FLY LINE

#3-4, #5...

What is that strange "#" followed by a number indicated for fly rods?

In 1962 the American Fishing Tackle Manufacturer Association (AFTMA) proposed a way to help categorize the fly line "weights" according to the first 10 yards (or 30 feet; 1 foot = 0.3333 yards; or 9.15 meters).

The result is the AFTMA table... "sizes", the higher the numer the heavier the line, starting with #1 for the lightest and finishing with #14 for the heaviest.

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Fly Line reviews - choosing the right fly line

But the conclusion is that fly fishing rods match only certain class of fishing line. So if you buy a rod which is made for a #4 line, you can't cast it with a heavier (e.g # 6) or lighter (e.g. #2) line. Some elasticity, though, is allowed.

Moreover, your Fly fishing rod must match the fish size you want to fish. Here is an attempt of recommended fly lines: (consider also the St.Croix rods recommendations here)

Grayling	#2-4
Trout	#4-5
Small mouth Bass	#5-8
Large mouth Bass	#6-9
Steelhead	#7-9
Pike and Muskie	#8-10
Salmon	#8-10
Bonefish (saltwater)	#7-9

And here is a technical explanation of the "weight" of the line

Class, or simply #	Min in gram	Medium in gram	Max in gramm
1	3,50	3,90	4,30
2	4,80	5,20	5,60
3	6,10	6,50	6,90
4	7,40	7,80	8,20
5	8,70	9,10	9,50
6	9,90	10,40	10,90
7	11,50	12,00	12,50
8	13,10	13,60	14,10
9	14,90	15,55	16,20
10	17,50	18,15	18,80
11	20,60	21,40	22,20
12	23,80	24,60	25,40
13	28,20	29,20	30,20
14	31,10	32,40	33,70
15	34,30	35,60	36,90

The story is more complicated and made of new associations and groups of interest (now the AFTMA does not exist anymore and there is now the AFFTA for instance)

SPEY cASTING NUMBERS FOR THE LINE

Introduced recently (2004), fly line number for the spey technique (two hands casting, longer fly fishing rods)

AFFTA
#
SH
30'-50'
WP 40'
in gram
SB
50'-60'
WP 55'
in gram
MB
60'-70'
WP 65'
in gram
LB
70' plus
WP 80'
in gram

6
16,2
27,3
29,9
39,0

7
19,5
30,5
33,1
42,2

8
23,4
34,4
37,0
46,1

9
27,9
39,0
41,6
50,6

10
33,1
44,2
46,8
55,8

11
39,0
50,0
52,6
61,7

12
45,5
56,5
59,1
68,2

SH = Shooting Head      LB = Long Belly
SB = Short Belly             WP = Weight Point
MB = Medium Belly         1' (Foot) = 30,5cm

Types of Fly Fishing Lines

Double Taper, Weight Forward, Arrowhead Taper...which fly fishing line? What to consider when choosing a line? This is a very technical knowledge, but in the end, it is also a matter of your feeling and success rate.

Read on in this special fly line reviews page!

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