Weight Forward vs Double Taper

[pyke88]

Considering replacing my 5wt double taper fly line. Generally fish small to medium freestone streams. Any advantage to switching to weight forward? Some reviews indicate longer top end casting distance, but not a big deal with my style of fishing.

Thanks in advance.
Pyke

[gilbertslake]

Originally Posted by pyke88

Considering replacing my 5wt double taper fly line. Generally fish small to medium freestone streams. Any advantage to switching to weight forward? Some reviews indicate longer top end casting distance, but not a big deal with my style of fishing.

Thanks in advance.
Pyke

I use both. I prefer a DT for small rivers as I seem to get the line to turn over better and a more gentle presentation, but for big flies and on bigger rivers, I use a WF. Also, I use a DT for Spey casting on a 14ft Spey rod and on my
11ft rod I use for Czech style nymphing.

This is an article I bookmarked a while back:

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/begin/101/dtvswf.php

[fishpro]

I've only cast a few double taper lines, but from my experience you will be able to cast MUCH larger flies with the weight forward. I personally find the weight forward way better, but that could be just my preference or even the rods I'm using.

[Jayhad]

if you have rods for specific tasks i think you should line them with task orientated lines. If you use this stick for just dries then go with a DT, but if you are going to use nymph rigs and streamers go with a WF.

Personally I prefer the way WFs feel on fast graphite compared to DTs.

[Bow flyman]

I used to use double taper lines for dry fly fishing, but now I use WF lines exclusively. A lot of my dry fly fishing is for Cutts, and the streams I fish can get very windy. Weight forward lines handle wind much better than double taper lines.