Jottings from a Speybum Note Book

Spey Line Standards

These standards should make selecting a line much easier.

Bruce Richards of Scientific Anglers introduced the first American standard for Spey lines at the annual general meeting of the American Fly Fishing Trade Association. The new standards were unanimously approved by the board at the September 15 meeting in Denver Colorado.

The new standards presented by Richards were developed after extensive consultation with Spey experts associated with various manufacturers including Jim Vincent and Simon Gawesworth of Rio Products and others.

The adoption of the new standard will not require any product recall or repackaging. The manufacturers agreed to integrate the new standards as they produce new product and packaging. Richards expects most Spey lines sold in the U.S. to adhere to the new standard within two years. Rod manufacturers are expected to begin marking their rods according to the line standards as well.

The new standard describes four different line designs (shooting head, short belly, medium belly, and long belly) which will be identified by the letters H, S, M, and L respectively. Each line category has a different allowable grain weight over a given length of line. For instance, a line advertised as a 9-weight shooting head would have a grain weight of 430 (28 grams) in the first 40 feet. A long belly 9-weight would have 780 grains (51 grams) in the first 80 feet. The new standards will have a +/- tolerance value, but those levels have not yet been determined.

River Run Anglers 2004