Fly Lines Explained

For anyone new to fly fishing, understanding fly lines can get a bit confusing..

Between tippets, leaders, floating line and sinking line, there’s a lot to take in.

In this article I’ll cover everything you need to know about fly fishing lines!

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Types of Fly Fishing Line

Unlike traditional fishermen, the fishing line on ​a fly rod is multiple different types of fishing line tied together.

Each type of line serves a specific purpose depending on where you go fly fishing and what species you’re chasing.

Let’s start breaking down the types of fly line, starting at the fly reel.Types of Fly Fishing Line

What Is Backing?

Backing is the line that is directly connected to the fly fishing reel.

For most fly fishermen who are chasing freshwater trout, this part of your fly line is almost never used.

It doesn’t come off the reel when you’re casting.

The only reason backing is there is for when you hook into a big fish that fights and runs, taking out a bunch of line.

In freshwater, the main species that might be able to take out enough line to use your backing are largemouth bass, steelhead, and striped bass.

The only other times this might happen is if you’re using an undersized rod for the type of fish you hook into.

What Is A Fly Line?

This is the main part of your full fly fishing line.

The fly line is what has the weight to cast your flies out there.

Different types of fly line can have an effect on your casting and how your fly is presented.

The vast majority of fly fishing is done with a floating fly line that just sits on top of the water.

A floating fly line is the most versatile.

It can be used for any type of fly, for pretty much any type of fish.

There’s very few situations where you need to go with a different type of fly line.

For example, if you’re fishing deeper water and need your fly to get down in the water column faster…

You can use a sinking tip fly line or even a full sinking fly line.

Your fly line connects directly to your backing.

What Is A Fly Fishing Leader?

A fly fishing leader is a clear fishing line that helps to add space between the fly and the fly line.

Because the fly line needs to be heavy enough to allow you to cast tiny flies, it’s not the most subtle.

Fly line would easily spook any fish that saw it if it was directly tied on to the fly.

It would also SLAM the fly into the water, spooking the fish.

Fly fishing leader is often clear monofilament fishing line, like you would use in traditional fishing.

The size and strength of the leader needs to vary based on the type of fish you’re targeting.

Some species have great eyesight and are very line shy, spooking if they even remotely see fishing line.

Other species are so strong, you have to beef up your leader regardless of if it becomes more visible.

The leader ties on to the tippet.

What Is Tippet?

The tippet is a clear fishing line that is tapered to a thin point.

Being tapered does make the tippet harder for fish to see, but that’s not its only purpose.

Having a tapered tippet allows it to work like a whip, which then gently lands the fly on the surface of the water.

The subtle landing avoids spooking wary fish like trout.

Without tippet, casting small dry flies and nymphs doesn’t work nearly as well.

Is Tippet The Same As A Leader?

This is where things can get confusing…

The short answer is no.

But the lines can get blurred.

There are tippets that are longer enough to be used without a true leader.

The benefit of this is that there’s less lines to keep track of and tie together.

But the downside is you have to replace the whole thing all at once.

The more traditional route is to have a true, untapered leader…

Which is tied to a thinner tippet…

Which is tied to an even thinner tippet…

Which is tied to the thinnest tippet.

This method is beneficial for more experienced fly fishing anglers…

You can just replace the last tippet when you’ve clipped off too much from changing flies.

But the downside is that you have to tie all of those different lines together and risk a knot slipping.

So the long answer is no, a tippet is not the same as a leader, but multiple tippets can be used together to work like a leader.

Fly Line: Float, Sink Tip, Full Sinking

Fly line comes in a few different variations that help with different fly fishing techniques and situations.

The majority of fly fishing is done with floating line.

In most situations, even if you are using a wet fly, the weight of the fly can pull the tippet down into the water and get low enough.

Other fly situations call for slightly different fly line.

Different brands have special names for each type of fly line, but it comes down to sink tip and full sinking line.

Both of these types of lines are rated in inches per second (ips)...

Meaning how many inches the line will sink into the water every second.

With sink tip lines, only a portion of the line will sink into the water.

This lets you reach fish that are deeper in the water column, usually only when fishing big rivers or lakes.

For full sinking lines, as the name implies, the whole length of fly line sinks into the water.

Using full sinking line is useful when you need to quickly get your fly deep in the water column.

This is mainly for fast big, moving rivers, but can also be useful on lakes.