary when I think about it like that) the best way to judge a fly line is to try one.

If your a Newbie or only fish a couple of dozen times a year just buy a Grays platinum ( do they still exist?) Rio Gold or Snowbee. After that us cork sniffers should meet in a darkened room in our anoraks to discuss. Don't put people off or confuse the matter, in the bigger picture there are a multitude of things that will make fishing more enjoyable rather than the rear taper of your 5.089 wt forward fly line.

In the spirt of this being a learning experience I will say one last thing.
If you find a fly line you love buy several immediately, rest assured the manufacturer will change the taper/coating/weight next season promoting it as an improvement, it rarely is.

 

[ohanzee]

Therein my point sits. Despite going down this specific rabbit hole for 15 years plus and spending no doubt thousands of pounds (scary when I think about it like that) the best way to judge a fly line is to try one.

If your a Newbie or only fish a couple of dozen times a year just buy a Grays platinum ( do they still exist?) Rio Gold or Snowbee. After that us cork sniffers should meet in a darkened room in our anoraks to discuss. Don't put people off or confuse the matter, in the bigger picture there are a multitude of things that will make fishing more enjoyable rather than the rear taper of your 5.089 wt forward fly line.

In the spirt of this being a learning experience I will say one last thing.
If you find a fly line you love buy several immediately, rest assured the manufacturer will change the taper/coating/weight next season promoting it as an improvement, it rarely is.

This is the darkened room.

And Tangled is wiring up lights.

 

[tangled]

If you guys can't agree on something as fundamental as that I'm calling bullsh1t on (almost) the entire thing.

 

[Gary Ridgeway]

If you guys can't agree on something as fundamental as that I'm calling bullsh1t on (almost) the entire thing.

It's not bull, it's called marketing to consumers.
Learn casting, presentation, entomology , read a decent fishing book (written in the last 20 years), hire a guide or buddy up with an experienced angler, change techniques throughout the day if your not catching, fish lots of different waters, get a handful of confidence flies , a good flask and a decent sandwich will all make your day better and you will learn more than studying line tapers.

 

[ohanzee]

If you guys can't agree on something as fundamental as that I'm calling bullsh1t on (almost) the entire thing.

I think its the best 'understanding' thread/thing yet, and just heading into the interesting bit, you know the territory, theory versus experience, personally I think you need both but the OP doc is already the most informative one stop peer reviewed(can I say that?) comprehensive information available.

 

[tangled]

It's not bull, it's called marketing to consumers.

And that's bullsh1t.

Learn casting, presentation, entomology , read a decent fishing book (written in the last 20 years), hire a guide or buddy up with an experienced angler, change techniques throughout the day if your not catching, fish lots of different waters, get a handful of confidence flies , a good flask and a decent sandwich will all make your day better and you will learn more than studying line tapers.

Well of course, that"s all a given, but irrelevant to a focussed discussion on fly lines.

 

[tangled]

I think its the best 'understanding' thread/thing yet, and just heading into the interesting bit, you know the territory, theory versus experience, personally I think you need both but the OP doc is already the most informative one stop peer reviewed(can I say that?) comprehensive information available.

That's kind, you'll find that it's now twice the size of the original OP.

 

[ohanzee]

That's kind, you'll find that it's now twice the size of the original OP.

Yes, just looked, would be nice more concise but I not sure if it could be, I don't see anything I'd remove and there is maybe more you could add!

 

[tangled]

Yes, just looked, would be nice more concise but I not sure if it could be, I don't anything I'd remove and there is maybe more you could add!

It's no finished yet - we've only just got to the interesting bit.

I need an answer to which profile where. If I can't get that I'm going to write an interesting conclusion and recommendation...

 

[ohanzee]

It's no finished yet - we've only just got to the interesting bit.

I need an answer to which profile where. If I can't get that I'm going to write an interesting conclusion and recommendation...

I think the circumstances dictate, for me its about back cast space because that is what I don't have for longer casts, so short head and shoot rather than long belly to carry a long line, others might have completely different circumstances to dictate, using a lot of roll casts, short river casts, boat fishing, all must set up a different set of circumstances needing or suiting a different line profile.

Complex but this is this is the stuff the beginner doesn't know before buying a line.

 

[tangled]

I think the circumstances dictate, for me its about back cast space because that is what I don't have for longer casts, so short head and shoot rather than long belly to carry a long line, others might have completely different circumstances to dictate, using a lot of roll casts, short river casts, boat fishing, all must set up a different set of circumstances needing or suiting a different line profile.

Complex but this is this is the stuff the beginner doesn't know before buying a line.

Can we therefore generalise and say what type of head would best suit these sort of situations then

River, upstream dry and nymph - overhead cast
River, down and across - roll casts
Small stillwater (shortish casts)
Large stillwater (longish casts)
Loch style, drifting boat - classic 3 wets

 

[ohanzee]

Can we therefore generalise and say what type of head would best suit these sort of situations then

River, upstream dry and nymph - overhead cast
River, down and across - roll casts
Small stillwater (shortish casts)
Large stillwater (longish casts)
Loch style, drifting boat - classic 3 wets

Not sure, maybe, you need more input, more heads on it is where it gets thrashed out, it occurs to me very few fly fishers would pick a line based on what they are trying to achieve with it!

If you were to design your ideal line(then buy the closest) what would the profile be? or rather what questions would you ask? for me it really does come down to anatomy of the head.

 

[tangled]

Or to put it another way, I use a Barrio GT90 for all those that has this profile

Why should I use anything else?

 

[ohanzee]

Or to put it another way, I use a Barrio GT90 for all those that has this profile

Why should Iuse anything else?

When you have a very long rear taper its hard to argue you need anything else, its going to cover most bases, I'd want a longer front taper and tip for flat calms on lochs but I could sort that with a longer leader.

I have never cast one of those thought so not the best to comment.

I thought it reminded me of something.......

 

[original cormorant]

Not sure, maybe, you need more input, more heads on it is where it gets thrashed out, it occurs to me very few fly fishers would pick a line based on what they are trying to achieve with it!

So how do they pick a line? Colour, Price, my granny had one.

If anglers behave as I do I have different outfits that I use for different purposes. Within the trout envelope I use effectively 3 outfits. Loch style boat, stillwater bank and river, but I do little river fishing so my approach is not sophisiticated.
For loch style most of the time the line profile scarcely matters: almost any line will cast 60 to 70 ft with no more than a couple of false casts and with a minimum of 15ft leader delicate presentation is not critical. But I did have a line that was outstanding for short lining this had simple profile a head length of 30 ft being 10ft front taper 10ft belly and 10ft rear taper.
For stillwater bank I use TT, in the past I've used arrowhead as well as standard WF lines.

 

[taffy1]

Certain stuations dictate which line is suitable, an open area where a backcast isn't restricted to an impossible situatuation where maybe a bow & arrow cast is needed. Will the same line be effective?