The fly fishing requires solid knowledge and a material adapted to the environment as well as to the fish you will be hunting. Indeed, your choice will be different if you plan to fish for trout in a river or if you fish for bass with a streamer.
Every good fly fisherman should not skimp on the rest of his equipment, reel, nymph, streamer, fly of several colors and quality hook line must be present to maximize performance. You will also find all the necessary equipment in our collection fly fishing.
You will see that choosing the thread optimal for your practice will not be obvious, you will need to make the difference between a natural and synthetic line, understand the different levels of buoyancy, the many profiles and finally, which number to choose.
All these elements come into play in your choice, one will be more adapted to resist the wind, the other will facilitate the castings precise and will be more adapted to poles with a certain number of feet.
Again, before anything else, ask yourself the question of the fish you will fish mainly (trout, pike, shadow?) and the spot where you will practice the most. Once everything is clear in your head, you are ready to continue reading, friends fishermen let's go!
The differences between synthetic and natural silk
The natural option
As you can guess, each of these options is interesting. However, they will present different advantages and disadvantages, which you will have to take into account in order to make your choice and beautify your reel in preparation for combat.
Natural thread historically comes from worms and sericulture, it will be very discreet and will benefit you to offer a nice presentation during your attacks. It also has the advantage of offering less resistance to the wind and has a very considerable lifespan of over 10 years without any real problem.
Very effective for fishermen in nymph under the rod fly, we would mainly recommend it for these, although its use is absolutely not limited to this practice.
Of course, it has its faults, you will have to grease it for a while and gradually stop, it requires a break-in time to achieve optimal performance (around 10 hours). It can only be used with rods with parabolic or semi-parabolic action, a too fast action would have the misfortune of breaking it. Last but not least, it will be difficult for you to practice in cluttered spots because of its fragility.
The synthetic option
This option will also bring you its share of advantages and disadvantages. You will be able to fill your reel with more capacity, you will be able to cast far without forcing, the available colors will serve as indicators, and it requires very little maintenance.
However, it will need to be used with a so-called "large arbor" reel to avoid the memory effect despite the fact that some are of small diameter limiting this undesirable effect. Its lifespan is much shorter and it may mark your equipment with varnish traces.
Levels of buoyancy
Floating
This buoyancy is the most common, mainly used for dry fishing on the surface. It excels in rivers or reservoirs, it rests directly on the water and will allow you to pull it out with great ease.
Casting is also very simple, we recommend it to a beginner fly fisherman, it's the ideal diameter to make your mark.
Intermediates
Directly imported from Anglo-Saxon competitions, it's a solution that will allow you to adapt quickly according to the conditions you will face during the days.
The purchase of two lines intermediaries will be enough to adapt to all circumstances and be very versatile. It sinks slowly, making it particularly suited to mid-depth, that is, around one meter.
You will also pierce the wind better, this will ensure you longer launches than with floating. There are fast and slow variants, which will really meet your needs:
• A slow version, for precise and discreet immersions and to evolve your flies just below the surface.
• A fast version, to fish deeper, to reach your target depth more quickly.
The diving
This is the sinking category, most often represented by the letter S (sinking in English). To maintain a certain uniformity and prevent only one part from being submerged, they are compensated for their densities.
You will be able to offer a nice straight casting, the main advantage is that the presentation of your lures is much more efficient and realistic. You will also more easily detect the most subtle hits, your hooking will be improved.
Different silk profiles
There are several profiles, or outlines for those who prefer, which allow you to adapt to a very particular fishing and your objectives. But as always, they have their advantages and disadvantages, it is important to know their specifics to make your choice.
The parallel profile L
This L profile or also called simple taper, is mainly used on natural and non-synthetic versions. Its width is the same over its entire length, it lends itself exclusively to proximity and fine uses. We do not recommend it for beginners.
The double taper profile DT
DT stands for double taper, its conical shape and symmetric at both ends is very versatile and perfectly adapted to beginners. This is the profile that is most used in general and that is not for nothing.
Indeed, it's relatively simple to cast, and you can do hard landings at short and medium distance. Another positive point and not least, its lifespan, it is really good because of its ability to be used on both sides. When the side you use gets tired, you just turn it over and you are back.
Off-center taper profile WF
WF is the acronym for weight forward, weight in French, it then has a thickening at one of its ends. It will be useful to you for fishing at a great distance and/or in windy conditions. As its name indicates, the weight is put forward to perform at maximum in this type of condition or fisheries.
The disadvantage is that your landings will not be as delicate as with the previous profiles, they will be much more abrupt. The new technologies, however, manage to attenuate this problem.
Tapered taper profile with fine tip TT
TT for triangle taper, its shifted taper is very long reaching the surroundings of 12m. It ends in rat tail to allow casts as long as the previous profile.
However, you will keep this time a delicate and not violent landing. They are, however, much less resistant than a shifted taper, its lifespan is therefore greatly impacted. We do not recommend it for beginners, this profile requires a lot of learning time and technique, once mastered it's a real treat.
Sizes or which number to choose?
The sizes are represented by numbers from 0 to 15, which correspond to a weight per linear meter. Number 0 being the lightest up to 15 the heaviest.
When purchasing your rod of any feet, the manufacturer will provide a recommendation that we advise you to follow to the letter. It is most often marked on the blank, following the AFTMA acronym (american fishing tackle manufacturer association) or a #.
If ever you find yourself with two numbers, do not panic, the smallest corresponds to a DT profile and the largest to an off-center taper profile.
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