what sink rate?

[sniksoh 0]

i bass fish in still water and not usually over ten feet of water. i just bought a new reel and i want to put sinking line on it cause my other one has floating line on it. but i have never used sinking line and i know nothing about it. so i need your input. i am kinda thinking about getting aline that sinks 2 inches per second. cause most of my hits are when the fly has stopped and is sinking verry slowly...but i also like to fish craw patterns on the bottom...

 

what do you think

[David Legg 0]

i bass fish in still water and not usually over ten feet of water. i just bought a new reel and i want to put sinking line on it cause my other one has floating line on it. but i have never used sinking line and i know nothing about it. so i need your input. i am kinda thinking about getting aline that sinks 2 inches per second. cause most of my hits are when the fly has stopped and is sinking verry slowly...but i also like to fish craw patterns on the bottom...

 

what do you think

 

That sounds like a great line for a still water application. If you need to get your fly down faster, you can weight the fly, or weight the leader ahead of the fly. With a longer leader, it will tend to work with the slower sinking line quite well, and you need a longer leader for still water, generally. Remember, if you have a weighted fly, it will generally be deeper than the end of your line, but ideally, you have a relatively even slope from where the line enters the water to the fly. In practice, it won't be perfect, but will tend to work that way generally. If you were on a stream, and you needed any real depth, you would need a faster sinking line. I usually cast, then count down before starting my retrieve. That way, once I find the level of the fish, I can hit it again with the same count. It becomes another axis to consider in your search pattern... right/left, near/far, shallow/deep.

[sniksoh 0]

i usually just guess on my leader length what length should i be using...i dont even know if i use an actaul leader i have just been attaching 10 pound test mono to my fly line.

 

is this wrong to do...what are your thoughts

[David Legg 0]

i usually just guess on my leader length what length should i be using...i dont even know if i use an actaul leader i have just been attaching 10 pound test mono to my fly line.

 

is this wrong to do...what are your thoughts

 

Looks like you are fishing still water in Iowa with crayfish patterns... largemouths I presume?

You will get better energy transfer and smoother delivery if you use a tapered leader. The leader has a relatively thick butt section that wants to straighten out, and as the leader tapers down, it will be more supple. I would probably go with a 9 foot 3x leader with about three feet of 4x tippet for your application to start out. You could use a longer tippet section when you get used to that. I think that will serve you well, but you could run heavier if you like. It will have about half or a little less that half the break strenth of your current mono 10 pound, depending on the specifics of that line, and the specific tippet material you choose. But it will be strong enough when you get accustomed to it, I believe. If you hang up a lot, or if you are going after very large fish, those would be the main reasons to go heavier.

[sniksoh 0]

largemouths yes but not just crayfish patterns. i will try what you have explained. its probably going to take some getting used to it doesnt take a very big largemouth to snap 10 pound test, so ill probably be snapping line left and right when i first start with it...

[David Legg 0]

largemouths yes but not just crayfish patterns. i will try what you have explained. its probably going to take some getting used to it doesnt take a very big largemouth to snap 10 pound test, so ill probably be snapping line left and right when i first start with it...

 

You might... but the key is to keep your tip high, and let the flexibility of your rod blunt the sudden runs and head shakes of the more aggressive fish. When they run from you suddenly, the soft rodtip will flex easily, and give you time to sweep the rod down to allow the fish to run, then raise the rod again as the fish slows. If you are breaking line easily, you either have the drag set too high on the reel, or you are applying to much pressure to the spool (same thing, different way of increasing line tension) or you are bringing too much pressure with the rod. I have landed a large number of trout over four pounds in still water, as large as eight pounds, stillwater carp up to ten pounds, and a number of river largemouths and smallmouths up to five pounds with a lighter tippet than that. It's just a matter of getting used to using the rod to your advantage to tire the fish and keep your line from breaking. When you start understanding how to work the rod, you will find your landing ratio soaring. BTW... I almost always have my drag set to its very loosest setting on all my reels and use my palm to brake the spool... personal preference, but it works well for me. I would not be so bold if I were fishing salmon or bonefish... they run too fast for me. I would probably be using my adjustable drag to help me out then.

[ChuckingFluff 0]

What weight rod are you putting it on? Sinking line is a b!tch to cast on a lighter weight rod; not much fun on a large rod either. I fish similar water for largies and I use a 5wt with floating line a 8 foot airflow sinking leader and florocarbon line to get the fly down. works well and is not too bad to cast. Depending on your rod weight have you considered an intermediate line?

[onceahoosier 0]

I have two sinking lines for bass fishing, a #2 and a #4. For shallow water like you are fishing I'd suggest a #2 or maybe #3 sinker. These lines will allow you to get down to the depth you want by "counting down" the sink time but still retrieve relatively slowly if you want. Good luck.

