Single Hand Fly Line 101

Here is a simple guide that sheds light on fly Line weight, taper, length, and more. Arm yourself with fundamental knowledge about lines for your next purchase.

Anatomy of a Fly Line

Fly lines possess the weight necessary to load then rod, and then propel the line out on the forward cast. 

Fly lines consist of a core material usually braid or monofilament, which is coated in extrdued plastic materal, usually PVC or polyurethane. 

Check out this video on how fly lines are made by RIO.

 

 

 

 

All modern fly lines possess a taper of some sort. A taper is how the size and weight of the line changes along its length. 

The majority of fly lines today are considered weight forward (WF), that is, the majority of the lines mass is in the front (forward) portion of the line.

Double taper lines still are used for niche fly fishing applications, but are limited in production and use compared to their WF counterparts.

This weight forward section of the fly line is also known as the 'head' portion of the line. 

A fly line can be simply broken down into the head portion, and the rear portion, which is thinner, level fly line, known as running line.

 

The purpose of the head is to load the rod, while the purpose of the running line is to shoot easily through the guides on a fly rod.

 

Fly Line Weight, Grain Ranges

Generally speaking, casting is optimal with most of the head outside the rod tip, that is, most of the weight of the head is loading the rod during the cast. 

Any given rod will perform well within a range of (physical) fly line weight. We call this a grain range or grain rating. Grains are a unit of weight measurement used by fly line manufacturers. 1 gram equals about 15 grains for reference.

A simple Google search can tell you the grain range for a particular rod. Some rod manufacturers stamp it directly on the blank.

Fly line with weight at the lower end of this grain range will put less of a bend into the rod, and load the tip portion of the rod, while lines at the higher end of the grain rating for a given rod, will put a deeper bend into the rod and load the rod more deeply. 

Too little weight does not harness the full potential of the rod, and too much weight will collapse the rod through the cast and make it feel sluggish.

This is why we like to stay within a rods given grain range when choosing a line.

 

AFFTA Standard

Besides grain rating, the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA), has a standardized fly line weight system used by manufactuers to pair line, to rod.

AFFTA measures the weight of the first 30 feet of a fly line, and assigns the line its designation/number/weight. 

However, AFFTA does not give us the complete picture, where a much longer head could have much higher grains (while maintaining the same AFFTA designation) 

Scientific Anglers Mastery Extreme Distance WF6 fly line is 160 grains at 30 feet (follows AFFTA), but is 340 grains at 70.5 feet! (full length of head).

The Rio Outbound Short WF6 is well beyond the AFFTA standard at 235 grains at 30 feet, which happens to the total head length. According to AFFTA, the Rio Outbound Short WF6 should actually be a 9 weight!

Yet it is marketed as a WF6, and designed for use on most 6 weight rods.

Why is this?

The truth is, Rods can handle a wide range of grain windows, and I believe it is fundamentally better to figure out the grain range for your particular fly rod (use Google or consult with manufacturers), and choose a fly line, not necessarily based on the AFFTA number, but the actual total head grain weight for a given fly line, and whether it falls within the grain rating for the rod.

Spey guys have figured this out for a long time, and generally match their rod grain rating to the head weight, paying less attention to line standards. Reducing the head weight down to its actual grains and then matching it to a rod is a more sensible approach.

So now we've matched a rod to an appropriately weighed line, and we know ultimately what the head weight should be, but what about the length? The taper? What about sinking lines?

Lets break that down.

Fly Line Taper

The taper of the fly line is crucially important to fishing success and enjoyment. Generally, lines can be front loaded, where most of the mass is in the front portion of the taper, rear weighted, where the mass is near the back of the taper, or somewhere in the middle.

Lets compare some line tapers to better understand this. 

Here we can see, the Outbound Short taper is front loaded, where most of the mass is near the tip. These lines excel at loading the rod quickly, shooting far, casting into wind, and turning over big flies.

 

Here, we have an example of a rear loaded line, the Guideline Bullet+, where the mass is near the back of the head. These types of lines excel at presenting the fly with more finesse and roll/spey casting. They are also excellent shooting lines, and they mend extremely well.

Here is the Scientific Anglers Amplitude Infinity Plus, where the mass is distributed more evenly throughout the head of the fly line. These types of lines are a good compromise for shootability, delicate presentation, mending, and reasonable for roll casting. A good all arounder.

So, it is important to understand what type of fishing you're going to be pursuing, the size of flies you're using, whether or not roll casting is required, and ultimately, what suits your casting style and the way you like to fish. The answer to these questions can help determine the taper you're after.

 

 

Fly Line Length

Some fly lines have extraordinarily short head lengths, while others are much longer. Some short heads, in the right grain weight, might suit small rivers, where it doesn't make sense to have a long taper.

Short - Here, the Rio Creek displays a short head, where most of the mass is in the first 15 feet. This line would excel in smaller streams, loading the rod at very close distance, and punching out small flies with ease.

Long - The Scientific Anglers Expert Distance has a head length of 70 feet, and is made for wide open spaces and delivering flies at distance, think Atlantic salmon fishing on an extremely wide river, or fishing from a boat where long casts are still required.

Medium - The Scientific Anglers MPX taper is right in the middle at about 35 feet, and is a great general purpose line. Most anglers are comfortable casting lines in the 30-40 head length range. These medium length lines give the angler the ability to cover most fishing situations.

 

 

Sinking Lines

Besides weight, length, and taper, fly lines can also have different densities, that is, some lines are more dense than water, and thus, they sink! 

The Rio Mainstream Trout Sink Tip line has a 12 foot sinking tip at the front of the head. These lines are great for getting deeper into the water column, streamer fishing, lake fishing, fall salmon fishing, etc. Sinking lines can also be full length, where the entire line will sink at a certain rate. 

 

 

As the reader can see, there is tremendous variation in fly lines today. This guide only begins scratching the surface of the topic. 

However, the angler armed with knowledge about grain weight, taper, length and density, can make a more informed decision on line selection. 

With that, here are some of our favourite lines here at Fishing Fever; give them a look.