Penns Creek Angler
Article Nov 2008
Being Prepared Part IV
So far we have covered everything except lines and rods
so I’ll spend most of my time talking about these components in this article.
There are many brands of lines to choose from and many types of lines designed
specifically for different applications. Some of the better lines on the market
are Cortland, Airflow, Rio, and Scientific Angler. I’ll stick to the two I
know best, Cortland and Airflow. Cortland and Airflow have lines specifically
designed for all types of fishing. These would include dry fly fishing, nymph
fish, spey fishing and distance casting lines. Most of the lines I’m about to
talk about come in two basic configurations. WF is the designation for weight
forward, DT is double taper, SH & RT is for shooting head and rocket taper
and they are basically the same configuration. All lines are tapered in some
way, meaning they go from fat to skinny at some point in the line to help unload
the energy that’s created when you cast the line. This is the same principal
used in a bullwhip. As the cast is made the energy generated in the thick
section transfers to the thinner section. Because the energy decreases over the
length of line you have beyond your rod tip the line needs to become smaller to
keep the same amount of energy flowing until it reaches your fly. Double taper
simply means you have the same taper at each end of the line. The length of the
taper at the end of the line can vary by brand and model. Weight Forward lines
only have a taper at the end connected to your leader; the rest of the line is
generally level behind the taper. Without going into all the different tapers
you can visit Penns Creek Angler or visit the Cortland or Airflow websites to
see all the different tapers and types of lines. In addition a good fly shop
will have rods and lines on hand for you to cast so you can determine what line
matches your rod and skills. Weight forward lines are the easiest to cast for
beginners. Double taper lines roll cast much better than weight forward lines.
Dry fly lines would be floating lines simply because you want everything to ride
on the surface of the water. These lines can be either double taper or weight
forward and its up to the angler to determine what type of line he or she
prefers. Nymph lines can float or sink depending on what type of water you are
fishing. In some nymphing lines the whole line floats and the business end of
the line has a very pronounced taper putting most of the weight near the end
that connects to your leader. Other nymphing lines may have a short 5-foot clear
sinking tip that will pull wet flies under the surface very quickly. There are
many nymph lines that have longer sinking tip lengths that apply mostly to
deep-water fishing. You are going to have to do some homework before you buy a
line because this is just a summary of hundreds of fly lines. Its not always the
most expensive line that is best for your style of fishing. On to Rods! There
are so many rods on the market its almost impossible to detail what each one is
used for but I’ll try to cover the basics. Rods come in all different sizes!
There are 6ft rods for brook trout fishing and 15ft rods for salmon fishing. The
most practical rods for trout range from 7 ½ ft to 10ft in length. Rods also
have different line designations from the most practical 2-7 weight for trout
fishing. Coupled with this is the action or stiffness of a rod. Here are some
types of rods, fast, medium fast, medium, slow. For this discussion I’ll use a
9ft rod as an example. A fast rod would only flex in the upper 1-2 ft of the
rod, a medium fast rod would flex down to about 3 feet. A medium action would
bend almost half way down the rod. Slow action rods will bend down to the handle
of the rod. Faster action rods are generally for dry fly fishing or distance
casting. Medium fast action rods are for both dry fly and nymph fishing, Medium
action rods are for nymphing and night fishing where you want a slower line
speed that will provided a wide casting loop. Slow rods are almost a pleasure of
the past they are for fishing wet flies. The elder statesman of the creek will
remember these rods well. They usually fished three flies on a cast and the slow
action of the rod and large casting loop didn’t allow the flies to tangle.
I hope this helps clear things up as to your needs, if not
just stop at the shop or give me a phone call at Penns Creek Angler.
“Catch you Later”
Bruce Fisher
©
2008