Tag Archives: fly lines

Hi, I’m Stanley and I’ll be shattering your dreams today.

“Have a good look at me and smile because it’s probably the last time you’ll look at me without wanting to throw me away.”

Stanley the Enemy

how many times have you heard the gleeful chant “I just cast 30m/99 ft !!!” ? (with as an example the average line of 27m/90ft plus a 9′ leader) and that person believes the fluff-fly is actually that far from their feet ?
well, i’ve heard it a lot but since Stanley was usually missing from the equation, my reply tends to be a polite smile and maybe a “far-out !” for encouragement all the while knowing they’re usually 20 or so % off.

- with the average angler, in most cases the above distance once Stanley’d might be something around 25m at best.
- with an experienced caster (in this case meaning someone who has good to great control of their cast) that distance might be around 27-28m.
- and a distance competitor maybe between 28 and 29m.
please take notice of the ‘maybe’s‘ and ‘might be’s‘ above. there are too many countless variables involved to reach definite conclusions. however, my point here was to demonstrate ballpark proportions for the three groups of casters.

as can be expected, the one’s who regularly practice distance casting will be the most consistent and their casts will go furthest but there is a common denominator to the different levels: no one is actually reaching 30m. because fly lines simply don’t fly out and land all straight, taught and perfect. (or at least it’s so rare that it’s basically a freak incidence when/if it happens)
with our 30m example, to get to that distance consistently would mean being able to cast much further consistently and then ‘holding-back’ to reach the 30m smoothly,  precisely and with straight line layout: actions that are extremely hard to manage when trying to cast ‘all-out’.

of course (and thankfully), most fishers/casters couldn’t care less about exact distances, so this all is just a reminder of a common phycological state/belief  that things aren’t always as they seem.
thanks to friends like Mel Krieger who stated “The distance between your head and your hand can be a long way” and not-so friends like Stanley who likes to slap our egos once in a while, in the end both will put us back on the right track and make us work a little harder to live up to our expectations.
if you want to cast further and don’t have a tape measure, get one. as stated above, you’ll spend most of your time wanting to destroy it but at the same time, deep inside you’ll be happy to have this new friend and this one always tells the truth.

Distance Fly Casting seen from Above(a little nudge in the ribs to all my distance buddies… :wink: )

related articles

 

Barrio Switch Fly Line

just out and designed to do everything listed below very-very well, i’ll add that as an added bonus it also brings a smile to every cast.
after playing with one of the prototypes for the last several months that last part is indeed subjective but that’s what really sums it up to me.

from Mike Barrio’s online page:Barrio Switch

The Barrio Switch floating fly line is a full floating line designed for two handed Spey and overhead use on Switch rods.

Many Switch lines on the market are sold as lines for both one and two handed casting, thus being a little light for two handed use and too heavy on a long rod to be comfortably managed single handed.

The Barrio Switch features a compound rear taper similar to our SLX single handed line, this helps to produce sharp controllable loops from dead line roll casts and allows more line to be carried into the D loop when we have space and the need arises. The head length to the colour change is approximately 30ft on the Switch and up to 6ft can be overhung for long range casts where required.

Barrio Switch Lines are designed to work well with poly leaders or 10 to 15ft heavy butted tapered salmon leaders. With the right leader set up, these lines will delicately present a micro tube on a long leader in low summer conditions, yet will also carry “heavier gear” for fishing bigger waters, high flows on spate rivers, or bouncing flies at depth for Pacific species.

The 7/8 and 8/9 lines will carry fast sinking 10ft salmon poly leaders, lengths of “T” tip material and moderately sized copper or brass tubes straight from the box, however if your fishing dictates that fast tips and big flies are usually the order of the day, then the line can be cut back by up to 18 inches from the tip.

Our 5/6 line will carry any density of trout poly leader up to 10ft in length and the 6/7 will carry 6ft to 8ft salmon poly leaders in any density and short “T” tips, plus long tapered leaders for fishing small flies to spooky fish in thin calm water.

