Years ago there were only a few choices of floating fly lines. The Peach 444 or Mint Green 444SL from Cortland and the Air Cel from Scientific Anglers. Today there are numerous companies making a huge variety of floating trout lines. Rio Fly Lines alone has 11 styles of floating fly lines. Why so many?
Specificity and specialization come to mind. Examples: When you want to throw a size 4 Salmon Fly into the wind upstream under a tree with your ultra fast action Sage TCX 5wt rod you need to match it with the proper fly line, a Rio Grand 5wt. When you are on a Spring Creek and need to delivery a size 18 PMD Spinner delicatly downstream to rising fish with your moderate action Winston BIIT you need a Rio Trout LT.
In trying to give the angler every advantage possible, fly lines have evolved to match rod action, fishing situations, distance, fly size and more.
Are there standard do it all fly lines out there? Indeed the Rio Gold and Scientific Angler Trout Tapers do a great job. In this video George Cook of Rio, Redington, Sage discusses the key three Rio Floating Fly Lines for the trout angler.–CD
