Sinking Lines

[sageboy]

Hey guys:
Just back from a flyfishing trip to South America where I was introduced to a "Teeny Nymph 200" sinking line. I had never fished sinking lines before & we did great with them. Got the streamer down quick to the depths where the fish were feeding. Wondering if anyone had ever tried these on the Hootch as the rivers we fished were of comparable size & depth. Any feedback appreciated.

[The Ole Man]

Welcome back sageboy
Been waiting for you to show back up here on the board and tell us about all those S.A. monsters you tied into. Give us some details. I've never used a full sink line. I'm just too lazy to want to pull the whole thing out of the water for another cast. I use the lead core mini-sink tips and quick-sink tips that loop on to a floating line to make a sink tip out of a floater. Works real well. Still leaves some of the line on the water for easier pick up. Let us hear about your trip.

[Drifter]

SB,

Good to see you back on the Board.
Hope your trip was the best.

Drifter

[Kent]

Sageboy -

Let's hear some more about that S.A. trip.

Teeny is a great line, basically a sinking shooting head built on an intregral running line.. T-200 is a medium sink-rate, 5 or 6 inches per second.

I use sinking and sink-tip lines a good bit these days. I used to hear what a pain it was having to retrieve entire line, etc. First experience was with intermediate sink line with tarpon guide in Keys - he used it to get just under surface and eliminate wave/wind action on line. `Works good on windy lakes too, as floater will "belly" in wind, and strikes are difficult to detect. You don't actually have to retrieve full line to recast, as a roll cast with short line out will pull line up and load rod in the process (`tho retrieving back to boat is not bad idea - that's where you catch a lot of fish). And a sinking line actually easier to cast in wind because of smaller diameter. Get the "density-compensated" type.

In rivers I generally use sink tip. Fast sink tip & very short leader will get down pretty quick (I don't often use loop-on type as they unbalance regular line badly and I hate the way they cast). Also fish poppers in lake on sink tip with longer leader - interesting action as they dive on retrieve and float back up on stop, plus I can fish deep, just under surface by retrieving as soon as fly hits water, or on top. A

I use full sink lines in rivers when current is raging and especially if I'm fishing long over-and-across drifts. For shorter upstream casts I prefer sink-tip as floating section acts as strike indicator. In lakes or slower rivers where fish are very deep, full sinks may be the only way to get deep enough.

Another advantage of sink or sink-tip lines is that you can get deeper with lighter flys which often have a more life-like movement, and you don't have to chuck-and-duck an ounce of lead.

All that being said, I still love to put the floating line back on and fish the dry or the popper. It's just that I like catching fish best, and often a sinker will do that best.

Kent
Flyfishing West Georgia
kje.home.mindspring.com (http://kje.home.mindspring.com)

[sageboy]

Thanks for the feedback on sinking line guys. Kent, you should write a book on them as I feel like an expert after reading your reply. Ole Man you asked for details so here they come:

Four full days fishing on the Collon Cura River. It's a big river but it's middle of summer & there is a drought going on so the river is way down. Fished sinking lines w/wooly buggers & streamers in size 4-6. We're fishing about 15 miles from the Chilean border & you can see the Andes & the snow capped Lenon volcano over your shoulder. Fish averaged about 16" w/most of them being rainbows and an occasional brown. Counted fish on one day and I wound up with 49. Worked my butt off to catch that 50th fish but my partners kept moaning that they were hungry & wanted to get back to the lodge.
Anyway 49 fish was probably a little above average for a day on that river. My big fish was a 22" rainbow & a 20" brown. My partner caught a 24" brown & as soon as the pictures are developed I'll try & post some.

We then moved to the San Huberto Lodge on the Malleo River. This was a much slower stream & classic dry fly fishing. I used my 4 wt SP w/5 & 6X tippets to throw size 16-20 dry flies. It was just what the Dr. ordered after heaving that 6 wt w/full sinking line for 4 days. Probably averaged 15 fish a day on the Malleo but it was the best part of the trip. Spotting those big trout, properly presenting a dry fly to them & watching them take it was a rush. Big fish on the Malleo was an 18 1/2" rainbow. Lost a monster on the Malleo. I never turned him & he snapped my 5X tippet. I'll always have that 10 second memory though & he's probably much bigger in my imagination than he actually was. All fishing was catch & release. I know for sure that we killed 3 fish on the trip & they take it serious when that happens. They have a great fishery there & with the tourist income it is starting to generate, they are trying to protect it.

Anyway it was a great trip. Ate like kings, saw wild boar, eagles, red stag, mountain goats, parrots, eagles & the southern cross. Fell in love with the country & the people. I'm still trying to figure out if Argentinan women are prettier than other women or if it just seems that way because they bare so much flesh. The trip cost a bundle, (more if you include the Valentine's Day earrings I bought my wife for letting me go) but it was worth it. What are you gonna do, take it with you?

P.S. Mary Ann, if you read this post honey, I was only kidding about the Argentinan women.

[HNeal]

Kent,
I usually use a dropper rig or a strike indicator with a nymph on a floating line. How do you detect a strike on a sink tip? I understand when retrieving in still water but in a river??

[Kent]

Sageboy - some trip! We're all drooling (the "Dirty" Ole Man, especially).

HNeal -
Strike detection with sink-tip upstream in current is not always easy. But because the sink-tip gets down quicker and you use a shorter leader/tippet (usually 24-36"), you have a more direct connection with the fly. It's not necessary to throw as much slack into the line to let the fly get down deep with sink-tip. The floating section of the line also functions much like a strike indicator. If it pauses, bumps or just "looks funny", you set the hook. It's kinda one of those things you just have to try yourself as it's altogether different from fishing the floater.

Kent

[The Ole Man]

sageboy
I don't know what excited me most about your trip, the Argentine women or the fishing. Can you take this trip with fishing as an option to the "sight seeing" http://www.georgia-outdoors.com/ubbngto/smile.gif Sounds like you had a great time. Read Frederico Boxacas posts on the board. He's in a lodge /fishing operation in Chile. Got some kind of toothy b****type fish ripping up his foam poppers. Ole Man

Jack

[Drifter]

The Ole Man types:
"Got some kind of toothy b****type fish ripping up his foam poppers."

There is a mangrove flat about 20 miles south of Islamarada where I encounter the same problem, only they're barricuda. Matter of fact I'm headed that way in April. I'd appreciate any pointers on flyrodding the flats in the Keys. I'll be taking a small boat to fish the mangroves. I need imput on fly patterns, techniques, etc. I've been quite successful with the spinning rod, but now I want to try these fish on the flyrod.

Of course your deceiver will get an ample workout. I'm gonna make a Fishhawk run this week to pick up some salt water hooks. I plan to do some tying next week.

Thanks for any imput from the NGTOers.

Drifter

[The Ole Man]

Drifter
If you received the program /newsletter/paper from the Shallow Water Show, Lefty Kreh has a good article in that about fishing for Barracuda. Lot of good tips. Like never stop moving the bait. He says if it ever stops in front of them they won't touch it. Don't know -never tried it. You can order the program at the Castlow site that you provided in a previous post. They sent it in about two days. Probably still time to get it . If not, you can get one at the show. Are you going to the Primer? Hope to see you there. Go up to Events on the board and answer my question. No one wants to tell me and J Byrd how to get there
BTW-when Johnnie Walker gets through helping with your flies, could you send him to my house? Jack