Fly Line Between the Lines (Fly Line Tips)

[Windknot]

We have lots of new fly flingers these days, and many have posted questions about various flyline characteristics and manufacturers. With all the new lines on the market, it is difficult for new folks to tell fact from marketeering.

Fly line is a miracle of engineering, but lines best suited to one activity may be wrong for another. But to read the advertising, they all are magnificent for YOU!

Why don't we decipher some of the terms that get bandied about and try to educate the new folks?

Weigh Forward
Weight Forward line consists of the tip, front taper, belly (the largest diameter of the line), and rear taper. All together, that is known as the head, and is followed by alot of narrow running line.

Double Taper
Double taper line starts and ends like the description of Weight Forward, without any narrowing to running line. One feature of double taper lines is they can actually be two lines in one. When one end becomes worn or sinks, you can reverse the line on your reel and fish with the other end.

Delicate Presentation
The tip and front taper, plus your casting skill, control the delicacy of your presentation. If you have a weight forward 5 weight floating line (WF5F), and a double taper 5 weight line (DT5) from the same manufacturer in the same model and rated weight, the first 30 feet of both lines are usually identical in taper, unless specified clearly by the manufacturer. Neither style of line has an inherent advantage of allowing more delicate presentation of a fly.

Line Weight Ratings
Line is rated by weigh of the first 30 feet of that line. Most rod manufacturers allow you to upline or underline by one or two weights, if that feels better to you on your rod, for your fishing.



Supple
Supple lines don't take a "set" on the spool as badly as harder or stiffer lines. Supple lines may have a limp mono strand as a solid core, or it may be braided. They don't coil like a snake when pulled off the spool.
They are ideal for trout and other species in moderate to cold climates.

Hard Finish (and often Long Distance)
These lines are specialty lines designed to zip thru the guides for greater distance casting. The hard finish refers to the outer shell, which has less resistance in the guides. They may also use stiffer cores of mono.
They are ideal for trout and other species when distance matters. They are not ideal for colder climates, where they may resemble a Slinky. They may, or may not, respond to stretching in cooler weather.

Head Length
In Weight Forward lines, head length is basically the section of fly line you can easily lift off the water and cast. Longer heads make it easier to mend line at a distance and to carry more line in the air during a cast. Lines with longer heads are frequently listed as distance lines, and many also have stiffer cores and harder finishes.

You'll find casting to be easier when you have stripped in line so that you are holding the rear taper (or back of the belly) in your line hand. If you try to start a cast with the running line in your line hand, you may look like a Maypole. Ah, physics. Can't live with it and just can't shoot it.


I hope some of our regulars will contribute info about what they like or dislike about lines, in general, or in specifics. Lord knows we have some knowledgeable folks. It has taken us years to understand what we like; maybe we can shorten that for some readers.