Sinking line vs. sink tips

[Railking]

I've searched the forum and I couldn't come up with an answer. I'm looking for opinions on sinking lines vs sink tip add ons. I've been getting into fishing streamers a bit more and need to get my fly down a little deeper. I use my 5wt as an all around rod so I use it for streamers, dries, and nymph rigs. To go with a full sink or an intermediate line, I'd have to get a spare spool and change it out when I'm wanting to exclusively fish streamers. I'd like to keep it as my all around rod. I was looking at the Rio sink tips instead of dropping the cash on new line and a spare spool. On eBay, I can get a 3 pack of assorted sink tips for about $20. Anybody use these and have any thoughts on them?

 

[wgmiller]

I suppose it really depends on the depth of the water you want to fish and how you plan on fishing that water. Obviously a sink tip is just that. A sinking or intermediate line, for swinging streamers or maintaining uniform depth in the water column is tough to beat. I have an 8wt with three spools - floating, sink tip, and an intermediate line. When I really want to get a streamer down and work the water column, I toss on the intermediate line. If I'm just working a particular area that's not real deep, I'll toss on the sink tip. 'Add-ons' can produce a 'hinge effect' which may or may not be desirable depending on what/how you're fishing.

 

[Railking]

I'm just looking to get down near the bottom of the deeper, slower moving pools. Probably rarely over 8 feet deep. I guess my real question is the use of the polymer sink tip type 'leaders' on the end of a floating line. I'm sure casting is a little jerkier with a setup like this, but I wondered how well they work. If I'm better off using these or heavier streamed on a little longer leader to get them down a bit.

 

[Fishidiot]

Both have a place in my gear bag.
In my experience, a full sinking line is much better for genuinely deep streamer applications. The downside is you need a whole new line and spool. This can be expensive and often sinking lines are tough to find among the bargain brand fly lines that I typically use. A separate sink tip can be handy and will do the job on most rivers for streamers. I like the ones that are lead core and about 5' long. I just cut the leader off from my floating line and attach the sink tip (there's many ways to do this) and then re-tie the leader to the sink tip. It usually helps to shorten the leader for streamers with a sinking line or sink tip. Anyway, with the sink tip on the end of a floating line, it will still get your fly down pretty well and will even pull under the end of the floating fly line. It can be a bit awkward to cast but is easier to lug around then an extra spool with a full sinking line. As the saying goes around here: your mileage may vary.

 

[Railking]

That's what I kind of figured Fishidiot. I went ahead and picked up a 3 pack of the Rio sink heads. I figure, if they suck, I'm only out $20. Most of the rivers I fish are only 40-80 feet wide with the pools I want to fish being 5-8 feet deep. This will be easier than a spare spool and sinking line. I'll be chucking and ducking by the weekend hopefully.

 

[afishinado]

Railking wrote:
I'm just looking to get down near the bottom of the deeper, slower moving pools. Probably rarely over 8 feet deep. I guess my real question is the use of the polymer sink tip type 'leaders' on the end of a floating line. I'm sure casting is a little jerkier with a setup like this, but I wondered how well they work. If I'm better off using these or heavier streamed on a little longer leader to get them down a bit.

Railking,

Adding a lot of weight to a streamer and using a long leader probably wouldn't be as easy as casting and fishing the tapered poly leaders for the type of fishing you describe above. I use poly leaders to get my streamers down all the time. Just use a straight, stout leader 3-4' long and adjust your casting stroke and you should be fine.

 

[Railking]

Afish, do you use a loop to loop on the poly leaders or nail knot them? I just wondered how the loop to loop would go through the guides. Then again, if I'm only using a 4 or 6 foot sink head, it probably wouldn't ever really need to go through the guides.

 

[afishinado]

Railking wrote:
Afish, do you use a loop to loop on the poly leaders or nail knot them? I just wondered how the loop to loop would go through the guides. Then again, if I'm only using a 4 or 6 foot sink head, it probably wouldn't ever really need to go through the guides.

