Since the standard fly line is only about ninety feet long, hard fighting, fast moving
species of fish can strip your reel of line quickly and that is where the backing comes into
play.

Normally, backing line is made of braided Dacron that doesn’t rot or mildew. Other
material, such as Micron, is also used. Both are better than monofilament that may
present problems by coiling.

Even the smaller size fly reels need some backing to fill the spool. The amount of backing
needed is determined by the size of the fly reel and the weight and length of the fly line
that you intend to put on the reel.

Fish that make long, hard runs demand larger amounts of backing. Small fish would
rarely strip your reel past the end of the fly line and the backing’s main purpose is to help
fill the reel spool.

The manner in which you put the fly line backing on a fly reel used for strong, hard
fighting fish is very important. In essence, it is essential that you put the fly line backing
line on very tight. This prevents the running fly line from cutting or working its way down
into the backing line. Lots of pressure during a long fight can do this and destroy the
backing line. It cannot be spooled on the big saltwater fly reels or salmon and steelhead
reels in the same manner as you would spool backing on a reel used for panfish.

Most trout fly reels require about fifty yards of 20-pound backing. Dacron fly line backing
is used most often on reels used for trout fishing.

Steelhead anglers like to us a lot more than that. Most steelhead fly reels are spooled
with 175 or more of 20-pound backing. Some prefer 30# test backing and in this case,
less would be necessary.

Bonefish, permit, tarpon, and other larger size gamefish require even more backing. It is
common for reels to be spooled with 200 to 250 yards of 30-pound test fly line backing.
Gel spun fly line backing is usually preferred for this type of use.

Copyright 2013 James Marsh

The color of a fly line is considered by most anglers to be an unimportant issue. That’s
because in a perfect world, the fish never sees you fly line.  Of course, the main purpose
of the leader is to make sure that the fish doesn’t see the fly line. Of course, the fish may
very well see your fly line and in those cases probably a less visible fly line would be
probably be preferred.

Since a floating fly line is viewed by the fish silhouetted against the sky, lighter shades of
fly lines may be less visible on clear, blue-sky days, whereas, darker shades of fly lines
may be less visible on dark, cloudy days, or early and late in the day. Wet or sinking fly
lines are probably more visible to fish than floating fly lines and darker shades of colors
are generally considered best for those types of fly lines.

Several manufacturers have developed fly line colors that are designed to be as
inconspicuous as possible under the specific conditions that are normally encountered
when you are fishing for certain species. Some of the newest saltwater fly lines are clear.
To  date, to our knowledge the clear fly lines all sink and no one has come up with a
clear, floating fly line. Also, although I fail to see any difference in them, the only clear fly
lines on the market to date are designated for saltwater use. That should not make any
difference.

Something I personally don’t like at all are some of the extremely bright colored fly lines.
Fluorescent colored fly lines spook the fish your tying to catch in many cases and under
most circumstance. A bright orange, red, or yellow fly line makes it easier to see the line
but I fail to see why it’s difficult to see most any color fly line.

If you “line a fish”, meaning you cast the fly line directly across the fish, most of the time
you will spook the fish regardless of the color of the fly line you use. The problem
involves just how close you get the fly line to the fish and how deep the fish is. Fish near
the surface have a small window of vision due to the refraction of light. Fish deep in the
water have a large window of vision but couldn’t see the fly line as well as they could if
they were close to it and it was within their window of vision.

This point can be argued differently and different anglers have different opinions on the
effects of color of a fly line. I just don’t understand the need to use anything but subdued
shades of colors of fly lines. I see absolutely no advantage in the bright colors.

I think it’s mostly like almost everything else and the colors are far more for the anglers
than anything else. Never-the-less, it’s a fact fly lines come in every conceivable color
you can think of.

Casting a tapered line is much easier than casting a level line and for that reason, we
only recommend that your use tapered fly lines.

All fly lines, except the level line, are tapered. The distribution of weight varies in a
tapered line. Generally, tapered lines gradually decrease in weight near the leader end.
This helps you present flies in a smoother, quieter manner and more accurately. The
overall length of the standard fly line is usually seventy five to ninety five feet.

