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Fly Lines
The Basics of choosing a Fly Line (Single Handed Rods)

Choosing a fly line can be a very complicated affair, and it can dictate whether or not your fly fishing outfit is balanced correctly. It is also critical to the performance of your outfit for its required application.
The following information is only intended as a basic guide to balance your outfit correctly for the basic applications.

There are many different types of fly lines on the market today that will just about cover every situation you will encounter whilst fishing. Lines with such fancy names as Double Tapers, Weight Forwards, (Forward Tapers) and Shooting Heads, (to name but a few). Then just to further complicate things, they will all have different densities, there will be Floating Lines, Neutral Densities, Intermediates, Fast Sinking, Ultra Fast Sinking, Hi D's. LET'S STOP RIGHT THERE. When you are first learning how to cast correctly, all you want to do, is make things as easy as possible for yourself. So the obvious choice must therefore be a floating line, simply because, as it's name suggests, it will float on the top of the water, making it much easier to lift off again when practicing your casting. Obviously, as you   improve, there will be other considerations to be made, but not just yet. When selecting your floating line, you will notice the letters A.F.T.M. on the packaging, (Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers) or a small hash mark, rather like a noughts and crosses sign, or both. This will be followed by a number. It is this number that is important, as it will indicate to you which fly line will balance your fly rod correctly, (see tackle choice page 5). Check your fly rod (before going for your new line) and you will also notice the letters A.F.T.M. (or the aforementioned hash mark) on the rod blank just above the cork handle, again this will be followed by a number. This number should be matched with the number on the fly line to give you the Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers recommended line rating for that particular rod and ultimately the suggested formula towards your balanced outfit.

If your fly rod displays more than one number, let's say 6/7, this indicates that your rod can be loaded with either a size 6 Double Taper line or a size 7 Weight Forward line. If rated correctly, the Weight Forward line (WF7) will have the required casting weight in the first 10yds (approx. 9metres) of line outside the rod tip (some manufacturers profiles may differ). This should load your rod correctly, and although the Double Taper line (DT) has a lower rating, (e.g. 6) which makes the first 10 yards of line lighter than the 7 weight line, it can be extended further in the air when casting, allowing you to add extra weight to your rod tip, which will also load the rod correctly when required. You have now effectively made your 6 Double Taper line heavier by extending more line in the air, and because of its longer belly section (the thick bit) (see diagram below) you can still maintain control over the line. This cannot be done as well with a Weight Forward line, (except when using advanced casting techniques) as the thin running line will not turn over the thicker belly of the line very well (see diagram). If in doubt always opt for the higher rating displayed on your rod when buying your fly line.

The fancy names we discussed earlier are not as complicated as they sound once they are explained. A Double Taper for instance is exactly what the name implies, it consists of about 30yds (approx. 27.5metres) of fly line, with a tapered section at each end, the middle section is thicker, and is known as the belly of the line. This thicker section will assist with the transfer of energy down the line into the thinner front taper when casting, assisting with turnover and presentation of your fly. As an added bonus you can also reverse a Double Taper line on your reel if one end gets damaged. A Weight Forward line is a good line to achieve much longer distances forFly Line Profiles (Click to Enlarge) less effort. Once again the clue is in the name, "Weight forward", all this means, is that the casting weight, which is concentrated mainly in the belly of the line, is now all at the front. So with this particular line you have the rear taper, the belly the front taper, and the tip all concentrated within the front section of your fly line and collectively known as the head. If you make sure that the rear taper of the fly line is (for now) inside your tip ring when casting, (especially when Roll casting) you will find you have much more control over the head of your fly line, and the narrow line behind the head (the running line) will offer much less resistance when passing through your rod rings during casting and therefore affording you more distance for less effort. Try to avoid having too much of the narrow line outside your rod tip when casting, as this line will not turn over the heavy belly very well and the cast will collapse, especially into an oncoming wind, this is a common mistake and can cause big problems especially when roll casting, although this can be overcome in certain situations when using advanced casting techniques such as hauling, and when you move on into the Spey Casting techniques, a certain amount of this narrow line outside your rod tip will give you a distinct advantage. Weight forward lines also allow you to introduce more backing line onto your reel where required due to its thinner profile over most of its length.

Shooting Heads are simply an extreme version of the Weight Forward lines, they consist of a belly and front taper only (with tip), which is attached directly to an extremely thin running line and can be cast very long distances when executed correctly, but as there is no rear taper to control the cast, it can cause all sorts of problems if poor technique is applied. Don’t discard your old fly lines, as you can make up your own shooting heads from them.

When your casting improves, you can then buy yourself a Sinking line, there are many different sinking rates available, depending on how deep you want to fish, but help is always available if unsure. Remember, even when buying a sinking line, that the same rules apply, match the rating on your rod to the rating on the fly line, this will still relate to Double Taper and Weight Forward lines alike.

You will notice in the diagram, that the profiles of the first 10yds of all the basic fly lines shown are exactly the same, i.e. Belly, Forward Taper and Tip. It is only the profile behind these sections that distinguishes the lines from each other. Click on Diagram for Enlargement.

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