I hate to burst your bubble but that is a fall fish if you didnt know.
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Fly Fishing Getting Started - Rods, Reels & Lines Part 3
- Category Getting Started
- Thread starter Chetty82
- Start date
So we are closing in on all the feather tossing stuff. As mentioned in earlier posts it is the line that carries the fly not the fly carrying the line. This presentation of the fly to the trout is completed with proper line set up. The main course of any line setup is the fly line, but the backing, leader and tippet complete the meal.
The first course of the line setup and attached to the reel is the backing line. Backing is a braided line designed to provide support to the overall line setup when your fly line gets striped out from your reel as a fish is hooked and then takes off and as a buffer to keep the flyline away from the arbor(or axle) of the reel. This keeps the fly line from being wound in larger loops and reduces memory.
The only place I have ever seen my backing while trout fishing in Pennsylvania is on my reel. Point being it will be pretty rare to have a brookie take you down to the braids on a typical stream. For larger game fish and even steelhead fishing it is highly advised to take more notice to proper backing configuration. Around a 20lbs test braided backing line at about 100 yards is plenty to get you going.
Our meat and potatoes is the fly line and this is the stuff that makes all the magic happen when casting on the stream. Most major fly line manufacturers create some really great products today. Lines are designed with specific capabilities for float, increased line speed, distance and accuracy of a cast. In principle a fly line is intended to float on the surface for dry flies or sink for sub surface action.
Often engineered around a braided line for core support, the outer coating determines if the line is a floating or sinking fly line. Floating lines are made up of a polymer, often a PVC, that will provide a stiff line in casting and contain lots of tiny air bubbles to keep the line afloat. Sinking lines will provide that same stiffness for casting, however the outer core will contain metals in the line for faster sinking action. Lines are rated by weight and matched to the rod weight. So you match you 5wt rod with a 5wt line. Go with the floating lines when you get started and you can add a spool of sinking line later if you want.
One of the final discussions about fly line is the designation of Double Taper (DT) or Weight Forward (WF) lines. DT lines can be reversed after the front of the line has worn out and use the back end of the fly line. WF can have a better delivery of casting. There are more nuances to fly lines with length of the tapers, sinking speeds and such. Some manufactures created products based on types of fish to make it easier when choosing the overall correct type of line.
Our fly line is often big, brightly colored and you would probably never have a chance of catching a fish with a fly all knotted up to it. Our setup of line moves from delivery to presentation. A smaller, lighter and less notable line is needed to present the fly to those cunning Salmoninae (trout).
A monofilament leader that is about 7’-9’ long attaches your fly to your fly line. It is a very thin line and better suited not to be seen by wary trout. I like a 9 ft tapered leader, but there are a lot of variations. Some even use a straight line of monofilament that you find for your spinning line. Of course there are weights to this too. Damn fly-fishing is a heavy sport! Weight and size of the leader really depends on season, fly, fish and water conditions.
The sorbet of our setup is one more piece of line that is often used especially when dry fly-fishing on the surface. A piece of tippet line of about 18”-36” is tied on to the leader and then attaches to the fly. This is even smaller piece of monofilament and even less likely to be seen by the trout. Tippet is rated using an “X” system that ranges from 0X (.011” diameter) to 8x (.003” diameter). 4X to 6X are popular for trout. Back to the heavy lifting, 4X and 6X would range from 6 lb. to 3lbs depending on manufacturer.
Truth be told with that many different types of line discussed there are probably about 110,345 different variations to do what I just explained and many different personal preferences just to toss that feather we have been talking about.
In our final post I will put some of this together with gear, brands, setups and some pricing suggestions.
The only place I have ever seen my backing while trout fishing in Pennsylvania is on my reel. Point being it will be pretty rare to have a brookie take you down to the braids on a typical stream. For larger game fish and even steelhead fishing it is highly advised to take more notice to proper backing configuration. Around a 20lbs test braided backing line at about 100 yards is plenty to get you going.
Our meat and potatoes is the fly line and this is the stuff that makes all the magic happen when casting on the stream. Most major fly line manufacturers create some really great products today. Lines are designed with specific capabilities for float, increased line speed, distance and accuracy of a cast. In principle a fly line is intended to float on the surface for dry flies or sink for sub surface action.
Often engineered around a braided line for core support, the outer coating determines if the line is a floating or sinking fly line. Floating lines are made up of a polymer, often a PVC, that will provide a stiff line in casting and contain lots of tiny air bubbles to keep the line afloat. Sinking lines will provide that same stiffness for casting, however the outer core will contain metals in the line for faster sinking action. Lines are rated by weight and matched to the rod weight. So you match you 5wt rod with a 5wt line. Go with the floating lines when you get started and you can add a spool of sinking line later if you want.
One of the final discussions about fly line is the designation of Double Taper (DT) or Weight Forward (WF) lines. DT lines can be reversed after the front of the line has worn out and use the back end of the fly line. WF can have a better delivery of casting. There are more nuances to fly lines with length of the tapers, sinking speeds and such. Some manufactures created products based on types of fish to make it easier when choosing the overall correct type of line.
Our fly line is often big, brightly colored and you would probably never have a chance of catching a fish with a fly all knotted up to it. Our setup of line moves from delivery to presentation. A smaller, lighter and less notable line is needed to present the fly to those cunning Salmoninae (trout).
A monofilament leader that is about 7’-9’ long attaches your fly to your fly line. It is a very thin line and better suited not to be seen by wary trout. I like a 9 ft tapered leader, but there are a lot of variations. Some even use a straight line of monofilament that you find for your spinning line. Of course there are weights to this too. Damn fly-fishing is a heavy sport! Weight and size of the leader really depends on season, fly, fish and water conditions.
The sorbet of our setup is one more piece of line that is often used especially when dry fly-fishing on the surface. A piece of tippet line of about 18”-36” is tied on to the leader and then attaches to the fly. This is even smaller piece of monofilament and even less likely to be seen by the trout. Tippet is rated using an “X” system that ranges from 0X (.011” diameter) to 8x (.003” diameter). 4X to 6X are popular for trout. Back to the heavy lifting, 4X and 6X would range from 6 lb. to 3lbs depending on manufacturer.
Truth be told with that many different types of line discussed there are probably about 110,345 different variations to do what I just explained and many different personal preferences just to toss that feather we have been talking about.
In our final post I will put some of this together with gear, brands, setups and some pricing suggestions.
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