Fly-Fishing Kit, Part 2

Fly-Fishing Kit, Part 2

by Kuba Chruszczewski

          Fly line. The element that, at first glance, distinguishes a fly-fishing setup from those designed for other methods. „Sir, why is it so thick? Don’t they have any thin line left in the stores? Will it catch anything? You’re just scaring the fish away...” Etc. I’ve heard questions like this many times, especially at lowland fishing spots that used to be rarely visited by fly fishermen. But that’s history now; today, the sight of a fly fisherman casting a line in an elegant loop isn’t so shocking anymore. However, many anglers who want to try fly fishing have doubts—why is it necessary to use a thick line in the setup, something so different from the usual thin monofilament line?

  And the matter is quite simple. All you have to do is take a look at an artificial fly—the lure used in fly fishing. You’ll immediately notice that even the largest ones—streamers or salmon flies—are too light to be cast without additional weight. And it is the fly line that provides this weight; it allows you to cast the lure a considerable distance (experienced fly fishermen have no trouble casting 20–25 meters), sink the fly to the desired depth, and also acts as a float—making it easier to locate the lure and, in some situations, allowing you to spot a bite.

   Since the fly line serves as the weight of the rig, its weight should probably be matched in some way to the rod it’s designed to work with. Spinning rods always have a marking that allows you to determine the optimal lure weight that can be cast comfortably and safely with that rod. This is known as the casting weight, specified in units of weight—for example, 12–18 g. On a fly rod, however, the manufacturer indicates the rod class according to the AFTM system. What exactly is this mysterious „AFTM”? It stands for the Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers. This association introduced a standardized system for designating the weight of fly line and the power of the rod to which the line is matched. Numerical values have been assigned (with a slight tolerance) to the weight of the first 30 feet (approximately 9.15 m) of fly line (see table). The AFTM class of the fly line should match the rod’s class. Then we know that the setup is properly matched and will allow for comfortable fishing. Using a line that is too light will prevent you from casting the fly accurately and far enough. Using a line that is too heavy can cause the rod to break. Rod manufacturers sometimes specify a range covering two or even three grades on the AFTM scale—for example, AFTM 5–6 or AFTM 7–9. In my experience, however, usually only one line class properly „loads” the rod and allows you to cast precisely and without unnecessary effort. True, sometimes lines in both classes work well with such a rod, but this applies only when using different types of lines. A rod marked AFTM 5-6 will perform well with a DT5 and WF6 line. And here we come to another line parameter that deserves a more detailed discussion: the line’s profile.

    Fly lines are manufactured in three basic shapes (in terms of their longitudinal cross-section).

   First—a cylindrical cable, designated by the symbol L (sometimes called a „level cable”). Fig. 1.

This type of line has the same diameter along its entire length. Nowadays, it’s rarely produced, but it has two advantages—it’s inexpensive and can be shortened if the tip is damaged without changing the AFTM class. Both of these features make it ideal as a beginner’s first fly line. (Unfortunately, a fly line wears out fairly quickly when you’re just starting to learn to fish. So it would be a shame to start with top-of-the-line products costing as much as several hundred zlotys.) My only concern is that finding an L-type line on the market right now might not be easy.

    The second type of line, which was once very popular but is now also falling into obscurity, is the double-tapered line, which tapers symmetrically toward both ends. It is designated by the symbol DT (double tapered). Fig. 2. Tapered lines allow for a more precise cast and a gentle placement of the fly on the water.

This is because energy is transferred more smoothly from the main line to the leader. When the end of the main line wears out, we can’t shorten it and continue using it with the same rod, because that would increase the line’s strength class. But with a DT line, we can flip it over on the reel and fish with the other end—the one that hasn’t been used yet—which is an undeniable advantage of these lines. Another beneficial feature of this type of line is the ease with which you can make roll casts and adjust the line on the water. However, they do have one drawback. Due to their construction, they do not allow for very long casts. As the section of line we’re casting gets longer, its weight increases significantly. The first nine-meter section of line optimally loads our rod and allows for comfortable casting. You can further increase the distance to about 13–14 meters. Then the problems begin, because a DT line at this length is already a fairly thick, heavy section with a constant diameter. So what happens when we want to exceed the distance at which we don’t yet feel the rod being overloaded? Well, a 16–17-meter section of line in Class 5 starts to weigh as much as the first 9 meters of an AFTM 9 line—or even an AFTM 10. Our Class 5 rod cannot handle such a weight and may even be damaged. The solution to this type of problem is to use another type of line, which is the most commonly used today.

