Degreasing Your Leader - August 2010 TPO Tip of the Month

[Silver Creek]

If it has sodium bentonite or calcium bentonite, it would be worth a try. All I can say is to try it.

[SherpaB]

i think the key is so long as its mildly(and I mean mildly abrasive..its takes the shine off the leader)...I still have a tin of Orvis Mud from 20 yrs ago...its still good...just a little swipe mixed in your fingers and run up and down the leader a couple times should do it. that being said...its 20 yrs old cuz I haven't been using it...and I was a lot better fisherman 20 yrs ago around and after college than I am now...all these little things I used to do pretty faithfully...kinda makes me think.

[Silver Creek]

I tried mixing some clay garage oil absorbent with dawn and water in a ceramic bowl and used the back of a spoon against the bowl to break down the small clay lumps. It worked well with only a few small lumps of clay in the "mud". I then tried it on some shiny mono.

Dropped in a bowl of water, the mono sunk right to the bottom. Compared to the non treated mono is slightly darker with a grey brown tint. After washing all the mud off, it has slightly less sheen than the untreated mono.

In a new bowl of water, I dropped the untreated mono and it floated.

I think the effectiveness of this mud is due mainly to the fact that the detergent portion of the mix allows it to sink right to the bottom and the coating of "mud" covers the sheen rather than removing most of the sheen.

I put the "mud" in an old 35 mm film container and will give it a try.

I also tried powdered borax, but it is white and borax dissolves in water. It didn't work as well. The fact that clay is insoluble and coats the leader I think is key rather than dissolving in the water. So I think other household mild abrasives such as baking soda, etc, would not work as well as clay.

[Rocco]

While I can see the value in decreasing leader shine or encouraging the leader to break surface tension, I ask myself a question that perhaps has an answer more common sense than science. What is the point of anyone putting dish soap or other detergent on your leaders and then casting them out into the pristine Farmington River. Detergent times the number of anglers on the Farmington equals a frothy outcome sooner or later, perhaps with increased algae blooms if phosphate-containing preparations are used.

As anglers, I know we all want to be in the forefront of environmental protection. If anyone has some documentation of the environmental safety of these detergent preparations, let 'er rip.

[frankm205]

Aaron showed me the snake river mud and I have been using it ever since. I figure if he tells me it's a good idea than that's all I need to know.

[AaronJasper]

I spray my waders and boots with 409 after every day I fly fish. Then I dry my boots for a few days while I use a fresh pair. I do this so I don't spread didymo. If the biologists say it's ok to spray your boots with 409 before fishing, I'm sure a tiny amount of detergent is acceptable.

[Davyfly]

Silver,

yes l agree more or less what you say for my reasoning to use the fullers earth mixture.
I cannot remember why the product was sold in the pharmacy store but it had nothing do with cat litter, in those days it did not exist, a good kick up the arse for the cat sent it our side to do its business.

I can say for a fact that the use of a decreasing agent can make a great deal of difference. Remember also back in those days we did not have FC to use, only nylon.
Saying that FC may well cause a dry fly to be pulled way down, while decreased mono will way lessen this effect.
Either way it still serves the purpose of reducing flash and sheen.

Bob, yes you need to apply it on a frequent basis, it will after time wash off. If you make a paste and have it contained in a airtight container it should be way good for a while, if it does dry out then all you need to do is hydrate it again.
You need to mix it so it is a heavy thick paste.

I have tried many other compounds and as yet have not found one that is as good, yes l use dawn, any other product should be ok.

Rocco,
The micro amount of detergent is the last of your worries.
There very many other products we use that introduce chemical substances into the water systems.
Silicone's, dyes, further we also contaminate waterways by many other means simply by fishing from one to another. Then we leave deposits of nylon, hooks, lead you name it.
Even stocking trucks contain chemicals that are used during fish transportation. Then we have the run off from our highways, salt, oil, rubber and so on.

You might find it interesting to know that hatcheries use formaldehyde and salt to name two to deal with bacterial infections that infect fish in raceways, there are a good few more also used.

Davy.

[Silver Creek]

Davy,

If I am not mistaken Fuller's earth is used as a facial mud pack because it absorbs grease and it is an acne treatment. Hence it is at health stores.

http://www.kalyx.com/store/proddetai...D/885/file.htm

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/clay/clay.html#cl_fe

[Davyfly]

Silver , yes that might be right.
From what l understand from my friend in the UK it is no longer available from the pharmacy store, l have no idea why. I have a good amount of it so no worry.

[Troutastic]

Interesting post, I think I'm going to go buy some of the Loon mud stuff and give it a go on a tricky tailwater this week. The argument that degreasing a fluoro leader reduces sheen is the one I'm stuck on. I understand that the shininess of the leader could contribute to spooking fish. However, when you rub that mud stuff on the leader, doesn't it make it less translucent, and thus more visible to the fish? Could that contribute to spooking them or turning them off to your offering as well?