Most tapered lines begin with a thin portion at the leader end and gradually increases in
thickness to form what anglers call the “belly” of the line. The belly is usually about thirty
feet long and for the most part, at least, is the portion of the line that you cast. The rest
of the line is called the “running” line. These types of lines are called weight-forward
lines.    

There are also double-tapered lines that taper down on both ends of the line. From the
middle of the line to either end the line is tapered the same. Double tapered lines can be
reversed to use either end. This may offer an advantage in that the line may be used for
a longer period of time.

A shooting-tapered line, sometimes called a shooting head, has about thirty feet of head
on the end of a very small floating line. Shooting-tapered lines can be used when
exceptionally long cast are required or in heavy winds. For most fishing situations and
again, especially for the beginner, we recommend the weight-forward line.

Also, there are multi-tip fly lines that eliminate the need for carrying extra spools and
lines. Multi-tip lines come with different tip sections usually about twelve feet in length.
Factory-welded loops lets you easily change multi-tips without interfering with line guides
by creating a hinge-free casting connection.

Multi-tip lines usually come with floating, intermediate, fast sinking and super fast sinking
sections. They come in handy when you want a different taper and want it without having
to re-line your fly reel or choose a different fly reel.

Keep in mind, the taper of the fly line is a huge factor in the way any fly rod cast. It affects
the casting distance, accuracy and ease of casting.

Now, although a rod may be designed with a certain species of fish in mind, there’s
actually not such thing as a trout rod, or a bass rod, rather rods that are designed for
certain size fly lines.  There’s also really not such a thing as a trout fly line, a bass fly line
or a sailfish fly line as such. If you rely only on species of fish designations, other things
you should consider may be overlooked. For example, you can fish for bass or trout will a
sinking fly line or a floating fly line. You can fish for either species with a Spey fly line
(one specifically designed for Spey Rods) or a regular fly line.

Also, there’s really not any difference in a saltwater fly line and a freshwater fly line. Most
all fly lines can be used in either type of water so such designations alone, are worthless.

Contrary to what you may think off hand, floating lines are not just used with flies that are
fished on the surface of the water. They can be used with wet or sinking flies in certain
situations. Wet flies sink due to their own weight and floating line can be used as a float
to present the wet fly at various depths.

Sinking lines have a higher density than floating lines and sink throughout their length.
The sink rate is usually designated in “inches per second”. Deep water and/or strong
currents require faster sinking lines.      

There is also what is called “sinking tip” lines, which have fifteen, or so feet of sinking line
on the end of a floating line. Casting these are not as difficult as casting a pure sinking
line.

Some manufacturers designate their fly lines as tarpon, bass, trout, etc. fly lines but that
is just another designation or name for a certain type of taper configuration that works
well for that particular species of fish. Most of these fly lines will also work well for other
species of fish that you would catch on the same size flies or fishing with the same length,
action, weight, etc fly rod.

As explained later in this series of articles on fly lines, you shouldn’t purchase a fly line
strictly based on the name of the fly line if it is designated for a particular species of fish.
It’s more important to make sure the fly line is the type you want for the fly rod and the
flies you want to cast.

Because there are a large variety of fly line tapers and weights, there are standardized
designations to identify various fly line types and sizes. The American Fishing Tackle
Manufacturers Association adopted a system of designating fly line sizes that is almost
universally used.

Example: WF8S

The first part of a line designation is the taper of the line, which is identified by two letters.
In this case it is the WF or weight forward.

Next is the number that designates the size of the line. In this case it is an eight weight
line. The weight of the first thirty feet of line measured in grains designates the size of the
line.

Last are two letters that identifies the type of fly line. In this case it is a sinking fly line. It  
could be a floating line, one that sinks quickly, one that sinks slowly, or one that only
partially sinks.

These designations should appear on the box or packaging  that the fly line comes in.

To review, a “WF8S” designation indicates the fly line is a weight-forward, eight weight,
sinking line.

