Black Hills Flyfishers
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Home > Newsletters > February 2007 > The Mystery of the Missing Trout of Spearfish
| Anatomy of a Fly Line |
By Pat Hinchliffe, Pikes Peak Flyfishers
The “weight” of a fly line is based on the weight, in grains, of the front 30 feet of fly line. This
standardization of fly line rating allows line and rod manufacturers to coordinate their efforts in
designing rods and lines that are perfectly matched with each other. At the time that these standards
were adopted, 30 feet was considered a reasonable length of line needed to adequately load the rod.
Since rod stiffness has changed over the years, many line manufacturers are now “pushing” the
weights of their lines to the top end of the spectrum to help fully load the newer rod materials. Some
anglers routinely move up a line weight for a specific rod.
The lines and weight most fly fishers are concerned with are:
The “weight” of a fly line is based on the weight, in grains, of the front 30 feet of fly line. This
standardization of fly line rating allows line and rod manufacturers to coordinate their efforts in
designing rods and lines that are perfectly matched with each other. At the time that these standards
were adopted, 30 feet was considered a reasonable length of line needed to adequately load the rod.
Since rod stiffness has changed over the years, many line manufacturers are now “pushing” the
weights of their lines to the top end of the spectrum to help fully load the newer rod materials. Some
anglers routinely move up a line weight for a specific rod.
The lines and weight most fly fishers are concerned with are:
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While there are literally dozens of fly line brands in the world, all of them are made by one of only 7
manufacturers. They are Cortland, Rio, Scientific Anglers, Monic, Northern Sport Fishing Products,
Airflo and Shakespeare. The first 4 are located in the US.
Basically, all fly lines are nothing more than a core covered in a coating. All the characteristics of a fly
line, its weight, whether it floats or sinks, if it is weight forward or double taper, are controlled by those
2 factors. Applying the coating is by far is the most important and secretive part of the process.
The cores of all fly lines are typically made of braided nylon, solid nylon mono or hollow core nylon
fiber. Kevlar, Dacron and other synthetics have been tried over the years, but, so far, nothing works
as well nylon. Braided nylon is the most common, since it retains the least coil memory and is the
supplest, especially in cold weather. Typical break strengths for braided cores are 12 pound test for 3
weight and lighter, 20 pound test for 4-8 weight and 30 pound test for 9 weight and heavier.
Once the core is made, stretched, dyed, singed and heat set, it’s ready for the secret coating process
to begin. This is where things get complicated very quickly. The core is passed through a series of
dyes where the coating is applied. These dyes open and close at specific times to allow the coating to
build up or be reduced, thus producing the tapers. All these processes have been done on 2,500 foot
lengths of line. After coating, the lines are cut to length in the right spots, hand inspected, boxed,
labeled and shipped to stores around the world.
manufacturers. They are Cortland, Rio, Scientific Anglers, Monic, Northern Sport Fishing Products,
Airflo and Shakespeare. The first 4 are located in the US.
Basically, all fly lines are nothing more than a core covered in a coating. All the characteristics of a fly
line, its weight, whether it floats or sinks, if it is weight forward or double taper, are controlled by those
2 factors. Applying the coating is by far is the most important and secretive part of the process.
The cores of all fly lines are typically made of braided nylon, solid nylon mono or hollow core nylon
fiber. Kevlar, Dacron and other synthetics have been tried over the years, but, so far, nothing works
as well nylon. Braided nylon is the most common, since it retains the least coil memory and is the
supplest, especially in cold weather. Typical break strengths for braided cores are 12 pound test for 3
weight and lighter, 20 pound test for 4-8 weight and 30 pound test for 9 weight and heavier.
Once the core is made, stretched, dyed, singed and heat set, it’s ready for the secret coating process
to begin. This is where things get complicated very quickly. The core is passed through a series of
dyes where the coating is applied. These dyes open and close at specific times to allow the coating to
build up or be reduced, thus producing the tapers. All these processes have been done on 2,500 foot
lengths of line. After coating, the lines are cut to length in the right spots, hand inspected, boxed,
labeled and shipped to stores around the world.