Choosing A Fly Line Part 1

Choosing a Fly Line

If bass only feed on food on the surface of the lake waters, fly fishing would be easy. Since they feed in water as deep as almost 9 feet, fly fishing becomes a little more challenging. Especially, when it comes to selecting fly line. You need a section of sinking fly lines and also a floating line to sufficiently supply the stillwater anglers tackle bag.

Floating lines actually have multiple uses because of the versatility of the fly line. You can use floating line when fishing with dry flies as well as the fishing nymphs or insect larvae from just below the surface to the deep waters of the lake. Floating lines have their limitations. How deep you can fish with the floating line is dependent upon the length of the leader and the fisherman’s patience. A fisherman must wait for the fly pattern to sink to the optimum depth.

With leaders as long as 7 ½ feet in length, floating lines are efficient when fishing in waters about 5 ½ to 6 ½ feet. It is extremely difficult to cast if you use a leader longer than that. The floating line can be used in the shallow shoal or littoral area of a lake where trout feed the most and is also a good choice when using fishing chironomid larvae and pupae, mayfly nymphs, damselfly nymphs, caddis pupae or any of the adult form of these species. No matter the length of the leader used just make sure it is tapered. This enables the fly to turn over after you have cast.

The Intermediate slow sinking fly line sinks about 1 to 2 inches per second. When fishing in water that is less than about 6 ½ feet deep, this fly line is a good selection because of the slower sinking rate of the line. Learning to be patient is important for a beginner with the use of this line the amount of time you have to wait for the fly to sink is decreased.

The fast sinking fly line sinks about 3 to 5 inches per second. This type of fly line is perfect for fishing in the drop-off area of the lake. Trout like to occupy these drop-offs because of the cooler water temperature closer to the bottom. This can be very important to the trout during the warm summer months. The plants in most drop-off areas are still photosynthesizing, so the plants are still growing making for the abundance of insect or fish food.

Because a normal drop-off is about 6 ½ to almost 9 feet in depth, the use of the fast sinking fly line makes more sense than a slow sinking fly line. You want to make sure that you are retrieving your line as close to the bottom as possible. So you will need to do some calculating. Time the time it takes for the fly to reach the bottom using the specifications on the package. This will help you know when you should retrieve your line, however, if you are constantly getting snagged on the vegetation at the bottom, you will want to wait less time before retrieving your fly line.

EXTREME BASS FISHING