Fly fishing for trout may appear to be a simple activity to those that observe someone perform the sport. Such an observer may see the angler successfully cast a line into the river, the line land on the water with very little weight, and a trout rise to eat the artificial fly that is cast into the water. Most beginners, however, dont understand how the success of this activity heavily relies upon the type of fly line that the angler utilizes.
For instance, if an angler selects the wrong type of line, they stand to become frustrated in their attempts to catch fish. Alternatively, if an angler utilizes the correct type of fly line for the water they are fishing in, they can quickly begin to experience success in their efforts to land trout. Fly lines comes in a variety of different types, each created to solve a specific problem that may face an angler when attempting to effectively fish for trout.
Common Types of Fly Fishing Lines to Know
1. Floating Lines
For instance, floating lines are often the most popular type of fly line for trout anglers because the majority of trout live either on the surface of the water or near the surface of the water. These types of lines contain tiny air bubbles within the line that ensure that the line remains on the surface of the water. Consequently, if an angler is fishing with dry flies or poppers for bass, the line will not drag the fly beneath the water.
Additionally, the best floating lines has a supple body that allows for the line to form a loop, yet have a slightly heavier front section that allows for bulky flies to turn over without the line collapsing. Such lines are effective for fishing for trout in calm rivers at the dawn or dusk when an angler may need to lay a size twenty midge six feet from a brown trout. However, these types of lines are of little use for anglers who must find trout that are living in depths of only a few inches beneath the waters surface.
2. Sinking Lines
In contrast to floating lines, anglers utilize sinking lines to solve the problem of flies that tend to land on the water at rates that are too slow for those that fish with artificial flies. Sinking lines contain tungsten powder or lead within the line’s coating that causes the lines to descend at specific rates. These rates can be measured in inches per second, and anglers may have multiple lines of sinking flies of varying densities to fish in both shallow rivers and deep lake basins.
For instance, an angler may use a type three sinking line when an angler wishes to strip streamers along a rocky shelf. Additionally, type six or seven lines allow an angler to bounce a crayfish pattern along the bottom of a reservoir. The disadvantage of sinking lines is that they tend to feel heavy when held in the air, and the techniques that anglers use to cast with sinking lines are more deliberate than those used for other types of lines.
3. Sink-tip Lines
Despite the difficulty of learning to effectively cast with sinking lines, once masterd, they allow an angler to reach water that the majority of other anglers cannot. Sink-tip lines are another type of fly line that is designed to provide the benefits of both floating lines and sinking lines. The last ten to twenty feet of a sink-tip line contains dense material that allows the line to sink to the lake or river floor, yet the remainder of the line remains on the water’s surface.
Steelhead anglers use sink-tip lines to allow them to successfully cast through fast currents without having their line drag the same distance beneath the water’s surface. The place where the sinking portion of the line meets the remainder of the line that remains on the water’s surface can be a crucial aspect of sink-tip lines. For instance, if a sink-tip line is poorly made, this point of connection may act as a hinge that prevents the line from properly turning over on itself.
A well-made sink-tip line will allow the angler to keep their fly in the strike zone for longer periods of time than either floating or sinking lines alone.
4. Weight-forward Lines
Weight-forward lines are a type of line that are used in moddern days and locations because of the way that the lines are weighted. Most weight-forward lines has most of their weight concentrated in the first thirty feet of the line.
This allows the lines to load the angler’s fishing rod and allow them to shoot their line into the water with less effort. Consequently, weight-forward lines are especially helpful for anglers who fish in small streams, where back casts is impossible, or for anglers who drift in boats in areas where fish live. The drawback of using weight-forward lines is that they are not appropriate for casting long distances.
The thin portion of the line that remains behind the head of the line does not provide much stability in the air. Yet for 90% of freshwater fishing trips, weight-forward lines are the best lines for new anglers to use.
5. Double-taper Lines
Double-taper lines are an older type of line for trout anglers that is still used today.
Double-taper lines are weighted in the middle of the line so that the lines are fine at the tip and the end of the line, yet thick in the middle portion of the line. Because double-taper lines are symmetrical, an angler who fishes with such lines can flip the line over so that either end of the line can be used. Additionally, the long taper at the front of the line allows an angler to lay their fishing flies on the water in a delicate fashion that will not scare the trout.
Consequently, those anglers who use dry flies in spring creeks still utilize double-taper lines. The downside to these lines is that they dont shoot as well as weight-forward lines. Consequently, they are more difficult to use against a headwind, or when fishing across a river.
6. Intermediate Lines
Intermediate lines are of the middle types of flies. The lines are denser than floating lines but not as heavy as sinking lines. Thus, intermediate lines sink slowly and are ideal for fishing for trout that are just beneath the water’s surface film.
Additionally, because the entire line sinks in a uniform manner, anglers using intermediate lines will not encounter the same “hinge” that occurs in sink-tip lines. Instead, anglers may use intermediate lines when fishing for bass in warm shallow waters, or when saltwater anglers are interested in casting to bonefish in shallow flats yet do not wish for the line to sink to the ocean floor. Unlike sink-tip lines, intermediate lines will not allow an angler to easily make a back cast if the line is allowed to settle to the bottom of the water.
Beyond these types of lines are lines that are made for specific techniques and species of trout. For instance, anglers who target bass use lines that contain extra-aggressive tapers that allow the line to load a heavy fishing rod in only ten feet of casting distance. This helps them cast big deer hair bugs under branches.
Pike and muskie anglers use lines with extra thick coatings to allow those coatings to resist the teeth of the trout. Additionally, tarpon anglers use lines that is designed to turn over wind-resistant crab patterns at a distance of eighty feet yet are soft enough to allow the line to protect the light flies that are attached to the line. Despite the variety of lines that is available to trout anglers, the best way to fish is to learn to carry only two or three types of lines.
For instance, an angler may use a floating weight-forward line to target trout during the morning when hatches occur. An angler may use an intermediate line during the middle of the day when the trout are active yet not necessarily in the shallows. Finally, an angler may use a sink-tip line during the evenings to target streamer flies that live deeper in the water.
By learning how to fish with each of these lines, an angler has a chance to transform an average day of fishing into an memorable day. Furthermore, by learning to change lines when an angler reaches the water’s edge, they cease to force the fish to follow the angler’s rules, and the line becomes a means of communication between the angler and the river. There is no substitute for mastering these lines.
The ability to master each type of line occurs not in a tackle shop, but rather when an angler stands in the cold water at the first light of day. At this time, the angler learns how to feel the line load the rod, feel the loop of the line as it is cast into the air, and watch as a trout moves at the location where the fly needs to land. This specific moment is the reason for the importance of the small details in line construction.
By learning how to choose the right line for an area, the river will begin to answer the angler.