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These are the AFTMA fly line ratings for traditional single hand fly rods used for traditional techniques.

Line Rating ---- Line weight ---- range for line rating

12 weight | 380 grains | 368 - 392 grains
11 weight | 330 grains | 318 - 342 grains
10 weight | 280 grains | 270 - 290 grains
9 weight | 240 grains | 230 - 250 grains
8 weight | 210 grains | 202 - 218 grains
7 weight | 185 grains | 177 - 193 grains
6 weight | 160 grains | 152 -168 grains
5 weight | 140 grains | 134 -146 grains
4 weight | 120 grains | 114 -126 grains
3 weight | 100 grains | 94 -106 grains
2 weight | 80 grains | 74 - 86 grains
1 weight | 60 grains | 54 - 66 grains

Note: on my table above there is NO AFTMA definition for ought, double ought, nor triple ought lines (depicted by 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 nomenclature).

If your using some of the newer fly rod designs such as those that created for French leader types of fly fishing, double handed fly rods such as those used in spey casting or double handed switch type fly rods you are better off talking to somebody that is involved in that aspect of the sport.

For example the line I prefer for my 11 foot #3 weight single handed fly rods that I use for Czech nymphing and my version of French leader nymphing is not a #3 weight line it's a 1# weight Orvis Hydro Superfine forward taper fly line. I chose this line, firstly because it’s dull olive in colour, which is prerequisite for a nymph line for me, and because the running line is finished the same as the forward taper and floats very well and most importantly is only 0.60 of a mm thick and 58 feet long. I have that line loaded on my reel back to front so that I fish the running line and the forward taper is connected to my backing. My leader set up is described in detail in my article River set up for short and longer leader nymphing is equally quirky but in combination with the reversed #1 weight fly line and the long soft rods together with the fly line set up I find that with 3 or 4 meters of the Orvis fly line outside the rod tip it’s as close as I could find to fishing a 9 meter Camou leader which of course is not allowed for competition fly fishing. For Czech nymph style fishing its also an ideal set up as virtually no line is outside my rod tip.

The reason for giving the example above is to highlight the need to work out exactly what you want your fly fine to do if your moving away from traditional single hand fly rods that you are using in relatively traditional ways.

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