Target head weights:
Switch 5/6 – 340 grains (approx 22 grams)
Switch 6/7 – 380 grains (approx 24.5 grams)
Switch 7/8 – 425 grains (approx 27.5 grams)
Switch 8/9 – 470 grains (approx 30.5 grams)

* Please note that our fly line profile diagrams do not include information regarding any compound tapers that we may have included within the profiles and that the dimensions may also vary for each individual line weight.

since i get asked all the time: Barrio fly lines are not available in any store but only through Mike’s online shop. not going through middlemen explains why they are all at more than reasonable prices and those prices include shipping anywhere in the World.
they are all highest quality premium fly lines more often than not better than any of the big-name brands in their respective category.
click the image to access the Barrio Fly Line page.

related articles

fitting into tight spaces

by Lee Cummings

over the last few years and among a whole lot of other things, Lee’s been doing a lot of research on shooting heads and more particularly, short, mini and micro heads to be used in the tightest of areas where other lines can’t deliver (pun intended), such as this little seatrout stream in northern England. Lee C's tiny seatrout stream

sure, the need for these is situation-dependant but it does give us the possibility to fish in areas we might generally pass. (and if we pass them there’s a good chance other anglers do it as well, meaning that fish who aren’t comfortable in high-pressure areas will happily congregate there)

without going into the micro-short, the set up below directly inspired by the Skagit school is a very good example of out of the box thinking even though it actually comes straight of a box without any cutting up, weighing, measuring or other fancy finagling. taking the Skagit concept and scaling it all down gives this, and that’s a good this !

“This awesome little set up is handy for fishing the tightest of the tight when it comes to available casting space.
The head in this example compromises of a 5ft Rio floating Skagit cheater coupled with the 1.5″ per second 15ft sink tip that came with the Rio Skagit system.
The running line is simple mono so as to offer minimum resistance and maximum range to this super short and deadly fishing shooting head.”

related articles

fly casting
spey casting
fly lines

Fly Line Selection: Head lengths, weight distribution and other goodies

continuing with the Fly Line series, today’s gem comes to us from Lee Cummings.LC Triangle SL Gathering

“One of the questions I normally ask a client whilst setting up his/her own equipment is “may I ask what line you are currently using there?” and secondly “what is the head length ?”

These are not trick questions, I just simply wish to learn about the clients mindset as to why they chose that line, or why it was recommended to them. Quite often the client remembers the name of the line manufacturer and even the model name and its AFFTA classification number, but there the knowledge of it often ceases.”

“If a line of inappropriate and excessive head length has been purchased, the angler “after some frustrations” does the sensible thing and only false casts out to a length which they can manage, sadly the outer most reach of their fishing is regulated by a head length issue right there.”

and that’s just a few snippets i hope will wet your appetite for more.

if you’ve ever gone out and bought a well reputed fly line and wondered why it wasn’t living up to your expectations you’ll find some very important thoughts in Lee’s highly recommends article. enjoy !

Getting Head Smart

related articles

Fly Lines: Taper Designs

with the hope the following article will help clear out a few ideas on fly line selection and since there’s been some recent comments regarding the use of level lines…, here’s an introductory excerpt on the hows and whys of fly lines tapers from Bruce Richards‘ seminal book Modern Fly Lines via Virtual Fly Casting.
as a reminder, Bruce was head line designer at Scientific Anglers for over 30 years. we can consider him to be the ‘father of modern fly lines’, “What Bruce doesn’t know about flylines, probably isn’t worth knowing. In fact some of what Bruce *does* know about flylines you probably wouldn’t want to know either.”
~ Paul Arden

“The primary purpose of the front taper of the fly line is to allow proper delivery of the fly and leader. The taper from the belly of the line to the tip acts to reduce the mass of the line. As the loop of any fly line travels through the air, the mass of the moving part of the line decreases because that part becomes shorter. In tapered lines it decreases even more because the line becomes smaller towards the tip. This increases acceleration, resulting in greater wind resistance and greater energy dissipation, and therefore a more delicate delivery.

Obviously, heavy and wind resistant flies offer more resistance to the fly line than light, small flies. Lines with long front tapers have less mass in the front section of the line than lines with shorter front tapers. Less mass means earlier acceleration, earlier dissipation of energy, and a more gentle, less powerful delivery which will effectively deliver small, light flies, like most trout flies. Lines with short front tapers dissipate energy less efficiently, resulting in a more powerful “turnover”, suitable for the heavier, wind resistant flies usually used for bass or saltwater fishing.

