Fly Fishing Gear Reviews

Weight Forward lines are probably the most popular, and if you are just starting out and getting your first line, start with this line.  Remember, most fly line is about 90 feet.  This line has the bulk of its weight tapered in the front 30 feet.   This makes casting much easier and really allows for more verasatility than other fly lines.  Great with dry/wet flies, nymphs and streamers.

Double Taper lines are reversible.  They start narrow and gets wider for about 20 feet, then they keep that larger width evenly for about 50 feet, than taper back down in their final 20 feet.  The cool thing about this line for frugal anglers like me is when the first half of your line starts to crack and wear, you can take it out and reverse it.  This line allows for really nice, delicate presentations and pretty rolls casts.

Shooting tapers, or shooting heads,  are designed for long, wind resistant casts.  They are weighted 30 foot tapers that attach to a small, light fly line.  They are different than the weight forward lines in that the weight is put more forward and the middle and back ends of the fly line is much lighter.  This is my choice for my surf casting rig.  It muscles the fly through those onshore gusts better than anything else.

Well you have even more choices.  If you are feeling overwhelmed, just be thankful you aren’t using silk like in the not so distant past.  Or worse, woven horse hair like in the distant past.  Take a deep breath, because we have a few more things to consider when looking a fly line.  You can do it!

Density

Fly lines either float or sink.   Floating line is again the most versatile, you can use it for dry and wet fly fishing, nymphing and streamer fishing.  The overwhelming majority of fly fishing uses this kind of line.  Now, sinking line has its uses too.  I use it in the surf here, but it’s really necessary in lakes to get at the fish chillin’ at the bottom.  I also use a different sink line for streamers as well. 

Searching for sink lines can be confusing because it seems different manufactureres categorize them differently.  Here’s what I’ve found over the years.  Basically, you have sink tip lines, intermediate sink lines, and sinking lines (you can also get a fast sinking line too).

Sink tips are weighted in the first 10-30 feet than they become a floating line.  Intermediate, sinking and fast sinking lines sink at different rates.  Some lines sink evenly or “uniformly” and some are weighted slightly heavier (“steady sink”) at the front to reduce slack in the water.  I much prefer companies that identify their sink rates with numbers 1-3  (Some go 1-6, and others still use Roman numerals I-IV.  I know its very confusing.  I suggest letting the fly shop know what your needs are and make some suggestions.  Then I would lobby your congressman.  Standardized sink rates I say!)  This lets you know how fast the line will sink.  The higher the number, the faster it sinks.  Some float tubers will have extra spools of different sink line to effectively work different depths.