Fishing Lines

[Steven]

i'm just wondering if anyone would have any suggestions on what type of sinking line that would work in the local lakes. i've only been fishing with a floating line, and don't have a sinking line yet. I keep hearing about people doing well with lines like intermediate lines. There are so many lines out there I don't know were to start, so if anyone has any suggestions or info it would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Steven

[jfisherman]

i'm just wondering if anyone would have any suggestions on what type of sinking line that would work in the local lakes. i've only been fishing with a floating line, and don't have a sinking line yet. I keep hearing about people doing well with lines like intermediate lines. There are so many lines out there I don't know were to start, so if anyone has any suggestions or info it would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

Steven

Steven, Greg here, all my sinking lines are full sink although I do have one sink tip (WF-5-F/S Wet Tip III).

[Junior]

Greg, an intermediate line and a sink-tip are not the same thing.

 

Steven, an intermediate line is arguably the most useful, productive line on trout lakes because the fish do most of their feeding sub-surface, on very small food forms. These tiny little critters don't move that fast, around 2"/second or less, which is the sink rate for an intermediate line. A floating line can be used in shallow water, but the flies move in a much more exaggerated up-and-down motion, which works great sometimes for leech patterns, but for most trout prey this is unnatural behavior. If you used a faster sinking line and retreived your flies at a realistic speed, the line would continue to sink and you'd snag the bottom.

 

My personal favorite is the Rio Aqualux, but you can save a few bucks by getting Cortland's, which is still a serviceable line. Not a fan of Scientific Angler's version, though. Hope this helps!

 

Another tactic which has become a personal favorite over the last few years is Buoyant Fly/Sinking Line, which I need to come up with a better name for. Tie a foam-bodied (or spun deer hair) fly of some sort onto a fast-sinking (Type 4-Type 7) fly line via a 3'-5' leader. Let the line sink to the bottom, and no matter the depth or contours, your fly will trundle along suspended a foot or two above. So save your nickles!

[dave robinson]

Steven:

Sinking lines come in different ratings from Type 1 (I) to Type 7 (VII)

For most, the rating number indicates the sink rate in inches per second.

Todd Oishi told us he usually carries six different sink rates.

For a novice on a limnited dbudget and with limited experieinces that's probably ovrekill

 

So if you want to settle on one line you will use most frequently

the question you have to ask yourself is what depth do you think you will fish at the most.

 

While I agree with Rick that a slow sink lline (called intermediate or slime line) is very valuable

But by being creative in leaders and techniques, you can cover that base (down to 2 or 4 ft) with a floating line, long sinking leaders and fly weight or spit shot.

The chief advantage of an intermediate line is that it gets below the surface chop and current, which helps reduce slack.

 

If you plan on "trolling" then you may want a faster sink line so that it gets down to depth quicker and stays there at nornal trollng speed.

For that a Type 3 would work quite well.

 

However, if you need to get down fast and deep, then a Type 5 or 6 would be best.

 

So it depends on your budget, how much fishing you do at what depth and how much line changing you want to do.

 

Most of my sinking lines are either Type 3 or 5 uniform sink.

I'm considering an intermediate, but will probably play aorund with leaders before committing another spool to it.

[Junior]

Dave, while I agree with everything you said about tactics and how they will influence Steven's choice of line, I think you're misleading him about the depth part. Thanks to those "Effective Depth Range" charts there's a widespread misconception about sinking lines. Like all full-sink lines, an intermediate will continue to sink until something stops it (hitting the bottom, line tension, retrieve). I have used a slime line to fish at 20 feet quite handily. According to those charts, only a Type 7 is capable of that. You might have to wait more than 2 minutes for the intermediate line to sink to that depth, but that gives you a little time to smell the roses.

 

I also respectfully disagree on the chief advantage part. What makes the slime line so effective is that it allows you to present your flies with realistic behavior (moving slow), at depth, for the full length of the retrieve.

 

To state the obvious, if I was fishing a faster presentation, like a minnow pattern, I would use a faster sinking line.

 

Hey, is this going to turn into the Rick & Dave Show again? Sorry, the Dave & Rick Show.

[vince]

Interesting comments on lake lines.

 

As Dave said...the purchase comes down to dollars and the amount of equipment you want to carry. I do have this thought though...using a slime type line to fish any water deeper than a couple of two to four feet is not an effective use of time. If you want to fish the depth's in the area of 15 to 20 feet use a type 5 to 7 full sinking line (if your rod can handle it). Waiting for 2 to 3 minutes while your slime line sinks and then letting out a whole bunch more line in order to have a horizontal presetation (if that is what your after) is not an effective use of time and is not what the slime line was designed to do.

 

I don't fish lakes that often but when I do I carry a floater, a slime line and a type 6.

 

There you go...now lets hear from the rest of the troops.

 

Vince

[dave robinson]

Good point Vince.

Yes lines do continue to sink if undisturbed, but if you're stripping it in during the sink, the actual sink rate will slow due to friction and strip angle.

The faster the strip and the greated the depth (steeper strip angle) the more sink rate is affected.

And yes, you can get an intermediate line down 20ft. But at 1" per second it takes 4 minutes to get there (if undisturbed).

If you do as Todd Oishi suggests (to keep in touch with the fly)and keep doing a very slow hand twist retreive (say 1" per second) for the entire 4 minutes,

then by the time it gets to 20ft, you've likely stripped in 20 ft of fly line too.

So even with a 60ft cast, with a 20ft depth you'll only get about 20 ft of horizontal presetation at the desired 20 ft depth.

With a type 6, the line gets to 20 ft in about 40 seconds so your very slow strip will only eat up about 4 ft of line

Thus for a 60 ft cast your horizontal strip length at the desired 20 ft depth balloons to 36ft.

 

I presume Vince that you're fishing a streamer on that type 6.

I 'm unsure what you'd actually use a slime line for since you don't fish nymphs

Edited January 20, 2011 by dave robinson

[dave robinson]

Hey Rick:

I agree with you about the bouyant fly, sinking line approach.

If you use a type 3 line and let it sink, it will often just lie on top of the happy salad beds. (a type 6 or 7 will sink right into the weeds)

If you use a 10 ft leader and tippet to pull a floating fly, the fly will coast along just above the weeds, which is a very fish-tempting position.

I've done this effectively with bouyant backswimmer patterns or one of Reg Denny's dragon-fly nymphs (one with toothpick underbody)

It even works pretty well with unweighted Wooly Bugger and Carey Special patterns.

Before the perch infestation at Hasse Lake, this technique with a Doc Spratley, behind a very slow canoe, accounted for most of my catch there.

Edited January 20, 2011 by dave robinson

[vince]

Dave

 

Boobie on a type 6 line fished within a foot or two from the bottom is deadly as is a Denny Rickards Seal Bugger on a slime type of line.

 

Vince

[Steven]

Thanks for all the information and tips. From what people have been saying it sounds that it might be a good idea to get both an intermediate line and a faster sinking line. I was having lot's of trouble getting fish in lakes with my floating line last summer, so i think getting a sinking line or two could change that.

Thanks again

 

Steven

[Doc]

I got quite a few sink lines and to be honest, I use my floating line 95% of the time as weighted flies and long leaders will get me to the depth I need. When I do fish a sink line it's usually a clear intermediate as the most productive waters are normally quite shallow. When I do reach for a faster sinking line, I prefer the traditional sink line that forms a belly in it to fish floating patterns off the bottom or to get the "U" shape movement of the boatman. Just my two cents but for a first line I'd go with a clear intermediate sink.

 

Cheers,

Doc