Designations:
“WF” is the designation for a weight forward line.
“ST” is a shooting tapered line.
“L” stands for a level line with no taper.
An “S” indicates a sinking line.
“F” is for floating, “FT” for a sinking-tip line, and “I” stands for an intermediate sinking fly
line.

Try throwing a unweighted, small trout fly such as a midge as far as you can. You can’t
throw it very far, can you? That is because in fly-fishing, it’s the line you cast, not the fly.

Even a large fly, such as a bass popping bug is still very light. Casting it isn’t any easier
than casting the trout fly because the weight still isn’t a factor in casting distance. In fact,
the bug just increases the problem of air resistance and consequently, it requires a
heavier fly line than the midge to cast well.

The fly line is also a link between the angler and the fish but since fly lines are strong,
always stronger than the leader, the breaking strength of the fly line is not a factor in
fighting a fish as it is with lines used by other types of fishing tackle. So, the fly line
serves a very important purpose, but much more so in casting than in landing a fish.

When you are considering a fly line for a certain type of fishing, there are several things
that need to be taken into consideration. Knowing that, many manufacturers have taken it
way to far. Some are offering fly lines for specific fish species that are intended more to
fool anglers into thinking they need a certain kind of fly line (when they really don’t) than
a real need or purpose. For example, a Carp Fly Line should be no different from a Bass
Fly line. In fact, many of these specific use fly lines are almost identical to another fly line.
Minor changes were made only for marketing purposes.

This doesn’t mean that all lines designated for certain species of fish are a waste of
money. There are some species of fish that demand specific types of fly lines. Just make
sure you study what it is your buying and confirm the differences in the fly line are
justified.

Different types and methods of fishing does require different type of fly line. For example,
a fly line designed for a regular single handle fly rod may not work for a double handle
Spey rod. Even a single handle Spey rod should have a different type of fly line than a
regular single handle fly rod of less than nine feet.

As you can see, the type of fly rod and type of flies should dictate the specific type of fly
line, not necessarily the species of fish you are pursuing. As you will see in this series of
articles, there are many different types of fly lines that have different advantages and
disadvantages depending on their use. For example, a floating fly line and a sinking fly
line each have different applications but it doesn’t necessarily relate to the species of fish
you are pursuing.  

Fly fishing is considered by many to be complicated simply because some of the fly
fishing gear and tackle appears to be complicated. Fly lines are certainly one of those
items that at first glance, appears to be complicated. A “WF8S” designation on a fly line
box doesn’t mean very much to a person just getting into fly fishing.

With normal casting or spinning tackle, lines are designated by their strength. They use
pound-test designations such as 6 pound test line, 20 pound test line, etc. The line is the
same size from one end to the other. That’s because when you cast you are casting a
lure or bait. It’s the weight of the lure or bait that propels the cast.

Flies weight little to almost nothing, depending on the type of fly. Fly line is tapered to
help propel the cast. You are casting the weight of the line, not a heavy lure or fly.
There’s such a thing as non-tapered fly line that’s designated as level fly line, but it’s
rarely used anymore. All the fly lines are tapered as follows.

The taper changes the size of the line at certain points to assist with the cast and
presentation. Weight forward line, the most common type, has a short section of larger,
heavier line than the main, running part of the line near the front part of the fly line that
helps propel the cast.

A shooting head fly line does the same basic thing. They have a section at the front end
of the fly line that is heavier than the main running line to help propel the cast.

Double tapered fly line has a heavier section located such that the line can be used on
either end. When one end of it gets worn, it can be swapped and the opposite end used.
It also has other advantages.

Fly lines come in different densities so they can float or sink at different speeds. Floating
fly lines are the most common. There’s both sinking tip fly lines and full sinking fly lines.
Sinking tip and sinking fly lines are used mostly for wet flies and streamers fishing deeper
water.

There’s all type of specialty fly lines. Some are designed and marketed for specific
species of fish such as trout, salmon, steelhead, bonefish, etc.