Five-weight fly rods are made to cross over from fishing for trout on a river to a lake flawlessly.
They are the rod weight category that beginner anglers tend to start off with and are great for all-around trout fishing, but they are better with the best five weight fly line on the reel.
| Image | Product | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Best For Larger FliesScientific Anglers Frequency Boost Fly Line |
| Check Today's Price |
 | Best Trout Fly LineRIO Intouch Rio Grand Fly Fishing Line |
| Check Today's Price |
 | Best All-RounderScientific Anglers Amplitude MPX Taper Fly Line |
| Check Today's Price |
Our Best 5 Weight fly lines
Scientific Anglers Frequency Boost Fly Line
Check Trident Fly Fishing Price
Key Features
- Heavy head for delicate presentations of dry flies, nymph rigs, and streamers
- Works well for trout fishing and other panfish species
- Great for short and longer casts
- Weight forward with a gentle front taper will turn your leader over with ease
- Durable core and good floatation for long-lasting performance
- Loads fast action rods well
Tech. Specs
- Type: Floating Fresh Water
- Taper: Weight forward
- Length: 80 feet
- Color: Willow
The Scientific Anglers Frequency Boost Fly Fishing Line is a great all-around freshwater line that is perfect for all types of flies from a dry fly to a nymph, but it comes into its own with large flies like streamers and big dries.
Here are some of the customer reviews on Amazon.
The heavier front head combined with a delicate front taper at the tip of the line makes it perfect for turning over a larger fly on a long leader. The energy transfer is faultless and you’ll see tight loops flowing down your cast which is what every fly fisherman needs to catch fish.
RIO Intouch Rio Grand Fly Fishing Line
Key Features
- MaxCast coating repels water for great floatation and durability
- Low stretch core for sublet bite detection and more feel on casts
- Perfect for casting long or short with accurate presentation
- Three color “surefire” system for better accuracy and gauging distances
- Gentle front taper for good presentations on all fly sizes
Tech. Specs
- Type: Floating Fresh Water
- Taper: Weight forward
- Length: 90 feet
- Color: Green-Gray-Yellow
The RIO Intouch Rio Grand Fly Fishing Line is one of Rio’s best trout fly lines and is made for all-around performance on all water types with all fly types too. You can drop a dry fly, double nymph rig, or a big streamer anywhere you want without a trout ever spooking.
It’s a full fly line size heavier than the industry standard meaning it loads rods with minimal effort while providing an excellent energy transfer for quick short casts or casting long across a lake.
The fly line comes with a MaxCast coating that repels water protecting the line for durability and increasing floatation for better drifts, easier pick-ups, and frictionless casting. This makes shooting the fly line about as easy as possible.
The front taper on the tip of these Rio lines is gentle and ensures immaculate fly presentation to give you the best chance of catching any fish you’re going for.
This Rio fly line is a low stretch fly line for more connection between you, the line, and the fly. This provides better bite detection, more responsive mending, and more feel on your cast for better timing and better overall casting.
It also comes with three colors denoting each section and length. You’ll always be close to knowing how far you cast, and it’ll help you gauge your distances better.
Scientific Anglers Amplitude MPX Taper Fly Line
Check Trident Fly Fishing Price
Key Features
- Great for all sized dry flies, nymphs, and streamers
- Designed for low memory in cold freshwater trout streams
- Ideal for multiple species from trout to smallmouth bass
- AST low friction coating for longer shooting distances
- Heavy head taper for loading fast action rods
- Tapers gently for great fly presentation
Tech. Specs
- Type: Floating Fresh Water
- Taper: Weight forward
- Length: 80 feet
- Color: Optic Green/Turtle Grass/Buckskin
The Scientific Angler Amplitude MPX Taper Floating Fly Line is designed to handle large flies while having the ability to drop a small fly with subtlety.
This ability is based around the gentle taper at the front tip end of the fly line which is backed up with a heavy head to form tight loops that’ll turn over any nymph, dry fly, or streamer with ease. You can use this fly line to guide your fly to any fish at any distance with confidence, which is an important feature every fly fisherman needs.
The heavier front end on these fly lines will also load your fly rod easily and efficiently for a quick cast and improved casting distance overall. This means you can drop a fly to a lurking trout with ease, no matter how far or short you need to cast.
For an in-depth analysis, be sure to check out the video review here.
These fly lines also come with an AST coating that all anglers love. It’s a low friction coating that is designed to make the lines shoot out of the rod guides with ease, they float well, are easy to handle when mending, and they protect the line so it performs for longer.
What fly fishing situations are 5 weight rods used for?
5 weights are the ideal rod weight for targeting fish such as trout or other species that live in both rivers and lakes. 5 weights are light enough for delicate casting on rivers where subtlety counts but they also have enough power for larger distances needed on lakes.
Also, most beginners start with 5 weights as they are easy to cast when learning fly fishing so almost all anglers have one in their quiver of rods.
Do I have to match line weights with rod weights?
Generally speaking, it’s best to match the rod weight with the line weight as they are made for each other. A 5wt line is heavy enough but not too heavy to load a 5wt rod for the most efficient energy transfer and the best casting performance.
You can play around with line weights a little though depending on the fishing scenario, by going up a line or down a line weight from your rod. Going down a line will give you a more delicate cast which is great for spooky fish, but will give you less power and a shorter casting distance.
Going up a line will help with big flies, and assist you to punch into the wind, but you will lose some subtlety when fishing like this which may scare fish off.
Does the color of fly fishing lines matter?
Some people prefer fly fishing line they can see with ease as it makes seeing bites and knowing where your fly is easier. Others think that a brightly colored line might scare fish off and go for natural colored lines like green or brown.
In my experience, line color choice is a personal preference depending on what you feel is more important, but both arguments do ring true. You do need to see your line in order to fish it properly, but you also don’t want to scare fish.
The best plan is to change your line color so suit where you’re fishing. If the water is crystal clear, a natural colored line is a better choice as it’s less likely to scare fish. If the water is murky, then you’ll get away with using a brightly colored line.
Shooting Out
While all the lines in the review are great 5 weight fly lines, which one of them is the best and the one you should go with? While this is entirely up to you, here is my recommendation in case you’re having some trouble deciding.
I’d go with the Rio Grand Fly Line as it has all the features I look for and it’ll serve every angler well. The fly line tapers off nicely for accurate casting, loads all rods efficiently for quick small or long casts, and it’s one of the only fly lines that has a low stretch core with a textured coating. You’ll see more bites from fish, have a better hookup on each trout, and more feel on each cast, all the way to the tip.
The runner-up would be the Scientific Anglers Amplitude MPX Taper Fly Line. One of the best all-around trout fly lines that tapers off for presentation but with a heavy head so you can really punch a long cast with a heavy fly. It’s also coated for less friction on your guides in the cast, and the taper can manage big as well as small flies.
Thanks for reading my article, I hope you find the best 5 weight fly line for you. Please share it around with your fishing friends and always check here first when you’re looking for some new fly gear. We’ve tried and tested it all we strive to guide you to what’s best for your fishing needs.
