How Much Fly Line to Put on Reel [Precise Guide]

If you are new to fly fishing, you might have a hard time finding the perfect amount of fly line to put on the reel. You don’t need to worry about it since it happens to everyone. You can easily determine how much fly line to put on reel in an effective way just using an estimation. To find out, you need to go through this guide where we will be presenting you the exact steps to set up a fly line and a quick trick to determine the amount of fly line you need to put on a reel.

Some of The Top Fly Fishing Reels

Fly Fishing Setup

Fly fishing simply means the way to catch fish by attaching artificial flies in your fly fishing equipment. You need to know about several pieces of equipment while fly fishing and it can be difficult to know about several new terms other than those from the typical fishing technique. All the major equipment in fly fishing are totally different from the typical fishing and the method of casting is even tougher since you have to do everything with proper knowledge.

However, if you find about everything once, you won’t have any difficulties later. But, you need to keep practicing a lot to reach new heights with fly fishing.

What Does Fly Fishing Setup Include?

For a complete fly fishing setup, you need several pieces of equipment. We will be mentioning about all the essential equipment for fly fishing below.

Basic Fly Fishing Equipments

There are a few basic fly fishing equipment you need for a typical fly fishing setup. All of them are enlisted below:

• A fly reel
• Fly rod
• A Fly fishing line
• Artificial Flies

Components of a Fly Fishing Line

You might be wondering what a fly fishing line really is. In fact, fly fishing includes several other pieces of equipment, which are mentioned below:

• Backing
• Fly Line
• Leader
• Tippet

Fly Fishing Knots

Besides these, there are several knots required to attach the fly fishing equipment with each other. Some of the major knots in fly fishing are listed below:

• Arbor Knot
• Albright knot
• Nail knot
• Surgeon’s knot
• Improved clinch knot

Artificial Flies

There are several different artificial flies you can use for fly fishing. It really depends on what kind of fish you are fishing for. Some of the major flies you can use are listed below:

• Dry flies
• Nymphs
• Streamers

How To Set Up The Fly Line

Setting up a fly line for fly fishing isn’t so difficult to get started. However, you need to do things the right away to prevent from being unable to cast properly. Here are all the materials you will require while setting up a fly line:

• Fly Reel
• Fly fishing line
• Spool of around 100 feet backing line
• Braided loop
• Leader
• Flies

If you have all these materials, you are now ready to get started with the setup process.

Time To Set Up

Here are all the steps you need to follow to set up a fly line:

1. When you have connected the fly rod with the fly reel, you need to pull off the backing about 30 meters based on the weight of reel and size of the spool in it. Doing this will offer the backing and the fly line to fill the arbor.
2. Then, you need to attach the fly line with the backing using an Albright knot by taking off around 1 meter of the fly line.
3. Now, you need to take off around 27 meters of the line again and trim it.
4. With that being done, you should spool the 27 meters of the line onto the reel and again perform the same action with the backing by spooling it over the reel.
5. Now, you need to put the fly line across the arbor in such a way that the line is kept taunt right after spooling. Doing this will result in the fly line to spool itself from the lower section of the reel.
6. You still need to keep spooling the fly line until the time it is close to the outer rim, but not touching the outer rim.

So, You are done with spooling. Now what?

1. Now, you can trim the remaining backing.
2. You should remove the fly line and the backing and attach the backing with the arbor using an arbor knot.
3. You still need to keep the line taunt and spool it across the lower part of the fly reel by spreading the fly line.
4. Now, you need to create a loop with the end of the fly line with the help of a braid knot, which will help you replace to replace the leaders in the fly line easily.
5. The next thing you need to do is to attach the leader using a loop-to-loop knot and then connect the leader with the tippet using multiple surgeon’s knots.
6. Now, you can start fly fishing by using an improved clinch knot to attach a fly with the tippet.

These are the steps you need to follow to set up a fly fishing line. But, how can you find out how much fly line you need to put on the fly reel? To determine the amount of fly line to put on the reel, you need to keep going through this guide where we’ll be covering up everything you need to do.

How Much Fly Line To Put On Reel?

You might be wondering how much fly line you will need to use on your fly reel. It could be a tough task to determine the exact amount of fly line. To make your task a lot easier, we are providing you a quick trick which will help you to determine the amount of fly line you need to put on the fly reel.

Here are the two things you will need during the entire process:

• A masking tape
• A permanent market

To get started, you can follow the instructions below.

Step 1

The first thing you need to be doing is to attach the ending part of your fly line to the spool of fly reel using a small piece of masking tape.

Remember! You shouldn’t tie the fly line with the spool since you have to remove it later.

Step 2

Then, you need to place your entire fly line onto the fly reel.

Step 3

Now, you need to apply a little tension to the fly line when it is placed onto the spool of fly reel completely. You need to be sure that the fly line is even and flat along the spool surface.

Step 4

The next thing you need to do here is to create a small mark at the end of the fly line with the help of a permanent market. This mark will let you know that it is the front part of your fly line and it is very essential for fly lines since there are several fly lines which are weight-forward or contain a taper across the front part.

Step 5

Now, you need to use your finger to keep holding the ending area of your fly line.

Step 6

Then, you need to place the fly line backing across the ending area of the fly line.