Polyleaders usually have a loop on the upper end to attach to the fly line loop. On the tippet end the polyleader ends with a short mono section. I tie a perfection loop onto the tippet end to attached my tippet. Keep it short, like 3-4' to keep your fly near the bottom.

 

[midnightangler]

Those sinking heads are not real durable in my experience, and they hinge pretty bad because there isn't any taper between the sinking part and the fly line.

I prefer to fish big waters with a full sink. I prefer to fish small streams with a floating line and a tungsten weighted streamer to get the fly deep more quickly. The sink-tips are great for wade fishing medium size streams because the line doesn't tangle around your feet as much as a full sink will. You will have better hooksets with a full sink, especially at long distances.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

I have a sink tip for most of my outfits. I think that in the type of fishing,in this case the Tribs, that I do I can get my flies down better with a sink tip. I do use sinking or poly leaders as well. GG

 

[Railking]

Thanks guys. I'm going to give the poly leaders a try. If that's not my cup of tea, I guess I'll just have to convince my better half that I need that new 6 weight and all that goes along with it for streamer fishing.

 

[krayfish]

I got one of those t-14 tips on eBay. Casting it sucks big time. Tom gave me a poly leader a few years back and it will sink a streamer a little. I know they make the in super fast sink @ 5-6 ips. I've been in the same boat as you. I think I'm going to end up with a cheap reel and a 10' Rio streamer tip in the type that is 6 ips sink rate. Going to try underlining a 6 with 5 wt streamer tip. I figure between the heavy line and a muppet baby it should be heavy enough to work the rod correctly. I wll contact sage first though.

 

[jdaddy]

One thing to keep in mind is the sink speed versus the stream current speed. It takes a loooong time for a sinking line to drag an unweighted streamer down to 8'. Cast well above your targeted area to allow time to get the streamer down.

 

[Chaz]

The two are used for different applications by most anglers, sink tip for streams and rivers where you have pretty fast water and you want to sink the fly deep fast, and sinking lines for lakes where there is no flow or only a little current where you just have to get the fly deep.

There is a crossover for both where they will both do what you want , but generally sink tips for streams and sinking lines for lakes.

Keep in mind when casting it's a very different feel, you really have to feel the fly line extend behind you and in front of you before your motion starts again, in other words a complete stop so the line extends, then motion. You will feel it and it is very different from any other casting.

 

[cwwbell]

I fish streamers a lot and use a sink tip pretty often in pretty skinny water without issues, either an add-on sink tip or a sci anglers sinking tip line. I'm moving toward wanting a full sink and an intermediate to add to the arsenal. The issue I typically find is that the sink tip is a bit too short and i end up mending the floating portion too often. My oracle for all things streamer related is Kelly Galloup, who I think recommends a full sink for roughly the same reason.

 

[boychick]

The poly leaders are decent, Rio makes a similar product, but I can't remember what its called. The 6-7 ips poly leaders are good. Try adding a conehead as a bullet weight, if you need a little more weight to get you down. Slip the cone onto the tippet, tie the fly to the tippet with a non-slip mono loop, and slide the cone down over the knot so it is resting on the eye of the hook. I generally carry brass and tungston cones in addition to the poly leader to get a fly deeper. Cast slightly up stream and give it a big mend to get tension off of the fly so it will freely sink before the current grabs the line. This will get you down fast for those deep pools.

 

[Railking]

I got to try out the add on sink tips this past weekend. For all the streamer fishing I do, I think they're the right choice for me. The get my fly down deep fast. The do hinge pretty bad while casting but it is what it is. Hell, I don't cast all that gracefully with anything on the end of my line so it's not all that different.

 

[afishinado]

Railking wrote:
I got to try out the add on sink tips this past weekend. For all the streamer fishing I do, I think they're the right choice for me. The get my fly down deep fast. The do hinge pretty bad while casting but it is what it is. Hell, I don't cast all that gracefully with anything on the end of my line so it's not all that different.

Try using a Tension Cast aka Belgian Cast for poly leaders:

http://midcurrent.com/techniques/the-belgian-cast/