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Fly line is a fishing line used by fly anglers to cast artificial flies using a fly rod. Fly lines evolved from horsehair lines described by Izaak Walton in The Compleat Angler (1653) through the use of silk, braided synthetics to the modern-day plastic-coated lines.

Fly line materials

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Horse Tail

The earliest fly lines were typically of a fixed length of eight to ten feet and constructed of horsehair. Long strands of horsehair from horse tails were woven to construct a tapered line of typically two strands at the tip and some 40 strands at the butt. Fixed length horsehair lines were the norm well into the 17th century and the hair from a stallion was the preferred material.[1] Until the 19th century, fly lines were being made with woven silk which replaced horsehair as the material of choice. By the 19th century, fly lines were longer and called running lines that were stored on a fly reel and cast through guides on a fly rod.

By the late 19th century, fly lines were still being constructed with silk but were braided instead of woven. Braiding created a hollow core which improved flotation. Nylon, invented by Dupont and in the 1930s found it way into fly line manufacturing in the late 1940s. Braided Nylon fly lines were cheaper than silk but suffered from their tendency to stretch when wet. In the post-WWII era, Dacron also known as polyester, became the material of choice for braided fly lines. Braided Dacron fly lines floated well and were lighter, more durable and cheaper to manufacture than silk lines. In 1952, the Cortland Line Company pioneered the use of vinyl to coat braided cores creating the first plastic coated fly lines that are the mainstream today. Throughout the last half of the 20th century, plastic fly line technology facilitated all manner of fly line innovation to address fly fishing for cold-water, warm-water and saltwater species globally. The most recent innovation in fly line materials came in 2007 when Scientific Anglers introduced textured fly lines. Texturing the surface of the plastic coated fly lines reduced friction improving casting distance and line pickup.[2]

Fly line buoyancy

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Fly lines are designed to float (F) or sink (S). Floating lines generally designed with positive buoyancy for their entire length. Some fly lines have both a sinking section at the tip and a floating running line (F/S). Sinking lines can be fast sinking or slow sinking generally have a specified sink rate in inches per second. Floating fly lines are created by embedding minute air bubbles in the plastic coating around the core. Sinking fly lines or sinking sections of fly lines created by embedding minute particles of tungsten or other heavy metal in the plastic coating.[3]

Fly line sizes and weights

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In the 1930s, the National Association of Accuracy Casting Competition (NAACC) established size standards for fly lines based on the diameter of the woven silk lines. The standard was alphabetical with A being the largest and I being the smallest. Tapered fly lines were designated with multiple letters, i.e. HDH which indicated it was a double tapered (DT) line.

NAACC Official Standard Table of Fly Line Calibrations with Letter Designations, Maximum Permissible Tolerances, and Maximum Permissible Average Deviations[4]
Letter Size Nominal Diameters in 1000th of an Inch
I .022
H .025
G .030
F .035
E .040
D .045
C .050
B .055
A .060
AA .065
AAA .070
AAAA .075
AAAAA .080
Notes
1. Sizes larger than 5A shall be specified only by diameter in thousandths of an inch.
2. The maximum permissible tolerance, plus or minus, shall be one-half of the difference the nominal diameter and nominal diameters of adjacent sizes or 2 1/2 one thousandths on all letter sizes except I and I to H 1 1/2 one thousandths.
3. The maximum permissible deviation throughout the length of the line shall not exceed one thousandth of one inch, plus and/or minus.

The advent of lighter Dacron and vinyl coated fly lines rendered the NAACC alphabetic size standard problematic. It was conceived when most all fly lines were braided silk and one manufacturer’s HDH line was similar in performance to another’s. Fly rod manufacturers had confidence in recommending a specific size fly line for their rods and that any silk line with that designation would perform well regardless of brand. However, it was the weight of the fly line that really mattered, not the size and the lighter synthetic lines performed differently than silk lines of the same size. This caused confusion for consumers and fly rod manufacturers. In 1960, after several years of collaboration between casting experts, rod and line manufacturers and industry media, the American Fly Fishing Tackle Association approved a weight standard for fly lines that persists today. The standard establishes a numbering system of fly lines from 1 to 15, with 1 being the lightest. The standard establishes the desired weight in grains or grams for the first thirty feet of fly line minus any level tip.[5]

AFFTA Approved Fly Line Weight Specification[6]
Line Weight Low Tapers Target
Weight in Grains		 High Line Weight Low Tapers Target
Weight in Grams		 High
1 54 60 66 1 3.50 3.90 4.30
2 74 80 86 2 4.80 5.20 5.60
3 94 100 106 3 6.10 6.50 6.90
4 114 120 126 4 7.40 7.80 8.20
5 134 140 146 5 8.70 9.10 9.50
6 152 160 168 6 9.90 10.40 10.90
7 177 185 193 7 11.50 12.00 12.50
8 202 210 218 8 13.10 13.60 14.10
9 230 240 250 9 14.90 15.55 16.20
10 270 280 290 10 17.50 18.15 18.80
11 318 330 342 11 20.60 21.40 22.20
12 368 380 392 12 23.80 24.60 25.40
13 435 450 465 13 28.20 29.20 30.30
14 485 500 515 14 31.10 32.40 33.70
15 535 550 565 15 34.30 35.60 36.90
Weight is for the First 30 feet of Line minus Level Tip

Fly line shapes and nomenclature

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Source:[3]

