A morning with a sinking line

[Tom Butler]

In making a commitment to learning to fishing sinking lines and buggers like the other guys (and gals) I left the rod with a float at home, grabbed a 6wt and a ~44 yr old cortland 444 type 6 sink. I like this rod for my 10' s3 sink tip and it throws this well too. These are my only sinking lines.

Fished a few flies, and these were best.

Trolled place to place, but casting, kick out more line while counting 20-40 for sink, then retrieving was best. Counting strips to know when to lift and cast also,, I got to a point where I knew it would be coming up (about 20' out). a pause then stripping up got several.

Nothing big, but I got my share and did better than I have before. Pretty morning and good fishing before the bite died.

 

[Divad]

I’m addicted to the sinking line game, the eat is too good. Also you can match the yearlong ‘hatches’ deep down with that 6. Glad you got some fish on it, and nice flies to do it with

Some .02 you may already know that I wished I did getting into it: leader length is big for both movement and depth (moreso with weighted flies). Straight non-taper tippet to maintain predictable sink rates/stealth. 3x or 4x Fluoro. If must and to be economical one blood knot is okay, if you need two replace it.

 

[Tom Butler]

Went back out for a mid-afternoon session. Fished this black bugger on full sink, sink tip, back to the full sink. The full sink was way better. Sometimes I started my retrieve after a 5 or 10 count and then the hit came in a bit (not so deep), but usually the 30-40 count was best (about 15-20 feet? in 20-25 fow) Had this line a long time but have not fished it much. I have a feeling I may want a line between the two (Not sure I was covering mid-depths well), but really I'm not comfortable with this yet so I don't know. Retrieve was important, longer pulls got few, 3" at a time was money, seems to take forever to retrieve 60 some feet of line. Probably why trolling wasn't so good.
@Divad , thx. I used a short leader, about 6" 20# UG and 18" 10#UG then 2' 3x SA trout, with unweighted flies. I have issues getting my knots to hold with fluorocarbon, so I gave up on it. Weighted (beadhead) flies in the AM didn't do much.

 

[Brian Miller]

Counting strips to know when to lift and cast also,, I got to a point where I knew it would be coming up (about 20' out)

I am too "ADD" to count strips. I mark my sinking lines every 10' and the end of the head with Sharpies; 1 line @ 10', 2 lines @ 20'... silver on dark lines, black on light lines, wide contrasting color at the start of the head.
The fish don't seem to care and it hasn't hurt the lines.

 

[Tom Butler]

I am too "ADD" to count strips. I mark my sinking lines every 10' and the end of the head with Sharpies; 1 line @ 10', 2 lines @ 20'... silver on dark lines, black on light lines, wide contrasting color at the start of the head.
The fish don't seem to care and it hasn't hurt the lines.

That seems like a good idea. I noticed some lines have "hang markers". Now I get it.

 

[Brian Miller]

Sometimes I started my retrieve after a 5 or 10 count and then the hit came in a bit (not so deep), but usually the 30-40 count was best (about 15-20 feet? in 20-25 fow)

I have not fished lakes a lot so anything I say is blind conjecture. I want to do more lake fishing now with a nice tube and depth-fish finder, and hope I can learn how to apply the extra info I'm getting from the fish finder.
This may not even be applicable with modern lines but what "type" (ips) line were you using? This chart probably gives a ballpark of sink rates for the "type" lines I have for a countdown.

Countdown Chart for Sinking Lines

It's a good idea to make up a "Countdown Chart" for fishing your sinking lines. This was brought to my attention at Phil Rowley's Stillwa...

flyfishingtraditions.blogspot.com

One very lucky successful early spring (was snowing) club outing sometime back I was fishing maybe 300'+feet the launch at an unknown depth (guessing 8'-10' now looking at a bathymetric map) with a type IV line. I didn't know what I was doing but had success casting (lobbing) a #10 white bead bugger anchor or point fly and a #16 all black bead mayfly nymph dropper as far as I could and letting it settle on the (luckily snag-free) bottom. I did a hand twist retrieve. A few strips after my fly line was going straight down from the rod, I was hooking and landing 18" to 20" fish. I also hooked and landed a large fish on the bugger heading in for the day. But apparently a real slow/no fish day for the other (much more experienced) folks.

 

[Bagman]

Went back out for a mid-afternoon session. Fished this black bugger on full sink, sink tip, back to the full sink. The full sink was way better. Sometimes I started my retrieve after a 5 or 10 count and then the hit came in a bit (not so deep), but usually the 30-40 count was best (about 15-20 feet? in 20-25 fow) Had this line a long time but have not fished it much. I have a feeling I may want a line between the two (Not sure I was covering mid-depths well), but really I'm not comfortable with this yet so I don't know. Retrieve was important, longer pulls got few, 3" at a time was money, seems to take forever to retrieve 60 some feet of line. Probably why trolling wasn't so good.
@Divad , thx. I used a short leader, about 6" 20# UG and 18" 10#UG then 2' 3x SA trout, with unweighted flies. I have issues getting my knots to hold with fluorocarbon, so I gave up on it. Weighted (beadhead) flies in the AM didn't do much.

Try this Animated Knots iPhone app. if you have a iPhone this is a great app.

 

[Tom Butler]

I have not fished lakes a lot so anything I say is blind conjecture. I want to do more lake fishing now with a nice tube and depth-fish finder, and hope I can learn how to apply the extra info I'm getting from the fish finder.
This may not even be applicable with modern lines but what "type" (ips) line were you using? This chart probably gives a ballpark of sink rates for the "type" lines I have for a countdown.

