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Piker20

What do folk use.

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I'm interested in what the majority have settled on for additional weight on their flies. So dumbell eyes or cones or lead wraps.

Using sinking lines and fluro leaders into 2-5m depths what have most people found the best balance of weight on the fly.

 

I'll be using a #10 rod.

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Pike I assume.

 

I prefer a really fast sink tip -- like the SA fast sink models, short leaders and no weight. Bulky synthetic heads and sparse tails on the flies to get max aside to side movement.

 

I hate heavy flies coming back at me at 100 mph. Also hard on rods.

 

Rocco

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Ah no, salt water species. (why I posted on the salt section ;))

So line alone doesn't really get the flies down in a swell.

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Over the years I've weighted flies by a few different means -bead chain eyes for a little sinking effect, lead eyes (of every size) for when I want the bug to drop noticeably, and even cone heads (only a few attempts with those so haven't formed an opinion..), and finally lead wire (but I'm using lead a bit differently than most - I'll explain later...). My most important tool for fishing deeper waters (usually no more that 11 or 12 deep in small rivers) is a full intermediate fly line that we count down until it's at the desired depth - sink tip or intermediate tipped lines don't work well at all since once you start stripping the fly rises out of the strike zone. With a full intermediate line a big, bushy fly with medium to large bead chain eyes stays right down on the bottom - almost all the way back to the skiff.... This technique is simply deadly on big tarpon holding up inside rivers right on the bottom and equally well in shallow bays where the big girls are laying on the bottom in only 4 to 6 feet of water (you just start stripping that intermediate line a bit sooner...I've been having quite a bit of difficulty posting photos -but here's a pic or two of the flies we're using with this "system"...

9rpjl3t.jpg

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04k2Hm9.jpg

aFMWjyq.jpg

 

The first three flies are six to seven inches long on Owner Aki 4/0 hooks (with wire weedguards.) and fished with a 12wt using a six foot butt section of 60lb mono looped to a leader that's about four feet overall (the bitter end is 80lb fluoro -12" for a bite tippet - big tarpon have lips like 40grit sandpaper...). We also use a 10wt for fish under 60lbs, tossing slightly smaller versions on 2/0 hooks with only a 60lb bite tippet... The last fly, a Silhouette, (one of my signature patterns) is on a 1/0 Owner Aki hook and has taken everything that swims when small white bait (usually pilchards) is the forage that fish is gorging on. In shallow waters we use it with a floating line - for deeper presentations a 10wt with that intermediate line. My personal best snook, 23 lbs, was taken on one - and my last tarpon video that was a 70 to 80lb fish on one - using only a 10wt rod....

 

I do have friends that fish fly in blue water and go deep - they never use weighted flies, simply setting up with full length super sinking lines that they allow to drop down their full length then work big flies back up to the surface... Lots of work doing that - but you can hook up with some big reef fish and big pelagics with this routine. This wouldn't be possible at all without very specialized gear... They're using really heavy rods that are barely able to cast a fly line but work well for lifting big fish during a long fight... They also have as much as 500 yards of backing in 65lb super braid....

 

 

Back to using lead wire.. I'm fond of using square lead wire in .040 size. Instead of wrapping it around the hook shank I simply use a small pair of nippers to cut off pieces of the wire (starting with 1/2" segments then going longer or shorter depending on the sink rate desired... In use I lay down a course of thread on the bare hook shank, then tie in a section or two of the lead wire along the shank (on whatever side is desired - usually opposite the hook point side for a keel effect that promotes the fly riding hook point up during the retrieve... If you carefully taper the ends of each piece of wire with those nippers (or a really sharp, strong pair of scissors) the lead seems to blend right into the hook shank. It's then covered by diamond braid or whatever you're using for the body of the fly...

 

Here's a pic or two...

yLpY2iu.jpg

Only one of the top three colors of these Big Eye Bendbacks is weighted and you can't tell just by looking at them... Only by handling can you determine which are weighted and which ones aren't.... The white flies are Night flies and have no weight at all...

 

All of these Slinkys are weighted along the keel...

6N4neKI.jpg

 

rHwxhc1.jpg

This is the original - called the Natural Slinky - a pretty good shallow water redfish pattern.... on a 1/0 bent Mustad 34007 hook. Although the pattern is weighted it's used with a floating line in very shallow waters where reds are tailing or ghosting along up inside the backcountry of the Everglades (and in a few weeks as it cools off we'll be sgiht-fishing them...

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Captn Bob, great reply. I have been using a home made shooting head from a Di7 line with mono running line. Sinks down quick and horizontal and the mono line cuts down well. I'm looking at some of the airflo sniper Di7 lines but the full line is a bit of work.

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I know...

 

Forgot to mention, those first three pics are of the Tarpon Snake - one of my royalty patterns that is also in demand as a pike and musky fly (it also tears up Giant Trevally over in the Pacific..). Umpqua Feather Merchants lists it as the Pike Snake fly - but only does it in size 3/0... in several colors including red/white... Guess I shouldn't complain as long as I keep getting those small royalty checks... If I had to choose only one color for it - the all black and variations in mostly black would be my first choice (fl. green / black - fl. pink / black - red / black, etc.). Umpqua serves fly shops around the world so any of them might order it and keep them in stock.

 

Let me know if it works for you if tie up a few - we've hooked tarpon up to 150lbs on them (notice I didn't say we'd landed any....). All of the feathers used to tie it are simply wide, webby saddles (for both the tail - 8 saddles and the body/collar - 3 saddles - all with as much of the fluff left on each saddle as possible (that's what gives the maribou appearance.... The eyes are large bead chain (the same size that used for the pull cords on vertical blinds - almost everywhere.

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Ill give them a try. Plenty of webby feathers in stock. Nights have drawn in quick so plan to get back to tying this winter.

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2 to 5m with sinking line.... just dumbbells... if needing to get down quivk larger etes the better...

 

For deeper water to say 10m, we also use 0 and 00 ball sinkers in a loop knot. And i also carry split shot.

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2 to 5m with sinking line.... just dumbbells... if needing to get down quivk larger etes the better...

 

For deeper water to say 10m, we also use 0 and 00 ball sinkers in a loop knot. And i also carry split shot.

What are you casting the flies with drilled bullets on? Have you added the bullets ahead of the leader or in a loop off the fly itself?

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