FLY LINE STANDARDS MAY CHANGE. In response to the tendency for people to use (and prefer) stiffer rods, there also has been a increasing number of fly anglers who buy a 5 wt rod and use a 6 wt line. This makes for easier casting at normal fishing distances - less than 95 ft!

In partial response to this tendency, the chair of the North American Fly Tackle Trade Association Line Standardization Committee (what a mouthful), Bruce Richards of Scientific Anglers has suggested that one solution may be to change the way lines are rated. Rather than have an 8 wt that weighs 210 grains in the first 30 feet, a better standard might be to have an 8 wt that weighs 330 grains in the first 45 or 50 feet. That would be a standard with the weight at a usual casting distance.

In any case, if this doesn't generate some confusion and debate among fly fishers, then nothing will. But.. what did we do when lines and rods were not standardized.. we went out and cast the rod with different lines until it felt right for our casting style and at the distances we wanted to cast. Maybe that was a good solution. Standardizing rods and lines makes the assumption that everyone casts the same way, to roughly the same distances with the same degree of skill. Until the perfect standardization is found, we probably should try some different lines with our rods, fully expecting that some (with different distributions of weight) will cast a whole lot better than ours for our particular style.

This article was provided by the Federation of Fly Fishers. Visit their site for more articles and information about fly fishing. The Federation of Fly Fishers is a unique non-profit organization concerned with sport fishing and fisheries.