Fly fishing basics: how a fly outfit goes together

A fly outfit looks odd at first because nothing on it is thick and heavy near the end. That is the point. A fly weighs almost nothing, so the line has to carry it: you cast the line and the fly goes along. The whole system is a stack of layers that get thinner as they get closer to the fish. From the reel out, that is backing, fly line, leader, tippet and the fly. Our fly fishing in Texas guide covers where and what to fish. This one covers how the pieces fit, with our own outfit as the example.

The reel

A fly reel is the simplest reel there is. It stores the line, and it has a drag, a brake that lets a strong fish take line without snapping it. Most are single action: one turn of the handle is one turn of the spool, so there is no gearing to speed up the retrieve. You pull line off by hand to cast, and you reel it back, or strip it in by hand, as you fish.

Our 5/6 reel

Front view: A ported spool with a drag knob in the middle. Through the cutouts you can see white backing underneath and green fly line on top.
Side view: The handle sits on the spool rim, and the foot at the bottom clamps into the reel seat of the rod.

Our reel is stamped 5/6 on the foot. A fly reel is sized for a range of line weights, and that mark means it is made for 5-weight and 6-weight lines. A reel sized for the line holds all of it plus backing without crowding, and balances a rod of that weight.

Backing

Backing is a thin braided line wound onto the bare spool first, under the fly line. It does three jobs. It is spare line when a fish runs farther than the fly line can go. It builds up the spool so the fly line comes off in larger, looser coils. And it gives the line something to grip, since the fly line would otherwise slip on a bare arbor. Ours is a 20 pound braid on a 100 yard spool in bright yellow with black flecks, which also makes it easy to see how much a fish has taken.

Backing: A bright braid, so you can tell backing from fly line when a fish runs.

Check the reel's spec for how much line and backing it holds, and do not overfill it: a spool that is too full jams. To get a full spool exactly right, wind the fly line on a spare spool first, add the backing on top, and then transfer both in the reverse order so the backing ends up underneath. The spooling steps are further down.

The fly line

The fly line is the part you actually cast, so it is the part you match to the rod. Line weight is a number from 1 to 15. The number is the target weight in grains of the first 30 feet of line, so a bigger number means a heavier line and a stronger, stiffer rod to throw it. A 5-weight is set at 140 grains (anything from 134 to 146 counts), a 1-weight at 60 grains and a 15-weight at 550. The standard dates to 1960. Rods carry a line weight rating on the blade, and you pair the line with it.

Taper: a level line is the same thickness along its length, a double taper tapers at both ends so it can be reversed, and a weight-forward line has a heavier front section that tapers into a thin running line, which helps you shoot line farther.
Buoyancy: a floating line has air in its coating. A sinking line has tungsten or other metal in it. A sink-tip floats at the back and sinks at the front.
The code on the box tells you all this. WF-5-F is a weight-forward, 5-weight, floating line.

The line on our reel is a weight-forward 5-weight floating line in a moss green. Its box says 150 grains, a little over the 140 grain target, which is a reminder that makers tune their lines a bit and that the number on the box is the one to go by. A floating line is the usual first choice because it carries dry flies and a fly fished just under the surface, and it is the easiest to pick up off the water. Heavier flies and sinking lines come later. See the fly hook guide for the flies and fly fishing weights for getting them down.

Leader and tippet

The leader is a length of tapered monofilament between the fly line and the fly. It is thick at the butt, where it joins the line, and thin at the tip, so energy from the cast rolls out through it and the fly lands softly. The tippet is a straight piece of thinner line added to the end of the leader. As you change flies the leader gets shorter, and tippet makes it long again at no great cost, without having to replace the whole leader. For dry flies, a leader of about 3 to 5 meters (10 to 16 feet) is typical.

A 5X leader: Printed on the pack: 5X, 7.5 feet, a butt of .020 inch and a tip of .006 inch, rated 4.4 pounds.

Leaders and tippet are sized with the X system, in which a bigger number is a thinner line. 5X is about .006 inch across, as ours is. The diameter matters more than the pound test, because it sets how stiff the line is and how the fly moves. A published chart lists 5X at about 4.75 pounds for one brand, and ours is rated 4.4 pounds, so brands differ a little.

Fit the fly: the same chart pairs 5X with fly sizes 14, 16 and 18, 4X with 12 to 16, 6X with 16 to 22, and 3X with 6 to 10. A quick rule is to divide the hook size by 3 and round to the nearest X.
Too heavy and the fly does not move naturally. Too light for a big fly and the leader lands in a coil and the fly can spin.
Go finer in very clear, slow water and with wary fish. Go heavier in choppy or dirty water or for big fish.
Go one size heavier with foam flies and big streamers, which fight the air.
When the water climbs into the mid-60s, go heavier so you can land the fish quickly and release it in better shape.

Floatant for dry flies

A dry fly has to sit on top of the water, and floatant helps it stay there. It is a water-repellent gel, paste or liquid you work into the fly, and it comes in a small bottle that fits a vest pocket, like ours. Use a small amount: roll the fly lightly between a clean, dry fingertip and a dab of gel, and add it before the fly touches the water so it can soak in. Too much floatant mats the fly and can make it sink. A fly that gets wet and starts to sink can be dried by false casting or patting it with a cloth, then treated again. A subsurface fly, such as a nymph or a streamer, should not be treated at all. You want those to sink.

A half-ounce bottle: Small enough to clip to a vest, and one bottle lasts many trips.

Putting it together

Take the spool off the reel. Tie the backing to it with an arbor knot, add a half hitch so it cannot slip, and wind it on level, side to side.
Join the backing to the fly line. If the line has a loop built in, make a loop in the backing and join the two loop to loop. Otherwise tie a nail knot with 5 to 7 turns, or an Albright knot with 6 to 8 wraps if the backing is slick. Our Albright knot steps are in the knots section, and the surgeon's knot is the one for the loop.
Wind the fly line on evenly, then attach the leader. A line with a loop takes a leader with a loop, joined loop to loop. A line without a loop needs a short thick butt piece of monofilament (about .021 to .025 inch) on a nail knot, with a loop tied on its far end.
Last, add tippet to the leader with a knot, and tie on the fly.

Numbers here are from published guides and from the packages of the gear in our photos, so your brand may differ a little. Read the spec on your own rod, reel and line. Fly-fishing rules and tackle limits vary by water; check TPWD's Outdoor Annual.

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