Choosing a Fly Line   

An article by Derek McKenzie Outdoors

Fly lines.  Here, in our humble opinion, is a subject that just does not get enough attention in discussions and particularly in articles designed to help the newer members of the fly fishing fraternity.  Simply put, your choice in fly line is every bit as important as your choice in a rod or reel. You can spend a lot of money on a rod and reel and if you either try to save a few dollars or just miss the mark, you may well have just wasted a lot of money on your gear.  

The reasons for this are pretty clear if we quickly consider a few basics.  Remember that it is the weight of the fly line that allows for proper casting.  The finish on the line will determine how smoothly it moves along the rod and in the air.  Line balance will determine if your fly is presented with a soft touch or a big splat.  We could go on but we think you might get the idea here.

Although, if you use the wrong fly line, you can amusingly watch your flies land all over the place.  Or you can watch a poorly made or worn fly line slowly sink your favourite dry fly.  Or still, that low end  sinking line can take everything right to the bottom like a rock or end up stuck on one!  So unless you have a really great sense of humour and don’t really care about catching fish, a well-chosen fly line is a very sound investment.  

So on that note, let’s see if we can help sort out the daunting array of offerings, especially if you are new to the sport of fly fishing.

Matchmaking

One of the first things to understand is that similar to your fly rod and reel, fly lines need to match up both with your equipment and of course with the types of fly fishing that you want to do. This match should be made precisely with only a few exceptions and only after having a fair bit of experience in matching up your equipment.  In basic terms, if you have a 5 weight fly rod and a 5 weight fly reel, you will need a good 5 weight fly line. If you don’t have the right balance, you may find that you have a lot more trouble casting than you really need to have. 

By example, if you are using a line that is too light for your fly rod, you are going to have problems.  Any time the fly rod is "heavier" than the line, the rod will simply not be able to fully loaded (bend properly), your casting will be ineffective and you can forget distance.  Similarly, should the line be heavier than the rod, the fly rod will overload (bend excessively) and make line control nearly impossible.  And again, forget distance as your line will be shooting off as it pleases.  

Now then, you may hear a bit of talk about “going up one weight” to help you get the most out of your rod and we just don’t subscribe to that theory and here is why.  Technology has brought us some remarkable materials and helped achieve flex patterns in rods that can generate incredible speeds.  These are referred to as “fast” or “extra fast” rods and in the hands of a very experienced or expert caster, really are quite remarkable.  However, and especially for those new to the sport, these same rods can present a problem when it comes to technique and making sure the high speed rod is loading correctly.  One simple thought has been to simply go up a weight, put more weight on the rod and the problem is solved.  This is simple nonsense.  The solution really is to consider perhaps a more forgiving medium-fast rod and one that more closely suits your individual needs and of course, your ever growing skill level.  For us too, we just prefer to relax a bit, know that every cast will not be perfect and let the rod forgive a few of our sins. 

Just remember too that over 40 years ago the fly line manufacturers ganged up and adopted a common standardized measurement for fly lines.  We won’t go into the technical side of this but suffice it to say that it is a fairly standard measurement.  This measurement standard lists the weight of the fly line on a numerical scale, running from 1 to 14, with the lower number representing the lighter fly line.  The only exceptions to this are the specialty lines, such as weighted shooting heads, Scandinavian tapers and so on, but we will save that as a topic for another article!  

In short, we believe that you should make sure your fly line weight matches precisely the weight of the fly rod you are using as well as the weight of the fly reel you are using.  You will just have more fun and that is what it’s all about!

The tale of the tapers

If this is your first time selecting a line, the right taper for you can confuse just about anyone and with all the “new and improved” line tapers showing up, it might be a fair call to extend that to those of us who have been at this for years!  To start, we will say that there are really only really four tapers to consider (short of the specialty lines) and all are designed for differing uses and situations. The good news is that fly line taper isn't that hard to figure out if we just stay with the basics, so let’s get on with it!  

What is fly line taper?  Tapers are essentially varying thicknesses and positioning of weight along the fly line that make the fly line to allow for ease of casting and ultimately, to suit the purpose of casting dry or wet flies.  And that’s it!  Mystery solved but rest assured your choice here is very important and worth a closer look.

Each of these four different types of fly line tapers will be described below, along with a quick review of standard abbreviations used for these lines.  And once again quality counts!  And always ask questions if you don’t quite understand some of the details, particularly in light of some advertising claims of lines claiming near aeronautic perfection and materials nearly beyond human comprehension!  So let’s have a look…. 

Level taper (LT) – Let’s start with these as this will be a very short part of this article.  This type of line should be called “no taper”, is the least used, is of uniform weight and width for its entire length and most of all, useless.  There are still a few of these around and on offer but once again, we can see no reason to ever own one.  So now that we have given you our opinion of these, just remember that if you see the abbreviation for this type of line on a fly box, LT, it does in our opinion stand for “Leave There”.  

Double Taper (DT) - A double taper fly line is one that carries both the width and weight in  the mid section of the line and then gradually tapers toward both ends. What is important to remember about double taper fly line is that it is balanced.  Both ends of the fly line weigh the same and each end gradually increases in width and weight the closer it gets to the middle section of the fly line at an equal rate.

Double taper lines were at one time the most popular, particularly for trout fishing. The light taper on the front of the fly line allows for the fly line to land on the water without creating a spectacle and the weighted middle of the line allows for good casting performance.  One of the big advantages of this type of line is that it can be "reversed" on the reel, thus effectively increasing the life of the line.  This continues to be a very good choice for many purposes, particularly smaller streams where distance is not always a factor. 

Weight Forward Taper (WF) - The weight forward taper fly line is the most popular fly line on the market today, as well as being the most expensive.  It is also, in our opinion, the easiest to cast.

A line with a weight forward taper carries the weight and width generally in the first 30 feet of the line (although some specialized lines extend or shorten this taper). The remaining line is then level and referred to as the running line or section.  The advantages of a weight forward line include distance, control, the ability to cast larger flies and substantially more wind resistance.

For those new to the sport, these are particularly recommended as they are easier to cast.  And finally, weight forward lines are always used when casting things like bass bugs and streamers, basically anything with some weight to it.

Shooting Taper (ST) - Shooting taper lines were originally designed for fly casting distance tournaments, which should tell you about their function and characteristics. This is a specialized line that carries most of its weight in the first 20 feet or so with the remainder of the line at a uniform width and weight.  The difference is that the running section is much thinner than a traditional weight forward line. This design, which also reduces air resistance and drag on the fly rod guide, can greatly increase casting distance in the hands of an experienced angler.

Here too is where there has been some serious spin by the marketing folks, looking past the intended purpose and selling these as “cannon casting” lines.  In truth, in the hand of the less experienced (or like us just a bit lazy at times!), these are anything but and often more trouble than they are worth.

While shooting tapers are great for making very long casts, they lack the finesse often needed for fly fishing.  These lines can make quite a splat on the water due to the heavier weighting in a short space on the front of the line.  And too, control of the line is not always easy, especially for those new to the sport.  And finally, as the running section is thinner, this type of line does have a nasty tendency to coil up and is prone to reel memory.

So in the main, a shooting taper fly line may not be the best choice.  Yes, an experienced caster may be able to make longer casts and these are good in very high winds, but we still feel you could make a better investment.  

But as always, the choice of line tapers will be up to you!  

Continue >