Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations Quotes

“There are two easy formulas that will help you remember tippet sizes, diameters, and what size fly to choose. The diameter in thousandths of an inch is always 11 minus the X size, so a 6X tippet is 11-6, or .005”. And to get the approximate tippet size for a fly, divide the fly size by 3. By this formula, a size-12 fly takes a 4X tippet, and a size-14 fly is a 5X tippet. Just don’t forget that in clear water, you might want to go to one size tippet smaller, and in dirty water, you might go to one size heavier.”
― Tom Rosenbauer, Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations

“Table 3: Tippet Size Matched to Fly Size TIPPET SIZE DIAMETER (INCHES) BALANCES WITH FLY SIZES APPROXIMATE BREAKING STRENGTH (POUND-TEST)* 0X .011 2, 1/0 16 1X .010 4-6-8 14 2X .009 6-8-10 12 3X .008 10-12-14 9 4X .007 12-14-16 6.5 5X .006 14-16-18 5 6X .005 16-18-20-22 3.5 7X .004 18-20-22-24 2.5 8X .003 22-24-26-28 1.75”
― Tom Rosenbauer, Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations

“The nail knot can be used to permanently attach a 6-inch section of heavy monofilament to your fly line, with a perfection loop on the other end. This makes it easy to change leaders, with a loop-to-loop connection. You can also attach the butt section of your leader directly to the fly line with this knot. It helps to have a tube to tie this knot, and makes it much easier to do than with just a nail.”
― Tom Rosenbauer, Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations

“The loop at the end of a fly line can be any of the following: • Just a 6-inch piece of monofilament nail knotted to the end of the line. You can do this yourself or ask a kindly fly shop employee to do it for you. • A fused loop, where the core of the line itself is permanently welded to itself at the factory. • Braided loops can also be purchased or made at home with a crochet hook. The hollow end opposite the loop is inserted over the end of the fly line, a piece of stretchy tubing is usually passed over the connection, and then the whole arrangement gets a tiny drop of superglue to hold it in place. Again, this can be put on by a knowledgeable fly shop employee, or you can try it yourself. • The strongest (but bulkiest) way to put a loop on the end of a fly line is to double over the last 2 inches of the line and then tie three tiny nail knots using 10-pound nylon over the line. These are usually only used on bigger saltwater lines where strength is valued over delicacy. And if you want one, I’d really recommend you ask an expert to do it for you until you get really comfortable with nail”
― Tom Rosenbauer, Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations

“luckily, good fly shops spool lines and backing on reels all day long and they use motorized line-winding machines with counters. They know exactly how much backing to wind on a spool before knotting and winding on”
― Tom Rosenbauer, Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations

“Using a weight-forward line’s shooting properties is a much more efficient way to get distance.”
― Tom Rosenbauer, Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide, Completely Revised and Updated with Over 400 New Color Photos and Illustrations