What household products can you use for fly line floatant.? I've heard of using beeswax or chapstick. Do you have any secret recipes.? Do these household products risk damaging your line.?
Homemade Line Floatant
- Thread starter Wetswinger
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No, just curious. I'm cheap, I have blocks of beeswax from my past beekeeping days..
Mike Bacca
Steelhead
I don't know about line flotant, but I have been using Vicks lip care for about 15 years now for fly flotant and nothing is better to me. Also quite cheaper than fly flotant and one tube lasted me about 8 years.
The first thing that I thought of with your use of Vicks is inadvertently getting this onto a wet fly (yes, I see "floatant"; floating line) and the possibility of that scent affecting the bite. (A friend of mine swears that lip balm oils transferred to his "plugs" negatively affects strikes - he's a plug pullin' dirt bag and fun to fish with.)
end of season I wash my lines, dry them, keep a cloth wetted with 333 Marine Aerospace Protectant and pull the line through...float like corks beginning of next season..we spend too much money on gear, gas and time to worry about saving a few buck with what connects us to the fish
I agree. I clean my lines after every outing and floaters get the SA treatment 2 to 3 times a year. Some toys only come out a couple times a year and I want them to work right. Several lines I fish date to the mid 70's and this regime keeps them in good shape.
I don't put anything else on my lines to help them float.
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I am terrible to my lines. That's probably why some of my older lines are so cracked. Well, lack of care plus ripping line off the reel while I am feeding line out during casting. My dry line on my favorite trout rod is now an extra slow sink hover intermediate. Still catches fish, though!
Bambooflyguy
Legend
A little off topic but if my dry line tip section starts to sink while fishing, a small dab of fly floatant wiped on works wonders!
every since I began fishing far more in lakes than rivers, my flylines just don't seem to wear out....guess those tight quarter backcast branch snares don't do flylines much good..
Nor does stepping on it on the gravel shore..
3/4”-1” chunk of paraffin (maybe possible to sub bees wax) shaved will dissolve into 1/2 cup white gas. Makes a serviceable floatant for flies and lines, but…
It smells horrible, is unsafe since you’re making dilute napalm, will probably cause cancer in the State of California, and is guaranteed to put petrochemicals directly into the water. But, it is a traditional diy floatant.
It smells horrible, is unsafe since you’re making dilute napalm, will probably cause cancer in the State of California, and is guaranteed to put petrochemicals directly into the water. But, it is a traditional diy floatant.
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How to Make a Beeswax Salve - Home Grown | Hand Gathered
Working in a greenhouse and on a farm where they go from wet to dry, dirty to scrubbed clean, and bitterly cold to warm throughout the day, my hands go through Hell in the Spring and often look like it. Regular lotions don't do much since they instantly get wiped or washed off, but I have found...
homegrownhandgathered.com
I'm making this with beeswax and canola oil. I'll give it a try and report back...
I have one floater designated for shore fishing lakes. Mud stained and trampled, it still floats for a couple hours. By then the fish are ready to see different flies anyways.
If you want to be even cheaper, Gink is just repackaged makeup remover.
I'll make a big batch and share with everyone!! HaHa! Not! I'm laughing at this post Jake.. but probably back on the FBI's list now.. probably never left it...
Lots of good people have been on/are on that list.I'll make a big batch and share with everyone!! HaHa! Not! I'm laughing at this post Jake.. but probably back on the FBI's list now.. probably never left it...