Casting into the wind increases the wind resistance the line encounters, and more energy is dissipated from the line than in calm-air or downwind casts. Lines with shorter front tapers, which dissipate energy less efficiently, work better for most anglers casting into the wind. When all else is equal, lines with longer tapers deliver less powerfully than lines with shorter tapers. It is the actual line weight that determines the range of fly sizes that can be cast effectively. A light line (2 to 5- weights) with a short, powerful taper is not going to throw big bass bugs well, because the line is just to light to carry the energy necessary to overcome the resistance offered by a large bug.

It should be mentioned that the tapered leaders tied to the end of fly lines continue the dissipation of casting energy. If you have ever cast a line without a leader, you probably noticed it did not cast well. Lines are designed to be cast with leaders. A properly designed line will have just the right amount of energy left at the end of the cast to turn over the leader and deliver the fly. If a line is cast without a leader, it will ‘kick’ and be most difficult to cast. Lines are designed to be cast with a particular leader commonly used with that size type of line. A light fly line will be overpowered by a heavy saltwater leader; the line will not have enough energy to turn it over properly. By the same token, a light trout leader won’t be able to handle the large amount of energy a heavy saltwater line passes to it, and the line will ‘kick.’ Casting a level line with no front taper demonstrates very clearly how tapering effects the way a line casts. Even with the correct tapered leader, level lines ‘kick’ when casting because thy have so much undissipated energy left when the line straightens. To avoid the kick the caster must modify his or her casting stroke to reduce the amount of casting energy by slowing the line and by casting with a larger, more wind-resistant loop.

Level lines turn over very abruptly and land on the water forcefully because the energy dissipates poorly because the tip is just plain heavy without the line taper. Sinking lines are said to ‘hinge’ when cast; there is a significant change in the density where the floating and sinking parts of the line join. If cast correctly, a properly designed sinking-tip line does not ‘hinge’ but rather ‘kicks’ just as the level line does. The tip of a sinking line is very heavy and dissipates energy poorly. To compound the problem, lines with very high density tips are very small in diameter and offer less wind resistance even when the do finally accelerate. The key to casting these lines effectively is the same for level lines, namely to open the casting loop and slow the line down as much as possible.
The ability of the caster is important to consider. Lines with longer, more delicate tapers require good loop control and may be difficult for an inexperienced caster to use. There are lines on the market specifically geared toward beginning casters, lines with shorter tapers that dissipate energy less quickly during the cast. Most novices cast with relatively wide, open loops that are quite wind-resistant. If a line with a long, delicate taper is cast with this kind of loop, too much energy is dissipated and the line and leader will not straighten. With a shorter, more powerful taper, effective deliveries can be made even with less than perfect technique.
Instructors may often overlook the fly line a student is casting with. Ask the student what line it is they are using. This may be especially important when dealing with advanced or intermediate casters.
For example, many intermediate casters attempting to cast a line to 75 or 85 feet are simply unaware that in the case of a Weight Forward line, they must learn to control and understand what “overhang” is, and how it will affect their ability to control the line for longer casts. Overhang is simply the position of the rod tip in relation to the distance between the running line and the end of the rear taper. While experienced casters can control lots of overhang the intermediate caster should not attempt to cast with more than 2 or 3 feet of overhang outside of the rod tip. It is highly recommended that an approximate overhang point be marked with a permanent magic marker allowing the student/ caster a consistent “pick up” point that will promote greater efficiency when learning to cast a longer line. Again we turn to “Modern Fly lines” for a detailed description of why understanding “overhang” is critical.


“A fly line is controlled by the tip of the fly rod, the angler’s last point of contact. The rod tip moves the part of the line that is in the rod tip, and that part of the line moves the rest of the line. For the rod-tip part of the line to move and control the rest of the line effectively, it should have enough mass to move the line connected to it.
A good caster can cast effectively with running line in the tip, however, if the line is kept very straight during the cast. Energy can be transmitted through the straight, small- diameter running line to the head of the line. But it usually desirable to choose a line with a belly that will insure the belly is at least very close to the rod tip during overhead casting, roll casting, or mending.”In closing it is important to note that it is the fly line that delivers the fly to the target. Understanding how fly lines transmit energy to deliver the fly to the target is predicated on a firm understanding of taper design.

related articles

What is a double taper line for fly fishing?