Step 7

What you have to do now is to place a little part of the marking tape across both fly line ends so that you can hold them properly in a proper place. However, you need to remember not to tie them together since you need to remove them as well when you go further.

Step 8

The next thing you need to do is to place the fly line backing onto the fly reel.

Step 9

You need to make sure that the backing is flat and even over the surface of the reel.

Step 10

Finally, you will get the exact amount of backing of your fly line when the backing is below the edge of the fly reel.

With the completion of all the steps, there are still a few things you need to know. Here are some tips you need to consider while following the steps to determine how much fly line you will need to put on reel:

• You need to remove the fly line and place it back onto the original spool so that there won’t be any tangles or knots.
• Then, you should attach the fly line backing to the spool of your fly reel with the help of an arbor knot.
• Moreover, you also need to remove the backing and place it onto an extra reel so that there won’t be any sort of twists, tangles or knots.
• To attach the fly line backing with the fly line, you should use an Albright knot.

Type & Amount Of Fly Line For Different Fish

The type and amount of fly line you need to use really depends on the type of fish you are fish for. It also depends on the size of the fly reel and fly rod you will be using for fly fishing. The amount of fly line needs to match with the size of the other equipment so that you can be able to cast your flies properly.

You can easily find a suitable fly line size for your other equipment from the user manual provided by the manufacturer. However, it could be difficult for you to determine what size of fly line to use for what type of fish. In this guide, we’ll also be providing you detailed information regarding the fly line size you need to choose for different fish.

Freshwater Fish

If you are thinking about catching freshwater fish while fly fishing, the best fly line would be the one with the weight around 4 to 7 and weight-forward (WF) or double taper (DT). Similarly, the most suitable tippet would be the one with 7X-0X size and weight of around 2 to 10 pounds. The backing needs to be of 20 pound strength and 50-yard distance for best performance.

Saltwater Fish

For a saltwater fish, the fly line weighing in at 7-10 with the WF or ST taper, the backing of a 175-yard amount and 20-pound strength and the tippet weighing in at 8 to 20 pounds would be the best combination for you.

Trout

In case of a trout, fly line weighing in at 4-6 with the WF or DT taper would be a perfect choice. The tippet with the size of 7X-0X and the weight of 2 to 10 pounds can be the best one. 20 pounds of backing strength in the backing of a 50-yard amount would be the recommended option.

Panfish

If you are planning to catch panfish, getting a fly line with the weight of 4-6 with WF or DT taper can be the top priority. Also, the backing of a 50-yard amount and 20-pound strength would be the best choice. For the tippet, looking for one with 7X-0X size weighing in at 2 to 10 pounds is the most recommended option.

Bass

While looking for a bass, using a fly line with the weight of 7 to 9 and a WF taper can be highly beneficial for you. Also, a tippet weighing in at 8 to 12 pounds would be the best choice along with the backing of a 50-yard amount and 20-pound strength.

Striped Bass

In case of a striped bass, going for a fly line with WF or ST taper along with the weight of 8-10 would be the top priority. Also, the backing of 20-pound strength and a 175-yard amount and the tippet weight of 10 to 20 pounds would be our recommendation.

Pike

When you are planning to catch pike while fly fishing, you need to use a fly line weighing in at 8 to 10 with the WF taper for best performance. Along with that, getting a tippet weighing in at 8 to 20 pounds with a wire bite guard would be our recommendation. You need to go for the backing of a 100-yard amount with a strength of 20 pounds.

Tarpon

For a tarpon, you need to consider using a comparatively larger fly line. The best fly line weight for tarpon would be 10-12 along with the WF taper. Also, a leader weighing in at 10 to 20 pounds with a shock tippet would be a perfect choice. The backing of a 250-yard amount and 30-pound strength can perform the best work.

Salmon

When you are thinking about catching salmon, you need to go for a fly line weighing in at 8 to 10 with WF, DT or ST taper (ST refers to shooting-taper). The best tippet weight would be 8 to 16 pounds, whereas backing of a 100-yard amount and 20-pound strength would be our recommendation.

Steelhead

In case of a steelhead, getting a fly line with WF, DT or ST taper weighing in at 7 to 9 would be the best choice along with the tippet weighing in at 8 to 16 pounds. Also, the best backing amount would be 100 yards along with 20 pounds of strength.

Bonefish

While seeking for bonefish, the fly line weighing in at 7-9 with the WF taper would be everyone’s top priority. 8 to 20-pound weight of tippet can perform the best along with the backing of 20-pound strength and a 175-yard amount.

Billfish

Billfish requires the largest fly line with the weight of 12 to 15 along with ST or WF taper. The best tippet can be of 20-pound weight accompanied by a wire bite guard. The backing of a 250-yard amount and 30-pound strength would be the top priority.

Fly Lines for Different Fish: Comparison Table

Conclusion

Now that you have known the overall basics of fly fishing as well as the method to set up a fly fishing line and info on how much fly line to put on a reel, we believe you’d be able to put the right amount of fly line on your fly reel.

You can also go through our comparison table of the best fly line, tippet and backing size, amount, strength and weight for a different type of fish to find out what size of the fly fishing line would be the best for certain type of fish.

If you have any issues regarding any contents mentioned in this guide, please feel free to write down to us in the comments. We’d try to get back to you right away.