Countdown Chart for Sinking Lines

It's a good idea to make up a "Countdown Chart" for fishing your sinking lines. This was brought to my attention at Phil Rowley's Stillwa...

flyfishingtraditions.blogspot.com

One very lucky successful early spring (was snowing) club outing sometime back I was fishing maybe 300'+feet the launch at an unknown depth (guessing 8'-10' now looking at a bathymetric map) with a type IV line. I didn't know what I was doing but had success casting (lobbing) a #16? all with a #10 white bead bugger anchor or point fly and a black bead mayfly nymph dropper as far as I could and letting it settle on the (luckily snag-free) bottom. I did a hand twist retrieve. A few strips after my fly line was going straight down from the rod, I was hooking and landing 18" to 20" fish. I also hooked and landed a large fish on the bugger heading in for the day. But apparently a real slow/no fish day for the other (much more experienced) folks.

I have some lake experience, but always did the same few things. Last two years I've been working on learning new tricks. Indicators are the bomb!!! Lakes have mostly been my "fill in" when the rivers are closed. Maybe because I just wasn't that good at lake fishing. But with how things are going, I don't think I'll mind the rivers are too full to fish this weekend.
That line is a type 6, 6-7 ips. I dragged bottom at a 50 count so I think it's about right. I just try deeper and deeper until the fish hit or I drag bottom. I have a pretty good map of the lakes I fish in my head after all these years. The deep part has just always intimidated me and I haven't dome well, and I don't like messing with 25' of leader under a bobber
Tim's book has given me more confidence to work at it with the fly rod too.

 

[Merle]

I’m addicted to the sinking line game, the eat is too good. Also you can match the yearlong ‘hatches’ deep down with that 6. Glad you got some fish on it, and nice flies to do it with

Some .02 you may already know that I wished I did getting into it: leader length is big for both movement and depth (moreso with weighted flies). Straight non-taper tippet to maintain predictable sink rates/stealth. 3x or 4x Fluoro. If must and to be economical one blood knot is okay, if you need two replace it.

Same here, I love the feel of a take down with a deeply sunken line trolling. Closest thing to the pull of a steelhead taking a wet fly on the swing.

That's probably the reason I can never get super excited about dry fly fishing. The tug is the drug.

-andy

 

[Brian Miller]

I have issues getting my knots to hold with fluorocarbon, so I gave up on it.

I began converting over to fluoro tippet several years ago, with first gen Airflo. At first I had a lot of knot failures at the fly with a curly que at the separation. More recently I've heard that the coating on modern FC has helped and also I found a fast - easier way to do a better improved clinch. Since I started fishing fixed line rods on rivers, I only use FC tippet. My mono leader to fc tippet and fc tenkara line to fc tippet blood knots never fail. I also began using the strong and easy to tie 16-20 Pitzen knot this year at the fly. I had an improved clinch knot failure with 6X last week at the tippet ring on the lake in the weeds (or an instant take - breakoff) but the Pitzen apparently held fast.

 

[Eastside]

Same here, I love the feel of a take down with a deeply sunken line trolling. Closest thing to the pull of a steelhead taking a wet fly on the swing.

That's probably the reason I can never get super excited about dry fly fishing. The tug is the drug.

-andy

I agree with the tug comment. Fished a lake near Spokane with sinking line. Didn’t catch many but they were big and fought like steelhead.

 

[Tom Butler]

I’m addicted to the sinking line game, the eat is too good. Also you can match the yearlong ‘hatches’ deep down with that 6. Glad you got some fish on it, and nice flies to do it with

Some .02 you may already know that I wished I did getting into it: leader length is big for both movement and depth (moreso with weighted flies). Straight non-taper tippet to maintain predictable sink rates/stealth. 3x or 4x Fluoro. If must and to be economical one blood knot is okay, if you need two replace it.

Same here, I love the feel of a take down with a deeply sunken line trolling. Closest thing to the pull of a steelhead taking a wet fly on the swing.

That's probably the reason I can never get super excited about dry fly fishing. The tug is the drug.

-andy

I agree with the tug comment. Fished a lake near Spokane with sinking line. Didn’t catch many but they were big and fought like steelhead.
View attachment 15407

I get it. That hard pull down deep. One came straight up after that pull, my lines still pointing to the bottom, line also running quickly out of my fingers, and then 2# of trout is 2' in the air 50' from me.

 

[Wayne Kohan]

Same here, I love the feel of a take down with a deeply sunken line trolling. Closest thing to the pull of a steelhead taking a wet fly on the swing.

That's probably the reason I can never get super excited about dry fly fishing. The tug is the drug.

-andy

I don’t get that feel at all. I love the steelhead take, nothing like it, but I don’t think a sinking line tug feels the same at all. Many of the hits seem like they are from behind and I’m not always sure I even have a fish on until I strip a few times. The similarity to a steelhead swing is that you have to be patient in lifting the rod. I just got back from a lake I fished today, I caught about 30 fish on a type 6 line, some trout, some smallmouth. But I still prefer fishing an indicator rig on lakes, but it was not working well today.

 

[Eastside]

I don’t get that feel at all. I love the steelhead take, nothing like it, but I don’t think a sinking line tug feels the same at all. Many of the hits seem like they are from behind and I’m not always sure I even have a fish on until I strip a few times. The similarity to a steelhead swing is that you have to be patient in lifting the rod. I just got back from a lake I fished today, I caught about 30 fish on a type 6 line, some trout, some smallmouth. But I still prefer fishing an indicator rig on lakes, but it was not working well today.

There is a difference between a dry line steelhead take and a skagit line and sink tip. The sink tip is somewhat similar to a hard grab on the sinking line. I agree there is nothing like the steelhead take, but the opportunities to pursue them have been very limited for the past couple of years.