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FLY LINE ADVICE

Choosing your fly line

The SK3 fly lines are a great choice for general fly fishing for anglers of moderate casting ability. They have a standard weight forward head length, shoot well, turn over easily and most importantly, lie straight on the water. Nothing worse than a fly line with memory, that lies on the water like a coiled spring! The ice blue colour is easy to see on the water without being too bright and gaudy to risk spooking fish when casting.

The SK4 fly lines have a longer front and rear taper and a longer belly section. This suits more experienced casters who are looking to maximise their distance and are capable of aerialising more line. The extended front and rear tapers improve turnover and presentation and the low diameter running line has less air resistance for increased line speed, easier mending and extra distance when required.

Whilst our fly lines are currently only available as floaters, watch this space for other line densities becoming available in 2009.

AFTM Ratings

Faced with the vast choice of makes, weights, tapers and densities of fly lines available these days, this can be a confusing decision. As with our rods and reels, at SONIK we believe in keeping things simple and providing an easy to understand range that will cover the vast majority of fly fishing applications. Great quality fly lines at realistic prices that make your choice simple!

The rating system used since 1962 for fly rods, reels and lines, is known as the AFTM (Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers) rating. This number, usually prefixed by a # symbol, is ranked from #1 to #15, with 1 being the lightest and 15 the heaviest. The AFTM standard is based on the weight of the first 30 feet of line, which was chosen because it was regarded as the ideal length of line to load the rod for comfortable casting. Since that time things have got rather complicated due to the fact that manufacturers have produced a mass of lines with all sorts of different head lengths and weights. When you buy a #7 line from one manufacturer therefore, it may differ in weight from another manufacturer’s line of the same stated rating!!

Fly fishing requires a balanced system so it is important to correctly match your rod, reel and line or you will limit your casting accuracy and efficiency. Lighter lines are suited for delicate presentations and smaller flies, heavier lines for casting larger, more wind-resistant patterns. For single handed rods, the most common tapers are either double taper or weight forward. All SONIK lines are made to a weight forward profile, as we believe this makes it easier to cast and shoot the line, whilst still retaining good presentation at short range.

Both our SK3 and SK4 fly rods have dual ratings, i.e. #3/4, #5/6,#6/7 or #7/8. This would normally translate to choosing the lighter rating if using a double taper, the heavier rating if using a weight forward. Based on the fact that all our lines are weight forward, we would recommend that if you generally aerialise 15 yards or more of line, you use the lighter line size, the heavier size if not. Our rods have been designed and developed to work best with the SONIK fly line profiles, so we would always recommend you choose SONIK lines for maximum performance.