Intermidiate/sinking lines

Paulson

Paulson

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Joined
Jan 13, 2012
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I have had one outing on the Delaware so far and was fishing clouser/minnow imitations. I had a few takes but could tell right away I need to get them deeper. Fishing in faster current maybe 5+ feet deep should I go to an intermidiate line or a sinking line? Right now I am using a 6 wt set up (Fenwick 806 Glass), I am going to move to an 8 wt soon. Going for smallies now but want to be able to fish stripers in the fall.
 
Paulson wrote:
I have had one outing on the Delaware so far and was fishing clouser/minnow imitations. I had a few takes but could tell right away I need to get them deeper. Fishing in faster current maybe 5+ feet deep should I go to an intermidiate line or a sinking line? Right now I am using a 6 wt set up (Fenwick 806 Glass), I am going to move to an 8 wt soon. Going for smallies now but want to be able to fish stripers in the fall.
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A full sink line is not really a good idea most times for river fishing, but choosing a sink-tip line on your 8wt should help to fish for smallies as well as stripers later on.
 
Thanks - should I bother with an intermidiate?
 
I've had very good luck on the North Branch of the Susky using a polyleader and floating line, especially when the river is up a bit. Type III makes sense. Also, tippet is 2x or heavier and less than 4 feet.

As a bonus, it's a lot less expensive than buying a sink tip line.
 
A couple of points:

1) Intermediate lines don't really sink very well; they just don't float. If you're counting on one to get your fly down, it won't.

2) The suggestion above about poly leaders above is good one. Poly leaders/ versi leaders come in a variety of lengths and sink rates so you can adjust for different conditions/rivers without buying a whole new line for every occasion.
 
redietz wrote:

1) Intermediate lines don't really sink very well; they just don't float. If you're counting on one to get your fly down, it won't.
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Agree^
I'm not a fan of intermediate lines.

A sink tip is pretty versatile and will cover most freshwater FFing scenarios well.
 
Cool! Thanks!

Any particular brands/lengths to look at or stay away from?
 
Polyleader: I like the 7' FAST (click HERE)

A good application is to fish a buoyant fly on this leader. It should ride above, but near, the bottom (depending on stream depth and current flow). I put a microswivel or tippet ring on the end of the polyleader's core then add 3-4 feet of 1x - 3x flouro then my fly. As the stream depth increases, change to a neutrally buoyant fly then a sinking fly.
 
I should have posted this in the beginner forum....is there a rough guideline in flies that are more buoyant? I'd suspect a metal eye clouaer to be less buoyant whats neutral or more buoyant for smallies I would be unsure of. I ask as I don't want to buy stuff I already have/don't need.
 
Here is a quick guide off the top of my head:

Buoyant: divers, sliders, wigglers, any unweighted with spun deer hair heads or foam.

Neutral: unweighted bucktails (ie, black nosed dace), unweighted buggers, unweighted streamers (ie, Murditch Minnow)

Sinking: Clousers, weighted buggers, most crayfish flies, anything with a bead/cone/dumbbell eyes

While this is not a complete list, it should give you a feel for the kinds of flies you should use based on water depth and flow rate.

Generally, fly buoyancy depends on how they are weighted/materials used and how hydrodynamic they are. A weighted big fluffy fly wil sink more slowly than a sparsely tied fly of the same size and weight.

I hope this helps.
 
Thanks for the information!
 
Fly-Swatter wrote:
Here is a quick guide off the top of my head:

Buoyant: divers, sliders, wigglers, any unweighted with spun deer hair heads or foam.

Neutral: unweighted bucktails (ie, black nosed dace), unweighted buggers, unweighted streamers (ie, Murditch Minnow)

Sinking: Clousers, weighted buggers, most crayfish flies, anything with a bead/cone/dumbbell eyes

While this is not a complete list, it should give you a feel for the kinds of flies you should use based on water depth and flow rate.

Generally, fly buoyancy depends on how they are weighted/materials used and how hydrodynamic they are. A weighted big fluffy fly wil sink more slowly than a sparsely tied fly of the same size and weight.

I hope this helps.
Click to expand...


This was very helpful. Thanks
 
Has anyone experienced using Loon river mud or clay to help sink lines?
 
Baron wrote:
Has anyone experienced using Loon river mud or clay to help sink lines?
Click to expand...

I would not put such a product on a floating line as you would then need to clean it off if you decided the line should float again. Adding it to a leader is a different story as sometimes you want all or part of a leader to sink without adding actual weight to it.
 
This would be for a furled leader.
 
No, for the same reason not to use it on a fly line.
 
Well then. That pretty much answers the issue. Thought I was on to something . Thought I ccould bypass split shots.
Thanks.
 
Using a Poly leader with a sink tip and no split shot. GG
 
Using a Poly leader with a sink tip and no split shot. GG
 
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