as alluded to in yesterday’s post Double Tapered vs Weight Forward Fly Lines – Which is really better?, there’s an enormous amount of let’s say, less than informative information available on the net when it comes to explaining this or that about fly fishing, fly casting and basically fly-anything.
here’s a real gem in the rough in the matter. the poor guy is so lost at attempting to teach us something that he doesn’t know. it would be sad if it wasn’t so funny…. enjoy !

btw, it’s this.
mastery_trout-dt
and to get a little more technical, a taper is:
taper |ˈtāpər|
noun:
• a gradual narrowing: (click the link at the top of the page for Bruce Richards’ basic explanation of mass, weight distribution and other goodies and how they affect a fly line’s performance).
verb:
•diminish or reduce or cause to diminish or reduce in thickness toward one end : the tail tapers to a rounded tip | [ with obj. ] : David asked my dressmaker to taper his trousers.• [ no obj. ] gradually lessen: the impact of the dollar’s depreciation started to taper off .
ORIGIN Old English (denoting any wax candle), dissimilated form (by alteration of p- to t-) of Latinpapyrus (see papyrus), the pith of which was used for candle wicks.

hmm, it turns out that thanks to Mr. DT we found out that the word taper finds it’s origins in candles and we can use it when chit-chatting about trousers so, i guess it aint all bad.

related articles

Double Tapered vs Weight Forward Fly Lines – Which is really better?

by Bruce Richards via Sexyloops

“What Bruce doesn’t know about flylines, probably isn’t worth knowing. In fact some of what Bruce *does* know about flylines you probably wouldn’t want to know either.”
~ Paul Arden

constantly amazed that this subject is still an issue with so many anglers, on so may forums and by so many ‘experts’, i thought it might be of worth to pull up this article and let Mr FlyLine explain it himself.
of further interest we’ll note that the exact same principles of mass (or of more practical use,  diameter), tapers and lengths apply equally to leaders. a leader is to be designed as the continuation of the fly line and not an entirely separate entity.  what applies to line selection applies to leader selection. the two work hand in hand, so to speak, to enable the fly angler to meet the specific casting/fishing challenge at hand.


“Few fly line subjects have been discussed more than which is the better taper, double taper (DT) or weight forward (WF). The answer is, neither is inherently better, but one may be better than the other for you.

A lot of generalizations are made about these two tapers based on outdated or incorrect information. We’ve all heard that DT lines are more delicate, give better control, roll cast better, etc. In some cases some of these things are true, but not always.

Delicacy of delivery is determined by the mass of the front part of a fly line. This is determined by line diameter (which relates directly to mass), and taper length. A line with a small diameter tip and a long taper has much less mass up front than a line with a large tip and short taper. Don’t be mislead by taper length alone, a line with a long front taper but a large tip diameter will not deliver delicately. A DT and a WF line with the same taper and tip diameter will deliver the same.

For many years most DT and WF lines were made with the same tip diameter and front taper length so there was no difference in how they delivered, although many claimed there was. Today, some of the DT lines are actually designed to be used specifically for spring creek type fishing and do have longer tapers and/or smaller tips.

Anytime a line (or any product for that matter) is designed to do one thing very well it usually has a shortcoming somewhere else. Lines that are designed to be very delicate have little mass in the front to carry larger or heavier flies, and don’t handle windy conditions well. It takes a better caster to throw the kind of loops it takes to make these lines perform their best. And no, DT lines aren’t more “accurate” at normal fishing distances, that is entirely in the realm of the skill of the caster. Good consistent loops and practice are where accuracy come from.

It is very true that DT lines are easier to control and roll cast at longer distances than WF lines. At shorter distances there is no difference. The key to line control and roll casting is that large diameter line belly must be in the rod tip. If small diameter running line is in the tip it is nearly impossible to transmit enough energy through it to the belly to make the line do what you want. What many people don’t consider is that WF lines control and roll cast as well as DT lines at the distances most people fish.

Most WF lines have heads that are 35-40 ft. long. Add a 9 ft. leader and the distance to the fly from the end of the head is 44-49 ft. To that, add the length of the rod since roll cast normally end with the rod parallel to the water and pointed at the target. That is the distance at which DT and WF lines control and roll cast the same. There aren’t many typically trout fishing situations that require roll casts longer than that, and not many casters who can roll cast that far. What this all means is that DT and WF lines work pretty much the same at the distances we fish most of the time.