 

Tom

[smallieFanatic 0]

Sink tip or full? I use a sink tip a TON in my bass fishing. I fish a deep lake though, usually. It is invaluable for my fishing!

[David Legg 0]

What weight rod are you putting it on? Sinking line is a b!tch to cast on a lighter weight rod; not much fun on a large rod either. I fish similar water for largies and I use a 5wt with floating line a 8 foot airflow sinking leader and florocarbon line to get the fly down. works well and is not too bad to cast. Depending on your rod weight have you considered an intermediate line?

 

There is some truth to that, but it's not a matter of balance. It's in picking up the line from the water. With a floating line, it's no big deal to snatch 30 feet or more of line from the surface, and lay it back down again. With a sinking line, you need to strip most of it in, so that you can lift the line from the water, and then you might have to use a couple of false casts to get all the line you want in the air again. The weight of line will still feel the same (more or less... different lines load the rod differently in any case, depending on how they are designed) and will properly load the rod so long as it is properly matched to the weight of the rod.

[onceahoosier 0]

Sink tip or full? I use a sink tip a TON in my bass fishing. I fish a deep lake though, usually. It is invaluable for my fishing!

 

I use full sinking lines mostly for subsurface fishing. I don't have any sink tip lines but I do have the Orvis sink tips I can add to my floaters (two five foot sections). I don' use them much.

[JSzymczyk 0]

I can't cast a sink tip worth a crap. I have several full sinking lines- "intermediate" 2ips to 8-10ips according to the mfg data. IMO if you want a line that SINKS, get one some where in the middle. A 2ips line is not a WHOLE lot different than fishing a floating line- I used that type a lot in the salt just to get under the chop and floating grass. If you want to get on the bottom, don't bother with a 2ips line, that's my opinion.

 

Unless they are wrapping you up in wood and stuff, you shouldn't be breaking off a lot of bass on a 10lb leader! I would suggest getting some new 10lb and doing a fair bit of knot tying practice. Just sounds as if something is wrong. I fished with some guys for bluegills who wouldn't use anything lighter than 8lb test because they said anything lighter just gets snapped by the big ones. I'd fish 2, 3, and 4 lb leader next to them all the time and not have any, even the big ones, break me off. They had issues tying a decent knot, so they broke easily. In REALLY heavy cover you might need it.

 

[Fishkill 0]

I like a type 1 or 2 in the surf depending on the chop. I dont know if this helps you. I own a quad tip fron sci ang and I love it. It casts good and when Im wading it only takes about 5 minutes to remove the tip, stow it, and replace it with a different one. The type 1 tip it came with is clear and freakin awesome when casting lightly weighted flys I want to fish in the 2-5ft range.

 

Although where I fish there is a lot of oyster shell. And the sinking tips have a tendancy to get small abrasions and scratches. I wonder If they would sell me extra clear tips? If I were to design a fly line it would probably have replacement tips but then again not many people fish in areas with mega oysters. And its only in the winter because in the summer we move to fish the sand and grass.. But if they dont then I guess its a good way to get you to buy ANOTHER line soon after purchasing and fishing the one you just bought after fishing it in the danger zone 5-6 trips. It would suck to have to buy a couple T1 lines every winter....$$$$. I do want to try the clear tip striper line(the blue one) form Sci Ang. Anyone try this one in warmer water? I know it would work in the winter.

[sniksoh 0]

what do you guys mean by intermediate?

 

the reason i wanted the slow sinking stuff is cause i want to be able to get that slow fall with worm flies and baitfish flies?

 

but what would you guys suggest a faster sinking line or a slower sinking line?

[JSzymczyk 0]

"intermediate" is kind of a generic term for a SLOW sinking line, in the 1 to 3 inches per second range, broadly speaking. You'll wait a LONG time to get 10 feet down with that line. If you want to be ON the bottom, get a fast sinker. You can let a slow sinking line sink for a long time to get there, and that gives you the versatility to fish at any level. Every one is a compromise of some sort, don't overthink it, and don't get too wound up about whether the line sinks 4 or 6 inches per second, it doesn't make that much difference. 2 ips and 10 ips IS a big difference though, and it is very noticeable.

 

Also, don't be afraid of going up one line size from you rod's rated weight on a sinking line.

 

Casting a sinking line is not the same as casting a floating line- the line in a given weight has roughly the same mass, but a sinking line will be smaller in diameter and USUALLY will end up casting "quicker" than a floating line. IMO a sinking line FEELS "heavier" because of less air resistance while casting. A sink tip line just screws me up and I cast horrible tailing loops all the time, but that's just me, and I've never been accused of being overly bright anyways.... :wallbash: