4 cool ways that fly-fishing is evolving, mostly for the better

DOUBLE-TAPER LINES

Over the last 30 years, powerful weight-forward lines have replaced the previous standard—double-taper lines—and not always for the better. While weight-forward lines are essential for long casts, windy conditions and delivering large flies, that’s not how most Canadians fish.

For distances of 30 feet or closer, double-taper lines are significantly easier to cast and more accurate than weight-forward lines. They also mend much better. Double-taper lines start thin, gradually widen to the midpoint, then taper down again in a mirror image of the front half (above). And once the front end of a double-taper line wears out, you can reverse it, giving you two lines for the price of one.

Double-taper lines are wildly out of fashion these days, however, and many novice fly anglers have never even heard of them. But if you mostly fish smaller rivers, double-taper is still the best choice. I love the weight-forward lines on my bigger rods, but they’re a hammer, and in a lot of fly fishing, you’re better off with a scalpel.