How to Set up a Weight on a Fly Fishing Line

As with any form of fishing, a fly fishing enthusiast must place his or her fly in front of the fish to be successful. Fish frequently feed at the bottom of rivers or lakes at depths that cannot easily be reached without adding some weight to your leader. Adding weight to your leader makes casting more difficult, but it can be the difference between a successful day fishing and going home empty-handed.

Things You'll Need

  • Fly fishing line
  • Leader
  • Sinkers or other forms of fishing weights.
  • Pliers
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Determine whether you want to fish your fly along the bottom of the body of water or at a more intermediate level. Generally, nymphs and weight flies are fished at or near the bottom of a particular body of water unless a hatch is in progress.

    • 2

      Evaluate the water you plan on fishing and determine how much weight you will need to fish at your desired depth. For example, an angler desiring to fish in faster currents will require more weight than an angler fishing in slower waters.

    • 3

      Attach the desired amount of weight to the leader. For most anglers, this step involves placing your leader in the groove of the desired number of split shot sinkers and using the pliers to compress the sinkers around the inserted leader.

    • 4

      Adjust the weights added to your line in order to make sure they are located the proper distance from your fly. The weights are generally located about 6 to 10 inches from the fly in order to insure that the fly remains at roughly the same level as the weights.

    • 5

      Make a few casts with your weighted fly line and determine whether the amount of weight on the line is appropriate for the fishing conditions. Add or remove weight as needed in order to maximize your fishing success.