Floating, Sinking, or Sink-Tip? Choosing a Fly Line

Fly lines come in three basic flavors — floating, full sinking, and sink-tip — and for trout fishing around Montrose, one of them does 90% of the work. Here's the breakdown.

Floating lines: the workhorse

A weight-forward floating line handles dries, nymph rigs, hopper-droppers, and even streamers fished shallow. It mends well, picks up clean, and roll casts easily. If you own one line for the Gunnison, Uncompahgre, or San Miguel, this is it. Match it to your rod weight and spend what you can — line quality affects casting more than most rod upgrades.

Sink-tip lines: streamer season's friend

A sink-tip puts your streamer down 2–6 feet in heavy current while the floating running line still mends and picks up. When flows come up in spring or you're pounding banks from a boat in fall, a sink-tip turns follows into eats. If you fish streamers more than a few days a year, it's worth owning — either as a spare spool or a dedicated line.

Full sinking lines: stillwater specialists

Uniform-sink lines shine on lakes — getting leech and chironomid rigs down to cruising depth and keeping them there through the retrieve. If high-country stillwaters are on your list, a type 3 or 5 full-sink earns its place. For moving water around here, you can skip it.

A note on weight-forward vs double taper

Weight-forward is the modern default and right for most anglers. Double taper roll casts beautifully, presents delicately at short range, and you can reverse it when one end wears out — a fair choice for small-stream specialists.

Browse our fly line selection or bring your reel in — we'll spool a new line with fresh backing while you're in the shop.