   This is a WF (weight-forward) line, which is asymmetrically tapered. Its construction is illustrated in Fig. 3.

You can’t spin the „WUEFKA” on a reel and fish with the other end, as you would with a DT line. But it does have several advantages. A significant portion of its mass is concentrated in the front section, which includes the tip, the front taper, the main body, and the rear taper. Then comes a thin cylindrical section, which I’ll refer to as the “run-out” from here on. So it’s immediately clear that extending the casting distance doesn’t have such a drastic effect on the increase in weight of the line section we’re casting. The problem of extending the cast beyond a distance that is safe for the rod—as described for the DT line—does not arise here until the cast is about 10 meters longer. It can therefore be assumed that a WUEF line can be safely cast to a distance of up to 30 meters—that is, practically its entire length. The issue of using lines from two different classes on a single rod also becomes clear—a lighter DT line and a WF line that is one class heavier. Currently, there are many varieties of WF-type lines on the market, which differ in the geometry of the front and rear tapers, as well as in the length and shape of the body and the thickness of the head. I’ll give just a few examples, as we don’t have room here to describe in detail the many line variations, which sometimes differ by only a single minor detail. For a beginner fly fisher, these differences aren’t all that significant.

Standard-proportioned WF - Fig. 4.

An extended-body WF (which has some of the advantages of a DT; specifically, it allows for more comfortable roll casts and mending than a standard WF—Fig. 5).

A fly line with an extended rear taper, a shorter body, and a thinner head. This line makes it easier to cast large flies long distances—Fig. 6.

A fly rod with a longer, tapered shaft. It allows for a gentler, more precise placement of the leader and fly on the water (so-called "better presentation") – Fig. 7.

Another specific type of fly line—the ST, or shooting taper—Fig. 8. It’s essentially a fly line without a head, about 9 meters long. Attached to a thin, tangle-resistant casting line (running line), it allows for very long casts, even when there isn’t enough space behind you to cast a dozen or so meters of line backward.

  There is one more important parameter that determines the intended use of a fly line. When we look at the line’s labeling on the factory packaging, we’ll see, in addition to its profile (L, DT, WF) and AFTM class (1–12), a single-letter designation—F, I, S, or F/S. These letters tell us whether our line is floating (F), intermediate (I), sinking (S), or floating with a sinking tip (F/S). So now we’ve deciphered the entire code used to specify the parameters of a fly line. A line marked, for example, with the symbol WF5 F is a Weight Forward line whose first 9.15 m weighs 9 g and is floating. If you have an AFTM Class 5 rod and want to fish primarily with dry flies, this line is for you. An I-class (intermediate) line has a specific gravity very close to that of water. It allows you to fish just below the surface without creating ripples on the water’s surface that scare away fish—a problem that often occurs when fishing in very slow-moving or still water. Sinking lines are manufactured in several sinking classes (speeds). Manufacturers label them verbally as “slow sinking,” “sinking,” “fast sinking,” and “extra fast sinking.” Other manufacturers use Roman numerals from I to VI to indicate how many seconds it takes for the line to sink to a depth of one meter (e.g., 6.5 s/m), or how many inches the line sinks in one second (2.5–3.5 in./s). Lines with a sinking tip vary in the length of that tip (typically 1.5–9.0 m) and in their sinking rate—in this case, the designation is the same as for a sinking line.

   In my opinion, the color of the fly line doesn't matter all that much. Most floating lines come in bright colors, ranging from white, through various shades of yellow and aqua, all the way to bright orange. The point is for the line to be clearly visible to the angler. There’s little evidence to suggest that brightly colored lines scare fish away; what’s certain is that an unskilled, noisy placement of the line on the water scares them much more. Of course, you should always try to guide your rig so that only the leader and flies pass over the presumed fishing spots, not the main line. Intermediate lines are usually light, natural colors—they are blue, light green, beige, or even transparent like monofilament. Sinking lines are usually produced in dark colors, more similar to the bottom or aquatic vegetation; manufacturers often follow the rule that the faster a line sinks, the darker its color. So we’ll find lines ranging in color from light brown, through green, all the way to graphite and black.

   The last component of a fly-fishing setup—the leader—is something I’ll try to discuss in the next section. I’ll also suggest a few tried-and-true knots that are useful for fly fishermen.