Certainly if someone fishes a big river that requires a lot of long distance roll casting and mending he or she should consider a DT line or a WF with a long head. Rods longer than 9 ft. are almost a necessity also, roll cast distance and mending performance is directly dependent on rod length.

Everybody knows that WF lines are better for distance than DT lines, but is that really true? Well, yes, but the difference isn’t as big as you might think. Certainly WF lines shoot better because of their small, light running lines. But remember, this benefit starts at 44-49 ft. when the running line is in the rod. If you will be making a lot of long casts it is certainly a little easier to do with a WF line, but don’t think that DT lines won’t shoot, they will, just not as far. With the advent of new slick coatings like AST DTs shoot better than ever.

For most people it probably doesn’t make a lot of difference which taper they use. Most of us fish at distances less then 44-49 ft. which is where WF’s start to shoot better, but lose line control. Most of us don’t have the need, or the ability, to roll cast longer than 45 ft..

So, how do you decide which is right for you? If you do mostly small fly fishing at short to medium range there is no reason not to get a DT line. There is always the budget issue, DT lines are essentially 2 in 1 so are less expensive over time. If you are consistently throwing long casts you will be able to make them with fewer false casts with a WF line, but lose the ability to do long roll casts and mends, if you ever need them, and are able. For most of us it doesn’t make much difference which taper we use most of the time, make your decision based on how much short distance fishing, or long range fishing you do.”

related articles

Gram to Grain chart

here’s something useful for those trying to make sense of fly line weights.
not exclusive to, but of particular use for the double-hand casters, here’s a quick reference chart that avoids finding a calculator and even worse, finding out what in the heck a Grain is and what it refers to in the real world…
feel free to lift the chart and save it somewhere in your files. hopefully this will prevent a few headaches !

Spectra and Super Braid Fishing Knot

via animated knots.com

at first look, the fly angler will probably think this of no use or something solely reserved the for the Anal-Angler, but ! what got my attention with this one was:
a lot of the smaller trout reel spools leave very little room for backing and even though it’s almost never i get to see the backing when fighting a trout-type fish i like to have some there just in case ! to make up with this lack of backing space i’ve been using very thin braided line from the luring/spinning industry as it’s incredibly thin for it’s strength. the connection to the fly line is a loop to loop with a loop big enough on the backing end to be able to easily slide a reel or line spool through it to be able to change lines quickly. now, what that leaves me with is a very fine, un-stretching connection connected to a much bigger and softer one. it hasn’t happened yet but i’m pretty sure that if enough force was put on this connection the thinner braid would just cut through in the manner a wire cheese slicer does. not good !
placing a sleeve over the braid as in the video below before making the big loop would keep the cheese slicing from happening and also make it easier to pull the loops apart when changing lines. good !
speaking of cheese, i’m off to have a quick snack and off to try out some new fly lines that came in yesterday. enjoy the day !

Hair Lines

Horse Hair Fly Lines from Fly Fishing History

if anything, studying fly fishing history (or just plain history in general) is always worth a few wows, how did they’s and and a bunch of giggles.
in this informative article we get the lowdown on the origin of fly lines, how they where made (see the Machiavellical contraption below), their pros and cons and a few ideas on their performance.

” From Walton onwards, very few authors ever seemed to agree about the ranking of different colours of horse-hair, and to make matters worse, there was considerable dispute about what sort of horse the hair should be taken from. The consensus favoured stallions, given that mares’ tails became soaked with urine and were liable to be rotten as a consequence… “




click either pic for the complete article (and wear gloves if you try this at home). enjoy !

fly line testing (a postcard from Spain)

we’d already seen the making of a fly line and here’s a sneak preview of how they’re carefully tested and evaluated !
brought to you from one of the deepest-darkest of secret testing grounds/Barrio Team vacation camps in Spain, Mike Barrio himself  “well, doing what’s gotta be done because that’s what I like to do, besides, once it’s doned I can start all over again… “


” Just back from doing some top secret trials of a new fly line coating in Europe.
The coating appears to go very well on pretty stiff rods, producing tight loops and good distance !
Cheers
Mike

if you’re not familiar with these lines yet, do yourself the favor of checking out the page below. yes, as Pro-Team member i’m quite partial but i wouldn’t be on the team  if i couldn’t fully endorse the products. they’re that good.

