• 14 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Fly Line

From the reel to the fly: backing, fly line, leader and tippet, drawn thick so the taper shows.

Parts of a Fly Line

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
More options

Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Fly line
  2. Backing
  3. Belly
  4. Tip
  5. Running line
  6. Front taper
  7. Rear taper
  8. Head
  9. Leader
  10. Tippet
  11. Fly
  12. Leader butt
  13. Weight-forward line
  14. Double-taper line

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the rod the line runs through

All 14 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Backing and fly line 8

  1. Fly line Its weight carries the fly out; the fly itself weighs almost nothing.
  2. Backing Fills the reel and gives a strong fish more line to pull.
  3. Belly The middle of the head, where the line is widest.
  4. Tip The tip is the front end of the fly line.
  5. Running line It is thin and light, so it slips through the rod's guides.
  6. Front taper The front taper shapes how the fly is set down.
  7. Rear taper The rear taper joins the thin running line to the belly.
  8. Head Most of the line's weight is in the head.

Leader, fly and tapers 6

  1. Leader Runs from the fly line to the fly. Thick end at the fly line, fine end at the fly.
  2. Tippet The tippet is the last piece of the leader.
  3. Fly Traditionally hair, feathers and thread tied on a hook.
  4. Leader butt The butt is the thickest, stiffest part of the leader.
  5. Weight-forward line Most of its weight is in the front of the line.
  6. Double-taper line Can be turned round on the reel when one end wears out.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two of these use it: (1) Fly Fishers International, Fly Fishing Glossary, https://www.flyfishersinternational.org/Learn-About-Fly-Fishing/Fly-Fishing-Glossary (backing, belly, tip, running line, weight forward, double taper, leader, butt, tippet, fly); (2) a fly line maker's guide, Scientific Anglers, Taper Design Fundamentals, archived copy of 2011 at https://web.archive.org/web/20110721184213/http://www.scientificanglers.com/plan-your-trip/fly-fishing-instruction/taper-design-fundamentals (tip, front taper, belly, rear taper, head, running line); (3) MidCurrent, Bruce Richards, How to Choose a Fly Line (2020), https://midcurrent.com/gear/choosing-a-fly-line/ (head, front taper, belly, rear taper, running line); (4) Wikipedia, Fly fishing tackle, text only (backing, fly line, weight forward and double taper, leader, leader butt, tippet). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's line, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a fly fishing line run in one order from the reel: backing, fly line, leader, tippet, fly. The first view is the fly line itself, the second the leader, the third two tapers side by side.

Read the full guide

Reel to fly, in three views

Numbers 1 to 8 are the line on the reel. The backing goes on first. The fly line is tied to it: thin running line, then the head, made of the rear taper, the belly and the front taper, then a short level tip. Numbers 9 to 12 are the clear leader tied to the tip: its thick butt, its taper, the fine tippet, the fly. Numbers 13 and 14 compare a weight-forward line with a double-taper line. Nothing is to scale: a real fly line is far thinner than it is drawn here.

  • Read a taper from the reel outward: thin, wider, widest, narrower, thin.
  • Leader or tippet? The tippet is the last, finest piece of the leader, the piece the fly is tied to.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a fly fishing line?

From the reel: the backing, the fly line, the leader, the tippet and the fly. The fly line itself has a running line, a rear taper, a belly, a front taper and a tip.

What is the head of a fly line?

The front taper, the belly and the rear taper together. It is the thick part of a weight-forward line, and most of the line's weight is there.

What is the difference between a leader and a tippet?

The leader is the clear tapered line tied to the end of the fly line: thick at the butt, fine at the other end. The tippet is the fine last piece, tied to the end of the leader and to the fly.

What is backing on a fly line?

A thin braided line wound onto the reel before the fly line. It builds up the middle of the reel, and it is the extra line a strong fish pulls out once the whole fly line has left the reel.

What is the difference between weight-forward and double-taper fly line?

A weight-forward line has its thick part at the front and thin running line behind it. A double-taper line narrows the same way at both ends, so it can be turned round on the reel when one end wears out.

More quizzes

Show 6 more

Browse Science Quizzes