Every component of the normal fishing setup is important, each one of them can be considered as being the most important, the rod, the reel, heck even the bait can prove to be the crucial factor when it comes to fishing. In fact it could be argued that if the bait isn’t right then it won’t even matter what type of rod or reel you are using if ultimately the fish just refuse to bite.


Just as crucial as the bait is the fly fishing line you use because without a fishing line you can’t use your rod, reel or bait; however, regardless of how primitive your rod and reel are you can use them with your fishing line. Your fishing line is the one that actually goes into the water and does most of the fishing.

There are some important characteristics that you need to know about a fly fishing line before you go on a fishing trip and in order for it to be a successful fishing trip, there are certain terms that you need to know about.

When you hear or read about fly fishing line weight this refers to the weight of the first thirty feet of the fly line usually measured in grams. Thankfully there is a standard way of noting it regardless of the manufacturer: a simple number system from 1 to 15. The best way to go about matching your fly line to the rest of your gear is to choose a line number that matches your rod weight; this means that if you are using a 4 weight rod then you would do well to pair it up with a 4 weight line. Of course there is always the option of over-lining your rod by using a 1 weight heavier line on your rod in order to get better line speed.

One term that some beginners find hard to understand is the fly fishing line taper but the easiest way of thinking of it is as the profile of the line or how it looks when you view it from end to end. Some of the basic tapers are the level taper, weight forward taper, double taper and the shooting taper and each of them is designed to achieve a certain casting result; for instance in order to generate faster line speeds you would want the weight forward taper, this type of fly line has a little more weight and width at the beginning of the line and this means that they reach their targets that much quicker. Coincidentally, this type of taper is also the most popular taper choice.

Fly fishing line has another characteristic that is important, whether it floats on water or sinks in the water; this is what is referred to when talking about fly line density. They are normally categorized into floating, sink tip, intermediate, sinking and fast sinking. When it comes to this factor it is important to choose a density that will match the type of fly fishing that you are going to do; for instance you will want to use a floating line when dry fly or nymph fishing.

Probably the first factor that one sees when looking for a fishing line is the colour, but this is perhaps the least crucial factor to get right when gearing up for a fishing trip. Fly lines come in all manner of colours and it usually breaks down to personal preference. There are some however who consider that purchasing so called “camouflage” line is important so that the fish will have a harder time seeing it, while others consider this to be nonsense.

These are the main factors that one has to know about when planning a fly fishing trip. Depending on the types of fish you will be fishing for and the type of water that you will be fishing in you will have to make different choices with regard to the weight, taper and density of your line.

Visit this interesting link on How To Fly Fish:

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