Floatants

[Piker20 0]

Hi folks. For people using Scotchguard to soak their dry flies, which scotch guard are you using? Any one of the protector range or the more specific outdoor fabric version?

 

And folk using Albolene, do you apply it every trip or does it last a few sessions? I believe it is a similar consistancy as Gink?

 

Has anyone introduced a jelly/liquid floatant onto their tying thread in place of dubbing wax and if you have do the flies float any better than before?

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Piker, can't answer most except for the Abolene. It lasts a pretty long time but it depends on how many fish it takes and how long you fish it. As for the consistency, it depends on the temperature. At room temperature, it is kind of like vasoline. On a summer day, it turns to liquid. I had put some in a little smap lid container to keep in my fly bag and when I went to use it one summer day, half of it leaked out and it was clear liquid. That shit floats a deer hair bug like a cork. Hell, I've even used it to grease a ram's wool streamer to make it float and gurgle until you give it a hard strip to pull it under and work it just below the surface.

 

Kirk

[Piker20 0]

Cheers Kirk. The Albolene is cheap when you think how much you could dispense into smaller tubs.

[SilverCreek 0]

Hi folks. For people using Scotchguard to soak their dry flies, which scotch guard are you using? Any one of the protector range or the more specific outdoor fabric version?

 

And folk using Albolene, do you apply it every trip or does it last a few sessions? I believe it is a similar consistancy as Gink?

 

Has anyone introduced a jelly/liquid floatant onto their tying thread in place of dubbing wax and if you have do the flies float any better than before?

 

I use the old Scotch Guard formula in the green can before they had one for the red can for fabrics, blue can for carpets, white spray bottle, etc. Spray it in to a glass bottle with a metal lid and dip the flies in, then allow to air dry on a paper towel. The current chemical in Scotch Guard is totally different.

[Piker20 0]

The current chemical in Scotch Guard is totally different.

 

So scotch guard out of the equation unless I can find an ancient bottle? I wondered if the fabric one would be ok.

[oldtrout58 0]

DrLogik did some good work on the subject. I don't think Grant would mind if I posted his link.

 

http://www.drlogik.com/flyfloatants.html

[SilverCreek 0]

The current chemical in Scotch Guard is totally different.

 

So scotch guard out of the equation unless I can find an ancient bottle? I wondered if the fabric one would be ok.

 

My understanding is that the older Scotch Guard worked better than the new. You can try the new stuff and see if it works. You can also try silicone outdoors fabric spray that is used to waterproof tents.

[mikechell 0]

DrLogik did some good work on the subject. I don't think Grant would mind if I posted his link.

 

http://www.drlogik.c...yfloatants.html

 

I did "Ray Bergman's Formula".

I used one "tea light" candle in a small jelly jar of lighter fluid. It works extremely well on the deer hair flies. They float, dive and pop wonderfully, for about 15 minutes of non-stop cast and retrieve fishing. After that, it starts to get a little soggy. If you get a fish on, it will last about half as long before starting to settle deeper into the water. I would shake off water, set the fly out for a minute in the sun, dip it back in the jar. It wouldn't quite last as long the second time, but it would still float for another ten minutes or so.

I think it's great, and tea lights are about 50 cents a piece or less ... lighter fluid is less than three bucks for about two jars worth of the dip.

[Piker20 0]

I think it's great, and tea lights are about 50 cents a piece or less ... lighter fluid is less than three bucks for about two jars worth of the dip.

 

Gonna be a dumb question but are you melting the candle into the fuel or just popping a whole candle into a jar of fuel?

 

Oldtrout58 thats a good link. Does make you wonder why this has never been made commercial. Guess its too volatile for thousands of anglers world to carry on their vests.

[mikechell 0]

I sliced it up to make smaller pieces, but I didn't melt it. It took about 5 minutes to dissolve into the naptha. When it's cold, the solution is white, and it leaves a lot more wax on the fly ... when it's warm, it's clear. I do have to warn you all though. If you've got marabou or other fine feather material, the wax will stick it all together. When I dip my hair bugs, I hold the "moving" part of the fly, the tail feathers and dip just the head.

 

Check out the effect on your flies before you go dipping every favorite bug you have in there.

[kentuckytroutbum 0]

I carry a small spray can of WD40 in my vest, and spray my dries & emergers with it. Works great and the fish don't seem to mind. Lasts a long time dunking your flies in the water.

 

Bill

[Jim M 0]

DrLogik did some good work on the subject. I don't think Grant would mind if I posted his link.

 

http://www.drlogik.com/flyfloatants.html

 

 

So, now I'm wondering what all those floatants containing solvents do to the head cement so meticulously applied to the flies. Gink seems like almost pure silicone paste.

[perchjerker 0]

In a feeble attempt to minimize possible confusion, Dr.Logik has a minor error in his chemistry. Naphtha, Coleman lantern fuel and white gas are NOT the same thing. Coleman fuel, high octane gasoline, lighter fluid, and white gas are all COMPONENTS of Naphtha. Naphtha is what you would get if you bought some of each of the others and mixed them together. What, perhaps, he should have said is that 'anyone of the following will work'. Gasoline as we use it in our vehicles is basically naphtha with each refiners 'special' additives added to it. (You know, to 'get the Tiger hair out of your carburetor'.

 

Cheers!

[mikechell 0]

I used lighter fluid ... after it dries, there seems to be no aroma. There are additives in gasoline to make it aromatic, basically so people won't die in their car if they have a leak. Those aromatic compounds will give your fly a "scent" that will probably not be attractive to fish.

 

Oh, I tried acetone before buying the lighter fluid ... paraffin wax does NOT dissolve in acetone.

[Piker20 0]

As of yet, no ones used products in the actual tying process? I wondered if I gink the thread it might help buoyancy without adding too many foam or extras to fly.