Line Tapers redux

In two recent threads on WF vs. DT lines there were some excellent responses, particularly from Steven H. McGarthwaite, Bruce Richards, and drolfson who provided graphics (although as mentioned by ducksterman, one of his ?WF?s was a typo - should have been a ?DT?). There was also some misinformation on taper length and belly weight distribution. From the Scientific Anglers site I have picked up some additional information on the tapers of fly lines, including measurements of the sections.

The first three have the same taper regardless of the designation or quality of the line, and it is ONLY 5ft to 7ft long. These lines all have a tip of about 6? prior to the front taper.
[url=http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/scianglers/pdf/PRO_line_ACS2float.pdf:0c249]AirCel Supreme[/url:0c249],
[url=http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/scianglers/pdf/PRO_line_U4fresh.pdf:0c249]SciAng Ultra4[/url:0c249],
[url=http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/scianglers/pdf/MS_line_trout.pdf:0c249]SciAng Mastery[/url:0c249].
So for a 9ft rod with a 9ft leader: if your target is further away than 24ft (9? leader + 9? rod + 6? taper) you are using some of the belly to cast. And as stated by many, since the belly on these lines is 22? at the shortest and usually 30?, they are effectively DT lines out to approx.50ft.

As Joe Hyde describes his situation (short rod for a 40? cast), there would be 24ft of total line involved in the cast, of which approx. 18? or 19? would be belly, so no advantage would be gained by changing from a WF line to a DT line (although with a 22? belly on the Trout line we are coming close to hinging on the cast if he wants to reach further).

The solution for short casts is sometimes (as mentioned) to use the next line up to get the weight needed in a short length to load the rod. This line [url=http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/scianglers/pdf/MS_line_gpx.pdf:0c249]Mastery General Use[/url:0c249] has an oversized tip for ?high floatation and strong delivery?. So I am reminded that another solution for loading the rod on short casts is to use the appropriate line for your rod ? and cut off the first foot or two. The tip and first part of the taper have hardly any more weight than the leader. Cut them off and get more of the belly involved in the cast (this is done in casting competitions where delicacy is second to accuracy). Of course if you cut off more than 5? of line you will have created a level line.

There was some reference to Level lines in the threads which IMO was not clearly addressed. Obviously level lines lack a front taper. The consequence of this is that they may land on the water with more of a splash (this would not matter for bass). They also do not turn over as easily on medium to long casts. The reason is the dissipation of energy in the line as the cast turns over. As the 5th to last foot of cast turns over (And Releases Energy To) the last 4ft and then the 4th to last foot turns over (ARET) the last 3ft, momentum is lost. The diminishing front taper, being lighter, can still be propelled by the turn-over, but a thicker level line would start to sag unless the cast had a LOT of energy ? in which case we would be back to the splash problem.

There is a specialty line for distance casting. [url=http://www.3m.com/us/home_leisure/scianglers/pdf/MS_line_xxd.pdf}Mastery Long Distance[/url] The front taper here IS 12? long, but in fact is much thicker than the belly, so the ?full weight? is still closer to the tip than 15ft. It makes me wonder if a shorter front taper as in a normal line (above) wouldn?t average the same weight by the time you get to 15?. However IMO most fishers and newbies in particular would not tend to use this line and it was not really part of the discussion answering the original questions that started the threads.

[This message has been edited by Greg H (edited 26 February 2006).]