Making a Blind Splice Line Core Loop-to-Loop Connection

via Sexyloops

here’s a nifty one from friend and instructor colleague Lars Christian Bentsen: overall good guy, great fly tier, Federation of Fly Fishers Master Instructor and Archeologist-Plunderer known around the world as Viking Lars !

i’ve shared different types of loop connections and here’s another ! based on shooting head connections, this very same line core blind splice loop will serve equally well for leader to line tip loop-to-loop or for end of line to backing connections.

each loop takes but a few minutes to make, doesn’t hang-up going through the rod’s guides, is hyper-strong and well worth doing. peace mind for so little effort and cost is hard to beat.

Getting Connected

Then there is the issue of connecting the shooting head to the running line. This can be done in several different ways, but some are better than others. Provided both the shooting head and the running line have braided Dacron cores, the best solution is to make a blind splice loop on both parts and simply join these together. This has the great advantage of allowing the angler to change the head within minutes. A blind splice is really quite easy to make, but it does take some practice to get it down right. Follow this description:

Once you’ve found a length/weight of your head that suits both you and your rod, take a piece of stout monofilament (say 20lbs) and make a noose. Using the noose, strip off the coating a centimeter at a time. You’re going to need about 5 cm of exposed core (fig 1).

Once this is done, fray the end with a thin needle, only a centimeter or so and cut away one half of the frayed part. Again using the thin needle, insert it in the core about 1.5 centimeters over where the coating ends and work it down the centre to exit where coating begins. Make sure it goes straight down the centre of the core!!!

Now take a long piece of say 10lbs BS mono and thread the needle with both ends of this (fig 2) and pull it through the core, not completely – you’ll want the mono forming a noose pointing towards the end of the exposed core, the two tag ends towards the tip of the head.
Insert the frayed end into the noose (fig 3) and pull tight and gently pull the core back through itself.
Adjust the size of the loop and pull tight (fig 4) and finally cut off surplus. If you want, you can whip the splice with tying thread. In that case, don’t cut off the surplus. Attach the thread and whip over a centimeter or so and then fold back the surplus and tie this down as well – this does give you double insurance. I rarely whip over the splice myself and I’ve yet to see one open on me.

Now, in either case, coat the splice with clear, soft PVC glue (I use something called Bison, but Loop makes something called Knot Preserver that also works fine and Loon has their Knot Sense) to make a smooth transition and snip-snap and Bob’s your Auntie !!! (fig 5) You will however need to coat this two or three times.

Single and Double Hand Fly Line Weight Charts

always good to have as references, these quick and easy to understand charts give us the low down at a glance.
if there’s any questions or confusion (specially with the Double Hand ) please leave your comment below and we’ll work it out.

Single Hand

Double Hand

the new kid on the block

just out to the public this week comes the next generation of long belly fly lines, one that will be present not only in future distance competitions but on any waters for the angler who wants maximum versatility. i’ve had the pleasure of using two prototypes since this spring and after a short ‘getting to know you’ period have adopted them full time as my floating 5wt lines. one’s for practice, teaching and demos and the other is reserved for fishing.
close-up, mid range or far, try as i may, i can’t fault them on any aspect.
as a last note, i’ll remind you that these lines are sold for 25£ (31€ or 39$) including shipping anywhere in the world, don’t hesitate.

some specs from Mike’s flylineshop.com page

” The new Barrio GT125 longbelly fly line has been designed for distance!

The GT125 offers superb line control, stability in the air and turnover. Our new 73 ft head helps to achieve great line speed and the reduced running line diameter over the last 25 ft improves line shoot when pushing for maximum distance.

Our relatively short belly and front taper produces a line that will load a rod well at short range for “off the tip” casts, yet our long rear taper allows huge lengths of line to be aerialised under control.

The Barrio GT125 excels at distance and provides a real alternative to other top end distance lines currently on the market, but with one real difference …. it is a superb fishing line!

