Airflo Superflo Universal Taper Fly Line

If you want to test the overall versatility of a fly line, you need to drill down on three factors. First, of course, the types of flies you are going to throw (mostly). Second, the conditions you’re going to be throwing those flies in–windy, open expanses where you want to shoot for distance, or tight quarters where you find yourself roll casting and popping quick shots? Possibly both. 

It’s well understood that choosing a fly rod should also (primarily) depend on the flies you’re going to cast, and the situations you are most likely to cast them in, far more than the species of fish you intend to chase. And because the fly line you choose is really the catalyst that pulls everything together, factor three is judging the true versatility of a fly line based on how it performs with different fly rods themselves.

Should an over-weighted fly line, designed to work with fast-action graphite rods, ever be considered versatile? Even if you can throw streamers and dry flies with equal aplomb, it only performs (well) when paired with certain, and highly specific, rod actions.

For the purpose of this review, I fished the Airflo Superflo Universal Taper (WF 5-weight) fly line all summer with fly patterns ranging from non-articulated streamers, like #8 zonkers with heavy cone heads, to #10 hopper patterns, to dry-dropper rigs with #14 PMDs trailing pheasant tail nymphs, size #20 Baetis cripples and more. I fished the line while wading small streams, riding in a dory down bigger rivers and on stillwater lakes and ponds. Moreover, I fished this line with four different rods: a 7-foot 6-inch 5-weight bamboo (parabolic taper); a fast-action, 9-foot 5-weight Scott Centric; the Orvis Helios 9-foot 5-weight (finesse action); and an Epic FastGlass 5-weight. 

After all the casting and fish finding, I believe the Airflo Superflo Universal Taper is the most versatile fly line on the market today, at least in the 5-weight variety. That is to say it’s pretty darn good at many, many fishing situations, but maybe not truly great at any one (specific) situation. However, it’s a more than competent fly line for most situations.

If I wanted to huck grasshoppers from a drift boat in the wind, a RIO Elite Single-handed Spey Line is probably better, and if I wanted to throw big bass bugs like poppers, a Scientific Anglers Amplitude Bass Bug Fly Line would perform better. But I’ve not fished a better line that could win a decathlon of fly fishing like Airflo’s Superflo Universal Taper could. And that’s really the unique selling proposition: This is a fly line made for someone who doesn’t feel the need, nor have the means, to shell out hundreds of dollars on situation-specific fly lines (and presumably reels to spool them on). You just want to string up and go, wherever opportunity leads you.

The other really positive thing about Airflo lines is that they are made with polyurethane, rather than PVC, which means they are much more environmentally friendly. That’s not to say that PVC fly lines poison rivers every time you fish–it’s more about the manufacturing and disposal processes that create issues on the environmental front. PVC is indeed more versatile and allows for more flexibility, literally and figuratively, in terms of designing specific fly line tapers. With polyurethane, there are more limited design parameters.

That said, aside from the environmental-benefit, polyurethane does have its advantages. Typically, urethane lines are ever-so-slightly smaller in diameter. They still float well and stretch less. They shoot well. And, depending on how you care for them, they last longer than PVC. On the down side, they aren’t as malleable at certain temperatures, which can manifest in memory issues (the line stays “coily” and you must stretch it out), especially in cold water below 50℉. 

The one thing I didn’t particularly like about this line is that it has a slightly larger-than-average welded loop for connecting leaders, and while that made a negligible difference in most situations, I did see that 3-4 inches at the tip of the line sink on spring creeks more often than I wanted. End of the day, that’s nothing a pair of nippers and a nail knot tool wouldn’t fix. 

If you’re really worried about fly line memory, hold on for another month… 

Airflo will soon be introducing a “maxed out” version of Superflo in the Universal Taper that truly seems immune to memory, at least in summer fishing conditions (I’ve been fishing the prototype, and it works).