All four taper designs: Level, Weight Forward, Double Taper, and Shooting Heads are found within Floating lines. The Weight Forward taper is by far the most common. The lines vary depending upon what type of fishing conditions and rod actions you are utilizing. The following table shows a sample of floating lines from Scientific Angler, Cortland, Rio, and Airflo. There are plenty more that are not listed as there are many floating lines specific for certain uses. These selections are based upon needs for All-Purpose, Spring Creeks, and Distance Casting situations.
The “weight” classification is one that has been established by the manufacturers. For instance a WF3F is Weight Forward, 3 weight, Floating line. This line would be used with a 3 weight rod. By examining the lengths of the various head components and the running line, you can get a good idea how these components will affect the line performance. For instance, a distance casting head will be much longer than one designed for Spring Creeks.
Floating Lines
Model
Weight
Color
Front Taper
Body
Rear Taper
Head Length
Run Length
Application
S.A. Mastery MPX
WF3-WF9
Buckskin/Optic Green or Amber/Willow
5.0′
27.0′
4.0′
36.0′
54.0′
All-Purpose
S.A. Mastery Trout
WF2-WF7
Optic Green/Green
12.0′
31.0′
23.0′
65.0′
25.0′
Spring Creeks
S.A. Mastery Ex Dist
WF4-WF9
Orange
14.0′
40.0′
25.0′
72.0′
33.0′
Distance Casts
S.A. Frequency Trout
DT3-DT6
Mist Green
6.0′
32.0′
6.0′
75.0′
None
Double Taper All-purpose
S.A. Mastery Euro Nymph
0-5
Bamboo
0.0′
0.0′
0.0′
0.0′
80.0′
Euro Nymphing
Cortland Trout Boss
WF8-WF8
Chartreuse/Ivory
6.0′
20.0′
9.0′
35.0′
65.0′
All-Purpose
Cortland 333
WF3-WF10
Yellow
11.0′
25.0′
6.0′
42.0′
48.0′
All-Purpose
Cortland 444SL
WF3-WF9
Mint Grn
11.0′
25.0′
6.0′
42.0′
63.0′
Distance Casts
Cortland 444 Sylk
WF2-WF8
Yellow
12.0′
24.0′
3.0′
39.0′
51.0′
Spring Creeks-Bamboo Rods
Cortland Indicator Nymph
DT3-DT10
Chartreuse/Grey
8.0′
36.0′
12.0′
56.0′
44.0′
Nymphing
Rio Indicator
WF5F-WF9F
Orange/Moss/Yellow
3.0′
6.0′
40.0′
49.0′
51.0′
Nymphing
Rio Trout LT
WF1-WF6
Beige/Sage
8.0′
34.0′
5.0′
47.0′
43.0′
Spring Creeks
Rio Trout LT
DT1-DT6
Sage
29.0′
32.0′
29.0′
90.0′
None
Spring Creeks
Rio Gold
WF3-WF9
Moss/Gold
5.5′
24.0′
19.0′
47.0′
43.0′
All-Purpose
Rio Light Line
WF2-WF6
Brown/Ivory
7.0′
31.0′
5.0′
43.0′
37.0′
Bamboo and Glass Rods
Airflo Superflo Power Taper
WF3-WF9
Light Blue/ Orange
6.0′
19.0′
12.0′
37.0′
41.0′
All-Purpose
Airflo Superflo Tactical
WF2-WF6
Buckskin/Light Blue
20.0′
16.0′
10.0′
46.0′
34.0′
Spring Creeks
Airflo Universal Taper
WF3-WF9
Gray/Hot Orange
8.0′
19.0′
12.0′
39.0′
39.0′
All-Purpose
Airflo Euro Nymph
all weights
Olive/Hi Viz Orange
None
None
None
4.0′
78.0′
Euro Nymph
Airflo Kelly Galloup Streamer
WF5-WF7
Purple/Mist Green
3.0′
18.0′
18.0′
39.0′
51.0′
Streamers
Links to Floating Line Manufacturers
Mastery MPX
Mastery Trout
Mastery Expert Distance
Frequency Trout
Mastery Euro Nymph
For years, the gold standard in the Scientific Anglers lineup was the GPX taper. Redesigned with more mass toward the front of the head, the MPX provides the same benefits of the GPX, with an added emphasis on presentation. The power is still there, only with an added bit of finesse. The Mastery Trout line is ideally suited for chasing browns, rainbows, cutthroats, and any other trout you can imagine. Trout excels in short-to-medium distances with dry flies and smaller nymphs and streamers.
Expert Distance is an amazing trout fly line masquerading as a competition line. Designed with an extra-long head and rear taper, the Mastery Expert Distance is excellent in the wind, provides smooth distance casting, and lets you throw mends you didn’t think were even possible. The Frequency Trout, a double taper line, features a versatile, mid-length head ideal for delicate dries; however, it also provides great line control for nymph rigs. If you’re a trout angler, this is your Frequency.
Mastery Euro Nymph line is built to FIPS Mouche standards, but designed to simply catch fish, the Mastery Competition Nymph line is as simple as it gets: 80 feet of level line, in either a floating or an intermediate density. It doesn’t matter if you’re in an international competition, or just trying to outdo yourself, the Competition Nymph line will perform, fish after fish. Specifically designed for European-style nymphing, if you’re looking for the thinnest, most sensitive line available, look no further.