Barrio GT125 Weight Forward Profile
APPROX GUIDE TO THE BARRIO GT125 FLY LINE PROFILE
(front taper & tip: 10 ft) (belly: 22 ft) (rear taper: 41 ft) (running line: 52 ft)

dumb Boobies…

most of us know that Boobies look like this:

they float, we fish them deep with a fast sinker, they wiggle and bob and they’re very inciting.

well, apparently the guy below didn’t quite read the instructions and managed to stretch his fly line across a bicycle path and capture a soft-headed pedalist in the process of trying to land his fish…

‘Booby Trapping‘: they weren’t kidding when they said that fate decides when Coloradans who are supposed to meet will meet when the time is ‘just right’…

WF vs DT debate

via  Scientific Anglers 

“It gets a bit more complicated when people claim that a DT can pick up easier, can carry more line, can mend better, and the favorite, can roll cast better than a WF line.  All of these claims assume that you are fishing distances beyond the rear taper of the WF line.  If you are fishing distances less than the length of the Front Taper+Belly of the line, you are virtually fishing the exact same line.”


hard to disagree with most everything there. there does seem to be however a WF biased opinion not only in this article but how it’s reflected by the pretty lacking selection of DT’s on their catalogue. not having a search bar the site isn’t the easiest to navigate and as far as i can tell there’s only one very generically named line in the DT format: Floating

personally, as a general line for trout-type species in rivers and streams i find the DTs hard to beat because i’m often fishing behind the head length, specially if it’s a short head and i’m adding enough line length to perform curves, mends and drag-controlling slack.
being limited in how i fish by the line’s head length is about as obnoxious as it gets.
having the majority of the line’s weight at the rod tip for all the roll and spey casts i find absolutely necessary in river fishing makes them easy, smooth and pretty.
the ‘e, ‘s and ‘p are there for aerial casts too.
ok, with DTs we generally don’t shoot much line if any at all and for most people that’s a very good thing as far as fly presentation goes.
shooting line and being delicate and precise while controlling the running line with WFs is of course possible but demands more casting practice work than most anglers are prepared to put some effort in…
DTs aren’t the end-all solution to everything, nothing is. they are however a very viable option a lot of anglers might be happy to re-discover.

it’s a shame that fashion over reason has made them almost obsolete but some companies like the Barrio Mallard Double Taper Floating Fly Line and Rio and the S.A. line mentioned above give us a choice.
another non-negligable aspect is the average price of a DT compared to WFs. as an example, the Barrio Mallard is £19 each including free worldwide shipping.
who can beat that ?

Related articles

Double Loop-to-Loop Connection

by Jon B. Cave via Rio‘s blog

a most fantastic find here. as Jon explains in great detail, if the joining line diameters and/or stiffness don’t match, the connection doesn’t seat properly, making it both hinge and weaker.
“The union formed by joining one loop to another is a strong one when properly done (see photo 1); however, if the loop-to-loop knot isn’t executed correctly by drawing the loops tightly together so that they remain seated in place, a hitch may develop at one of the loop ends and weaken the connection (see photo 2).

the solution is as simple as is it ingenious, double the loop ! brilliant !

click here for Jon’s great article.

Fly line tip ring- step by step

by Jim Williams


one of the absolutely coolest tips i’ve seen in ages, here’s how to add a tippet ring to the end of your fly line to enable quick, easy leader changes without some big nasty and dumb looking loop-to-loop connection. give this one a try, it’s  modern !

click the pic or here for the full step-by-step. thanks Jim !

If you’re not a fan of the tip ring, just omit it and leave a small loop as an option.

Dr. Bill’s Fly Line Analyzer

Fly Line Facts and/or Fantasies
by William “Dr. Wild-Bill” Hanneman

you’ll notice that it involves a pizza box, sticky putty, fly line freedom, seeds of destruction, fantasies, stan- dards and a coat hanger, so it can’t be all that bad.

” Before considering how to characterize a fly line, let’s confront the issue that all fly lines are not created equal.

There is a general belief among fly anglers that, for example, all AFTMA No. 5 lines are equivalent. This is effectively reinforced by current fly line advertising copy concen- trating on the advantages of new proprietary line coatings. It is also accepted because few anglers have knowledge of manufacturing processes and fewer have any means of checking to determine if it is actually true.