Traditional fly line tapers

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  • Level fly line (L)
  • Double Taper fly line (DT)
  • Weight Forward Taper fly line (WF)
Traditional Fly Line Tapers
  • Typical Level (L) Fly Line Profile
    Typical Level (L) Fly Line Profile
  • Typical Double Taper (DT) Fly Line Profile
    Typical Double Taper (DT) Fly Line Profile
  • Typical Weight Forward (WF) Fly Line Profile
    Typical Weight Forward (WF) Fly Line Profile

Specialized fly line tapers

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  • Shooting Heads/Shooting Taper (SH/ST)
  • Triangle Tapered fly line
  • Tenkara
Specialized Fly Line Tapers
  • Typical Shooting Head (SH) Fly Line Profile
    Typical Shooting Head (SH) Fly Line Profile

Fly line nomenclature

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Fly lines are designed for compatibility with fly rods of specific actions and recommended line weights. Dimensions of fly line tapers vary widely to meet the needs of different casting situations, rod types, fly selection and target species. Although there is no industry standard naming convention, most fly line manufacturers use: Taper-weight-buoyancy to identify any given line. Example: WF-5-F would indicate a weight forward taper, a line recommended for a 5 weight rod and a floating line. Some fly lines, especially heavier sinking fly lines and sink-tip line are merely identified by their grain weight, i.e. WF- 150 gr. (grain) - S. . Common fly line terms include:

  • Tip - the section of fly line (if any) just in front of the front taper.
  • Front taper - the section of fly that tapers from the tip to the beginning of the belly
  • Belly — the level section between the front taper and the rear taper
  • Running line - the level section of line from the rear taper to the end or butt of the fly line
  • Loop - Some modern fly lines have loops built-in to the tip and/or butt to facilitation the connection of leaders and backing
  • Sink-tip - A fly line where only the tapered portion of the fly line is designed to sink
  • Sink-rate - The nominal rate at which the line will sink in inches per second.
    • Sink-rates are usually expressed as Types 1-6 in either numerals or Roman numerals with the lowest number being the slowest sink rates. However there is no industry standard for fly line sink-rates and one manufacturers rates may be different than another’s for the same type rating.[7]

Fly line manufacturers and brands

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(Year founded)

Historic (now defunct or no longer producing/selling fly lines)

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Source:[8]

  • Ashaway (1824)
  • Gudebrod, Inc (1870)
  • U.S. Line Company (mid-1800s)
  • Western Fishing Line Company (c. 1930)
  • Sunset (1932)
  • Hall Line Corporation (1821)
  • Rain-Beau (1821)
  • Weber (1868)
  • Bevin Wilcox (1919)
  • Norwich Line Company (S.A. Jones Line Company (1930)
  • B.F. Gladding and Company (1816)
  • Horrocks Ibbotson (1909)
  • South Bend (1905)
  • Shakespeare (1905)
  • Pflueger (1913)
  • Newton Line Company (1909)
  • Masterline U.K. (early 1970s)
  • Berkley (1937)
  • Marathon (1937)
  • Fenwick (1954)
  • ABU (1921)
  • Garcia (1920s)
  • Horton Manufacturing Company (1836)
  • Montgomery Ward (1872)
  • Sears (1893)
  • Western Auto (1909)
  • Abercrombie & Fitch (1892)
  • Herter’s (1893)

Current brands

Notes

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  1. ^ Herd, Andrew Dr (2001). The Fly. Ellesmere, Shropshire: Medlar Press. pp. 83–85. ISBN 1-899600-19-1.
  2. ^ "The Fly Line Nerd Out Part 3 History and Development of Fly Lines". Fishwest.com. January 2022.
  3. ^ a b Richards, Bruce (1994). "Physical Parameters". Modern Fly Lines. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. pp. 57–63.
  4. ^ McClane, A.J. (1975). The Practical Fly Fisherman. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc. pp. 44–62. ISBN 0136893988.
  5. ^ Richards, Bruce (1994). "Physical Parameters". Modern Fly Lines. Birmingham, Alabama: Odysseus Editions. pp. 32–35.
  6. ^ "AFFTA Approved Fly Line Weight Specifications" (PDF). American Fly Fishing Trade Association. January 2022.
  7. ^ Johnson, Victor R. "The Modern Line-Early 1960s Through the Early 1990s". America's Fly Lines-The Evolution of the Modern Fly Line from Its Horsehair and Silk Beginnings. Vallejo, CA: EP Press. pp. 116–118. ISBN 0974053104.
  8. ^ Johnson, Victor R. "The U.S. Fly Line Industry: 1800-WWII". America's Fly Lines-The Evolution of the Modern Fly Line from Its Horsehair and Silk Beginnings. Vallejo, CA: EP Press. pp. 23–91. ISBN 0974053104.
  9. ^ Johnson, Victor R. "Scientific Anglers". America's Fly Lines-The Evolution of the Modern Fly Line from Its Horsehair and Silk Beginnings. Vallejo, CA: EP Press. pp. 121–127. ISBN 0974053104.
  10. ^ "The History of Cortland". Sportfish.co.uk. January 2022.
  11. ^ Johnson, Victor R. "Specialty Lines". America's Fly Lines-The Evolution of the Modern Fly Line from Its Horsehair and Silk Beginnings. Vallejo, CA: EP Press. pp. 142–144. ISBN 0974053104.
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