You are now the proud owner of a new fly-rod outfit, including rod, reel, and a weightforward floating line of the proper size for your rod. Is this line the only one you’ll need? Can you fish wet flies with a floating line? What’s the difference between a double taper and a weightforward taper? Modern fly lines come in an array of tapers and densities. A battery of different fly lines, mounted on extra spools that fit your fly reel, can help you increase the distance of your casts and keep your fly just under the surface, 20 feet below the surface, or anywhere in between. Take a look at the line packages in a fly shop. You’ll see them marked with a code that might read “DT5F” or “WF6S” or “ST8F/S.” You already know the meaning of the number—it’s the line size. The first two letters designate the taper, or how the line varies in thickness throughout its length. The last letter or letters tell you the line type—whether the line floats, sinks quickly, sinks slowly, or only partly sinks

Taper

 Standard fly lines are between 80 and 90 feet in length. The weight distribution along this length is tapered, except in level (L) lines, which are practically worthless in terms of their casting and presentation qualities. Many of us made the mistake of trying to learn how to fly-fish with a level line. After all, a tapered line costs two to three times as much. Why spend all that money on something you may give up after a season? Giving up after a season is exactly what you may do if you start with a level line. Tapered lines are designed to take advantage of a gradual decrease in weight that transmits energy smoothly to the leader and fly, resulting in that feather-light delivery we associate with no other method of fishing. An accomplished caster can appreciate the niceties of increased accuracy and delicacy, but even a first-time fly caster can see how much easier it is to cast with a tapered line. All fly lines start thin at the end to which the leader is attached, to minimize the disturbance when your cast touches the water.

 The line gradually thickens into what is called the belly, which is at least 30 feet long. This is the portion of your line that you hold in the air when casting. Weightforward (WF) lines taper down quickly after 30 feet of head to a thin running line that takes up the rest of the length.

Doubletaper (DT) lines form a mirror image if you cut them in half; the belly does not thin and extends through to a taper on the opposite end (imagine an elongated hour-glass shape). Shooting-taper (ST) or shootinghead lines replace the running line with fine-diameter floating-level fly line or monofilament. The actual fly-line part of a shooting head is only 28 to 40 feet long. A loop is spliced into the back end of the line and into the running line, making a quick change from a floating to a sinking line without your having to replace the reel spool. Weightforward lines are best for the beginning caster, because they cast and shoot easier than a double taper. They were originally designed for distance casting, because concentrating the weight up front enables the caster to shoot longer lengths of line with less effort.

 Line Type

 Most fly fishers use a floating line (F) as their basic line. Floating fly lines incorporate tiny glass microballoons in the coating that forms the taper of the line. Although they need to be cleaned periodically, they need no grease or line dressing to float them, as did the old silk lines. The better floating fly lines actually have a hydrophobic coating that repels water and helps them float and shoot through the guides better. These coatings are always closely guarded secrets, with each manufacturer using a different formula. Also important to note is the difference between cold-water and warm-water fly lines. Cold-water fly lines, those used for trout and salmon (and saltwater fish in northern latitudes) are designed to stay supple in water as cold as 40 degrees. They also utilize a core (the thin center of the line over which the tapered coating is applied) of nylon braid. Warm-water fly lines, for water temperatures over 70 degrees, feel stiffer because they are made with a braided monofilament and have a harder coating.

 These lines won’t get sticky on the hot deck of a boat or in 80-degree water, so they retain their shooting abilities better. Floating lines are the workhorses of fly fishing; they are not limited to use only with floating flies. Wet flies sink of their own accord, because they are tied on heavy wire hooks; they can also be weighted with lead wire wrapped around the shank of the hook before the fly is tied. Leaders can be weighted with tiny split shot or lead strips. Thus, floating fly lines can be used to fish wet flies several feet below the surface; in small streams and shallow ponds, a floating line is all you’ll need. Sinking lines do not offer the same versatility, as they cannot be used with floating flies. Floating lines are the easiest of all lines to cast and handle, for a number of reasons: they pick up off the water easily, they’re easiest to manipulate on the water, and they’re the most air-resistant of all lines. Greater air resistance means that it will be much less of a chore to keep the line high on your backcast.
 Sinking lines, with their greater density (less air resistance), need an experienced sense of timing to cast; otherwise, your backcast will fall below the rod tip, with a resulting loss of power. Needless to say, your first attempts at fly casting and fly fishing should be made with a floating line. We’d all like to fish with floating lines 100 percent of the time; they’re pleasant to use. Sooner or later, though, you’ll need some sort of sinking line. Sitting in a boat with only a floating line, knowing that the smallmouth bass are on a shoal 10 feet below you, makes you feel helpless; likewise, being on a deep, rushing steelhead river when you just can’t get your fly down to the fish. Sinking lines sink throughout their length. They come in various types, such as sinking, fastsinking, and extra-fastsinking. You might also see them rated in classes from II through V, with V being the densest and fastest-sinking