Those who have delved a little deeper in the subject might quote the AFTMA stan- dard of 1961 which states the first 30 feet of a No. 5 line (exclusive of tip), weighs 140 grains. We would like to believe that all the products fly line dealers sell meet AFTMA standards. However, when few anglers have the means of making the measurements and there are no penalties associated with ignoring the AFTMA standards, one might suspect that fly line manufacturing and selling has been optimized for profits. Herein lie the seeds of destruction for the AFTMA standards. “

read more here

Birth of the Barrio Fly Lines Pro Fly Fishing Team !

great news today ! i’m very pleased to be part of the brand-new Barrio Fly Lines Pro Fly Fishing Team along with ‘Lineslinger’ Will Shaw !

you’ll hear plenty more about this fantastic range of super-quality fly lines soon but for the moment i’ll leave you this nice video of Ben Dixon testing out the very new SLX line, which is as you’ll see, very well suited to both single-hand speys and overhead casting.

not only is Ben a funny joke teller, darn good curry maker and fishing guide but he’s also a fantastic fly caster. enjoy !

be sure to watch it in full screen and adjust to HD !

making fly line loop connections

this excellent video is about adjusting shooting heads but the same loop making method is perfect for either the line tip, to be able to change leaders easily or at the back of the line to be able to easily detach it from the backing when changing lines.

take note that this method only works for hollow braided cores. if you’re in doubt, check the manufacturer’s website or catalogues and if you’re still unsure, cut off a short piece preferably at the back of the line and strip the coating.

the making of a fly line

and who would have thunked that some of the best fly lines in the world where made this way ?

hand-rolled in the back shed of the Haddo Fishery somewhere in Scotland, do yourself a favour and check out my buddy Mike Barrio’s site for a nice selection of fly lines at the very unusual prices ranging from…

19 £ to 24 £ including shipping to your door anywhere in the world.
yup, no typos there.
(at the time of this writing that’s 22 € / 28 € and 29$ / 37 $)
yup, no typos there either.

Nail-Knot with a… nail !

a nice ‘twist’ to an old standard. well explained with special attention to details, this one shows a different way of wrapping the leader butt around the line by using a loop instead of just the tag end. nifty and practical specially when a fast leader change is needed on the water.

personally, i believe that wrapping the the butt end of the leader eight times around the line is completely useless and actually detrimental to the knot. it is just too long without making the connection any stronger, creating a stiffer and sharper ‘hinge’ area at the back end of the knot/line-tip junction. this breaks the fly line’s coating and leaving the all too flexible fly line core as the only thing holding the connection together, also disrupting the energy transfer between the line and leader. the break will eventually occur both while casting as the loop is created and unfolds and when the knot is brought through the rod tip when landing a fish.

in freshwater and with bigger species like pike, carp and salmon i’ve not had a single failure yet using three turns although for bigger lines in single and double hand 7wt and up i might take four wraps just to appease the ‘you never know’ doubt feeling…

as a reminder, the Nail Knot is not recommended for use for big strong sea-type fish as when there’s enough pull the knot simply strips the coating from the fly line. more on monster fish connections later !

video source: dreamcastidaho.com


COLOURFUL SPAGHETTI FOR DUAL PERSONALITIES

by Mathias Lilleheim

 “Anyway, I’m here to talk about Spaghetti, even though I don’t eat too much of it. Not because I don’t like it, of course, but because some carbohydrates have a tendency to make you fat. Potatoes and rice are other kinds, and sugar, of course, but I’m digressing again. I’m not here to discuss spaghetti as a food source, but more as a source of visual aesthetics.”

“And then, after having lain on the floor for half an hour, crying, you see the thong among all the dust balls from hell and start thinking of other kinds of emotions, pick up your mobile phone to give that special lady a call, retrieve the thong just as the already mentioned lady answers: “Hello there, loverboy..” in that special voice that normally makes you go week in the knees and THEN you see the fly line you’ve been looking for…… ”

“Even intertwined, the beauty of a ball of multicoloured fly lines is exhilarating.
Spaghetti  is madness and madness is good! “

Mathias is an Internationally know fly casting competitor from Norway, an experienced casting instructor and product developer at ZPEY.

far from the average fly fishing related article, it’s a rare treat to see such zany, deep-down personal insight regarding an object most fishers couldn’t care less about.

click HERE for the full article, it’s an amusing and interesting read to say the least !