Floatant odor question

[AlphaDelta]

I recently purchased Flyiagra to use as a floatant. I has a distinct petroleum smell to it. Does anyone have any opinions if strong and unnatural odors can repel fish?

I put in on a couple dry flies and noticed is darkens colors and can also make hackles and tails stick together and not spread out. I have not tried it fishing yet.

I was also told that trout are attracted to the smell of garlic. Would anyone have any advice on this? I am guessing it is an old wives tale.

 

[MD_Gene]

A friend of mine gave me a home made concoction o use for fly floatant. He warned me to not have an open flame around it as it had combustible properties. He swears by it but I have not yet tried it. He said that it makes the flies float like a cork and had caught fish using it.

For what that is worth. Hope it helps. Try and it let us know how it works for you.

Will be interested in other's insights as well.

 

[LeTortAngler2]

FlyAgra is an excellent waterproofing liquid. Every time I tie a fly onto my tippet it goes into FlyAgra. Simply unscrew the top and dip your fly in. This stuff works extremely well on big foam flies such as grasshopper patterns, but also works with delicate dries. If you apply it the day before and let it dry overnight it works even better. ~BigHorn Anglers.
If it don't work out for ya, give froggs fanny a try.
With so many garlic scented baits and what not on the market, I would assume that some trout, more likely stocked trout, would be attracted to garlic scent and other odd attractants. .

 

[Longbow]

We used Flyagra in CO this year for 10 days. I fished predominantly dries and caught a ton of fish. The guides sweared by it. The fish hit the flies and hoppers so hard, they never had a chance to smell them.

 

[BrookieChaser]

Gene, I would guess the floatant you speak of includes naptha gas (white gas).

 

[Cold]

AlphaDelta,

Just my opinion, but the effects you describe should not negatively impact your results any more than any other floatant (Gink, Mucilin, etc.). Just about all of them can mat and darken material (though using less will reduce this effect).

That being said, dry fly fishing is a visual game, and any odors should not have any effect on your catch results, positive or negative.

 

[dryflyguy]

I've been making my own floatant for a long time, by mixing lighter fluid and mucilin paste. Works great. And I can assure you that any petroleum smell that lingers on the fly doesn't bother the fish at all

 

[chromid]

Dryflyguy would you mind sharing your recipe....have been thinking about trying this mix....

 

[dryflyguy]

chromid wrote:
Dryflyguy would you mind sharing your recipe....have been thinking about trying this mix....

I reuse an empty head cement to keep it in - and it stores nicely in a floatant pocket built into my vest.
Just fill it up with lighter fluid, and add 4-5 dabs of mucilin paste. (a dab is just what I can fit on the head of a small screw driver)
And swirl it around a bit - it should slowly dissolve and make the lighter fluid cloudy looking. And that's it - ready to go.
First thing I do after tying my fly to the tippet, is dunk the whole thing in the jar. Then a few false casts dries it.

I got this from one of George Harvey's books. And he recommends using the mucilin without silicon. Comes in the container with the red label.

 

[PennKev]

dryflyguy wrote:

I got this from one of George Harvey's books. And he recommends using the mucilin without silicon. Comes in the container with the red label.

For what it's worth, Mucillin can be used as-is on dries and does a pretty good job. In fact It has the advantage of being able to be used very sparingly and it is not a liquid so it doesn't soak and goop up your fly like some floatants do. The Mucillin with silicon works fine in this capacity too. Also works great on lines with tips that don't stay floating. An indispensable product IMO.

 

[DGC]

I don't smell well so I can't speak to odor. But I did buy a tub of Albolene and like it on cheap Air Cel fly lines and flies. How well it will do in hot weather is a question waiting to be answered. It does NOT last all the livelong day, however.

 

[BREECHESANGLER]

I have never used the floatant ya'll are talking about but I always use the frogs fanny and gink. I use the frogs fanny more than the gink and it is really good stuff. Never had a problem with either one.