Sinking Line

[BlackLabel]

This year I want to do a bit of fishing for trout in lakes and ponds. I will either be fishing from my boat or my float tube. I'm going to get an extra spool for my 5wt. setup I plan to be using while stillwater fishing and I know nothing about sinking lines. My one spool is obviously a floating line and I want one sinking line to best cover most situations. Any help would be greatly apperciated.

[TexasChris]

Check out the rio t-8 sinking tips. It'll save you from having to get a new spool and they cast pretty nice. I actually used them with huge streamers on a trip to the farmington last year in really high water conditions after a big rain and they cast pretty nice. We used them on 6 wt's, but i'm sure your 9.5 foot tfo will handle it nicely.

They are 30 foot and have a pretty fast sink rate. Something like 7 inches a second.

[BlackLabel]

That sounds good. How do you attach them to your fly line?

[TexasChris]

Loop to loop.

[Nymphmeister]

I used to do a fair amount of lake fishing, and here is a very brief summary about sinking lines in lakes:
1. Use a full sink line in stillwaters, they are far superior to one with a 20-30' sinking head section. I used a Teeny type line when I first started, and got my ass handed to me by my far less experienced fishing partner who was using a full sink type 3 line. He busted my balls bigtime. The next trip I had a full sink line, and I kicked his ass. You have superior control of your flies depth with a full sinker, and that will translate into more fish on the end of your line. In rivers, it's a whole different story, and I vastly prefer a Teeny type line there- actually my fav is the RIO Density Compensated 24' sink tip lines for rivers.
2. If you are serious about the lake fishing, you will need more than one sinking line. At the very least: a clear intermediate, a type 3, and a type 6 (or 5 or 7). If you are slow retrieving a fly and trying to keep it at a certain depth, say 10', you would want the type 3 line- the intermediate would take too long to sink that far, and the type 6 would keep sinking deeper while you retrieve it. The intermediate is great for fishing less than 5' deep and/or slow retrieves, the type 6 is for deep water and/or streamers. The total hardcore lake fisherman would actually have a floater, a clear intermediate, a type 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8. Also maybe a Midge Tip (floating line with 3' clear intermediate tip) and a type 5 & 7 also. For your first line pick a type 3, but realize it will be too slow & too fast for some situations. A floating line with a 20-25' leader will cover a lot of nymphing bases in lakes, the English are masters at this type of fishing, often using 3 "Buzzer" (big midge) patterns at a time. It works in the USA too .

[nutman]

look into airflo they have custom cut tips that you can make up yourself .for lake fishing go to ct 300 it is fast sinking . You can get better tips with the loop to loop if you look into it . You want your line to hit bottom if possible , vary your retrive and try wooly bus and a smaller fly together . The hot fly out here is the lightning bug .i guy i know just took a brood stock 28 inch rainbow on one and that fly has been hot for some time ! It works in lakes all over the place .

[Davyfly]

Black label,'

The two most important lines for stillwaters are a dry line DT, and a stillwater mastery which is a clear slow sink intermediate.
I do not bother with dry lines that have nymph tips or any other added section for sight indication, there is no need.

Other full sink lines are no doubt at times needed to fish the flies at the right depth.
Which may well depend on the overall depth of the water you will be fishing.
Sink tips are also worthy line to carry, l won a number of events fishing sink tips when conditions were such that wind and wave action had the upper 2ft of the surface well churned up, you have to get the flies below the wave trough or the fish will not see them. A sink tip offers you the option of fishing flies very slow and maintaining them in the upper levels, with way more control than a sinking line, you can also use the action of surface movement to work the flies around the bend which you cannot do with a sinking line.

The two lines l have mentioned here, dry and intermediate or neutral density will allow for you to cover probably 75 % of the options needed for stillwater fishing, be it with nymph, dry or streamers.
There are other considerations needed so far as choice for sinking lines which relate to profile, there is a big difference between a WF or a DT profile as both will fish flies in a very different manner. Distance is not always a issue as many might believe, short line techniques using fast sink lines can be deadly at times, using what we term as hang methods or controlled drift at depth.
I would only use full 90ft lines, the only other exception would be shooting heads, this only for use when long casts of 40 yards or more are needed to attain great depth, as much as 100 ft, but this is a very different game to be honest.

Choice of sinking lines used are also related to surface movement of the water determined by wind and wave and if you are anchored or drift fishing, same also for choice over dry line to intermediate.
I just posted on another thread here that given my years at this game and being for some 18 years a competitive fly fisher, that stillwaters are by far more of a challenge than any moving water system, ask Aaron, he is just figuring that one out.

If you guys had a stillwater in the NE worth fishing l would come there and do some fly fishing schools related to stillwater techniques

Davy

[nutman]

i would like to add you might want an intermeditae line at times because alot of the time the fish are feeding just a foot or two below surface .Casting shouldnt be an issue unless you are in a boat ! if you are in a float tube with fins it is kind of like a slow troll back wards .the natural thing is that the nymphs are coming off the bottom ,damsel flys are present in most lakes so that is why you start out with a big woolybugger or a damsel fly imatation ,caddis flys and mayflys are very present to .so we start out with a second or if you want a third nymph as well which is smaller .Basically you are trying to imatate them hatching .I was saying go with the loop to loop because that is the newest system out there airflo seems to have this system down if you get one of their catolouges ,shooting heads are a great idea for being in a boat and nice for long range presention .I agree lake fishing can be difficult unless you learn about the lakes !

[BlackLabel]

Thanks guys.

[Gregorygob]

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