Choosing A Fly Line       There are three major components to every fly fishing outfit, the fly rod, the reel, and the fly line. The fly rod is without question the most important part of the outfit, it's the tool that casts the line and fights the fish. But, without the proper fly line that expensive tool becomes useless and you might as well be fishing with a broom handle.       Selecting the correct line weight for your rod is easy, but picking the line configuration that's conducive for your type of fishing and the climate in which you do it, can be a little more difficult. If you add up all the different companies, weights, tapers, and sink rates of lines on the market today you'll find that there's well over a 1000 to choose from. To make the selection easier, it helps to know a little about fly line tapers and their cores.       Most saltwater fly-fishermen use a weight forward taper, which consists of two different sections, the head and the running line. The head is made-up of the tip, the front taper, the belly, and the rear taper. The tip is the short-thin portion at the end of the fly line. It's sole purpose in life is to have a place to connect the leader to.       The front taper is the transition portion of the fly line that lies between the belly and the tip. It gradually changes the diameter of the line and determines how the fly is delivered. Short tapers deliver the fly with more power making them ideal for casting large wind resistant hair bugs and poppers. Longer tapers present the fly with more finesse making them perfect for demanding situations like sight fishing tailing redfish.       The belly of the fly line is the longest portion and has the largest diameter. This is the part of the head that carries most of the casting energy and basically determines the distance of the cast.       The rear taper is also a transition portion of the fly line and is located in between the belly and the running line. Like the front taper, it too gradually changes the diameter of the line but instead of effecting how the fly turns-over it's responsible for the smoothness of the cast. Short rear tapers are made for quick shooting casts where pinpoint accuracy is not a huge factor. Longer rear tapers make the cast a little slower, but it's usually smoother and easier to control.       The running line is the section of the fly line that might be most over looked. True it doesn't do a whole lot, it's basically a place to attach the backing to and most of us cut off the last ten to twenty feet of it anyway. But, it's the section of the fly line that causes more line management headaches then all others combined. Theoretically, the thinner and lighter the running line is, the easier it passes through the guides allowing for a longer cast. This is great until the wind starts blowing and takes that light line and twists it like a pretzel. Running lines that are a little beefier probably don't cast as far, but what minute loss in distance you'll experience is made up for, ten fold, in fishing enjoyment.       The core of the line greatly effects the line's castability, generally speaking the stiffer the line the easier it casts. There are three common types of core materials, braided dacron, braided monofilament, and single strand monofilament.       Single strand monofilament cores are found in a lot of specialty fly lines. Most of these lines have a clear coating on a portion of or on the entire line. Mono cores have a tendency to be very stiff and possess a memory, but usually do fine in warmer climates.       Braided dacron has been around for years and is still the most widely used core material. It's soft and pliable and performs great in colder climates. In the Tampa Bay area this material works pretty well in the winter and isn't bad for those who do a lot of wade fishing.       Braided monofilament is the core of choice for most of the companies that make saltwater fly lines. It stays much stiffer then dacron in the summer heat and doesn't have the memory of the single strand monofilament lines. For year round fishing in the Tampa Bay area this core material is probably at the top of the list.       The one perfect fly line for every situation does not exist. Evaluate the type of fishing you do most and try to find a line that is suitable for it. Utilize the folks at the local fly shops, they have a lot of experience with these lines and will steer you in the right direction. And while you're there see if they'll let you test-drive some different lines. Fly lines aren't cheap, so you want to make sure you're getting what you need. Back