Superflo Power Taper
Superflo Tactical
Universal Taper
Euro Nymph
Kelly Galloup Streamer
The Superflo Power Taper does exactly what is says – puts the energy in the line to turn over any big fly or rig on even the fastest of rods. The addition of the Ridge 2.0 Tech makes it even easier to cast these heavy loads, and with less resistance in the guides, casts are going to go even farther than before. The Superflo Tactical line has a special taper for improved control and accuracy. Long front taper for beautiful turn over. Longer head for control at distance. Smaller tip diameter for presenting smaller flies. Haul zone extends usable head length. Ultra-thin running line shoots like hell, takes up less spool space. With the new Ridge 2.0 treatment, this line makes it even easier to reach those fish out at distance with the utmost accuracy.
The Superflo Universal taper has quickly become the go to all-rounder fly line, performing flawlessly on every rod that anglers have put it on. Its performance has been taken to the next level with the introduction of Ridge 2.0 tech: Faster shooting, increased line speed and a quiet line texture. The Euro Nymph line combines suppleness with incredibly low stretch for superb performance and strike detection. And its hi-viz orange tip ensures you’ll see those strikes every bit as much as feel them. Micro loops at both ends provide easy, low-profile connections. 100% FIPS compliant. The Kelly Galloup Streamer Float line features a short, thick, aggressive front taper to turn over the bulkiest of streamers. Extended body and rear taper provide excellent line management, and low stretch Power Core ensures solid hook sets. Features Micro Loops on both ends. Ridge Tech makes this line shoot like crazy.
Indicator
Euro Nymph
Lightline
Gold
Grand
The Rio Indicator can be used for nymphing with indicators, high sticking, and dead drifts. It has a long back taper for rollcasting and spey casts. The Duo-tone tip acts as an indicator when High sticking or Czech Nymphing. RIO’s Technical Euro Nymph line has all the assets for the modern nymph angler. Built on a monofilament core that creates a stiff, slick line for quick feeding and less line sag between the rod guides, and an ultra-thin diameter to maximize sensitivity, and for lightning-fast hook sets. In addition, the core extends past the front end of the line to become a leader—resulting in no knots to get caught in the guides. The level line can be cut to length (from the back), allowing anglers to tune the line to the perfect length. The leader is .013″ in diameter, pink to be easily seen, and is level, so can also be cut and tuned for varying situations.
RIO’s LightLine has been designed to load slower, more traditional action fly rods such as bamboo, glass and the more “Classic” flexing graphite rods. Built to precisely match the industry line standards, this line will not overload such rods – even at longer range. The weight distribution and short front taper ensures the line loads at close range, making it ideal for fishing on smaller creeks and streams, while the softer, supple coating ensures the line remains relaxed and easy to handle in the majority of conditions.
The RIO Gold has a special taper design that gives incredible loop stability at distance, a unique profile that allows a rod to load at close range and a front taper that delivers perfect presentation of flies between sizes #22 and #2. The RIO Gold is the ultimate all round, floating line for the trout fly fisher. The RIO Grand is a full line size heavier than the industry standard, and features more weight distributed towards the front of the line to easily load faster action fly rods. The line has a short head that is easy to cast, making it the perfect choice for fast action rods, or for more novice casters that like a little extra load to help them with the cast. The RIO Grand is built with “MaxCast” Technology, RIO’s ultra-sophisticated line coating that actively repels water for higher flotation, longer casts and greater durability.
Trout Boss
333
444SL Float
Indicator Nymph
444 Sylk
The Trout Boss Features a complex new taper, thinner core and our new proprietary heat-tempered surface treatment. Utilizing a braided Nylon Multifilament core, the Boss is easy to cast with quick loading and high floatability. The 333 is a durable, high-floating, general-purpose fly line available in a weight-forward taper. Designed to perform well with modern medium- to fast-action graphite rods, the original 333 was the industry’s first modern PVC fly line and has been a popular choice among avid fly anglers for over 50 years.
The 444sl is the original fast-shooting distance line and the first choice of expert fly anglers for over 30 years. The 444SL series has a little more stiffness than Cortlands other lines for increased distance. The Floating line comes in WF and DT. The Precision Trout line has a number of lines designed for trout within Springs Creeks to Big Rivers. The 333 Float has the “Rocket” taper on WF and DT lines. It is somewhat stiffer and over weighted for better use with fast action rods.
Cookie Consent
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
SourceBuster is used by WooCommerce for order attribution based on user source.
Name
Description
Duration
sbjs_migrations
Technical data to help with migrations between different versions of the tracking feature
session
sbjs_current_add
Timestamp, referring URL, and entry page for your visitor’s current visit to your store
session
sbjs_first_add
Timestamp, referring URL, and entry page for your visitor’s first visit to your store (only applicable if the visitor returns before the session expires)
session
sbjs_current
Traffic origin information for the visitor’s current visit to your store
session
sbjs_first
Traffic origin information for the visitor’s first visit to your store (only applicable if the visitor returns before the session expires)
session
sbjs_udata
Information about the visitor’s user agent, such as IP, the browser, and the device type
session
sbjs_session
The number of page views in this session and the current page path
30 minutes
You can find more information in our Cookie Policy and .