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As for floating versus sinking line, the smart lake angler should always go out with a good assortment of sinking lines first, though most don't. And it is here that one of the most obvious equipment differences between river and lake fishers takes place. I would hazard to guess that the vast majority of fly fishermen in the United States don't even own a sinking line. Many have never even seen, let alone used one. And if they have it's probably a hybrid floating line with a sinking tip. Full sinking lines are just not very popular. The reason for this is two fold. First, river fishermen seldom need or even want a full sinking line. In most streams you just don't need to achieve the depths full sinking lines give you. In fact, they are frequently more of a hindrance than a help due to the shallowness of the water being fished. A full sinking line would forever be snagged on bottom rocks and such in most trout rivers. And since the majority of fly fishermen only fish rivers and streams, floating line rules the fly fishing world. Second, sinking lines require a bit more technique to handle correctly. They feel and load a rod differently when being thrown. They are difficult to pull off the water when picking up to make another cast, due to the fact that they are under rather than on top of the water. And most of all, the slack line will not float conveniently on top of the water when retrieved for another cast. Rather, sinking line will collect around feet and fins if your not careful when tubing. Or around rocks, weeds and bottom debris if wading the shoreline. In either case, constant hang ups when trying to re-cast discourage many from using sinking lines. Too bad, as lake fish, especially the larger ones, spend 95 percent of their time well below the surface. Hence, well out of depth range for fishermen using only floating line. If you are someone who stubbornly believes the only good fly line is a floating fly line, then gear up for night time fishing, for that is the one time when large still water trout can be caught consistently on floating line. But more on that later. When it comes to sinking lines, one also needs to consider the sink rate of the various lines. Now sink rate should not be confused with line weights. Line weight we talked about above and should always be matched with your rod manufactures recommendation. It's always posted on your rod. If your rod was built to handle a 6 weight line for instance, then you should only use a 6 weight line with it. But the sink rate of various lines depends on how dense the line manufacturer has made the line. Sinking lines are rated by how quickly they sink in inches per second (ips). Different line makers have their own way of designating the sink rate of their various lines. Cortland designates their lines by type. So a type 1 sinks more slowly than a type 2 and so on. Scientific Anglers uses the words Wet Cell but with the same general idea. Wet Cell 1 sinks at the slowest rate. Wet Cell 2 a bit quicker and so forth on up the latter. Due to marketing demands, line makers are always changing the names and availability of their sinking (and floating) lines. So though names and brand titles may change a bit, the principle stays the same. The denser the line the faster it sinks. The faster a line sinks, the deeper water an angler can fish with it. In a perfect world an angler would have all available lines for all different situations. But such really isn't necessary. An assortment of sinking lines which included a medium, fast and extra fast sinker should be able to match most conditions one would be likely to encounter. In my opinion, Intermediate or slow sinking lines-we called these slime lines when they first came out some years ago- have limited application. For if you want to fish a foot or two below the surface, a floating line with a weighted leader or fly will nearly always suffice. A discussion of lines would not be complete without talking about the subject of shooting heads -- also called shooting tapers. In simple terms, a shooting head is nothing more than a very short fly line. Whereas most floating fly lines are around 90 feet in length, most shooting heads are only about 30 feet or so. The back of the 30 foot head contains a loop that is used to attach it to the shooting line or running line as it is sometimes called. Running line is of small diameter and made to shoot through the guides with little friction. Thus creating extraordinarily long casts. In the past, running line was made out of all sorts of things. I recall my first running line was a flat monofilament called "Amnesia" because it was supposed to not coil or have any memory. Nice in theory, not in reality. Now days most running line is nothing more than a type of small diameter fly line. Usually around .030 in diameter. It may not shoot as far as the old monofilament amnesia but it tangles far less. The convenience of shooting heads is that an angler can have a single fly reel loaded with running line and backing. To the front of his running line is a loop so he can attach any number of different combinations of fly lines. All of which he carry's in a shooting head wallet no bigger than a bill fold. So you may have a floating, intermediate and sinking 1 thru 6 heads all in a wallet in your vest. All of them ready for a loop to loop connection with your running line. It's like having 8 fly lines ready to be quickly changed from one to another but on a single fly reel. The advantages of this type of set up are obvious. Say you're fishing deep with a #4 sinking line when a you notice fish cruising for migrating Damsel nymphs over a shallow weed bed. You simply pull out your shooting head wallet. Disconnect your #4 sinking line via the loop to loop connection. Carefully coil it up, placing it in one of the pockets of your head wallet. Pull out and uncoil your floating line head. Attach it via the loop to loop connection. Tie on a Damsel nymph and start fishing. All while in your tube. In the middle of the lake. Without ever having to waddle to shore or restring your line through the rod guides. Pretty slick huh? Well, kind of. The grey clouds in this silver lining are several fold. First, shooting heads throw and feel very different than regular full length lines. And that takes some getting used to. Second, that darn loop to loop connection always seems to be catching on a line guide, your tip top, or is invariably forever in the wrong spot when you go to make your cast. And third, when you get all 30 feet of the head out, you still have a pile of slack running line at your feet or on your tubes stripping apron. Modern day running line may not be "amnesia" but it still tangles with some frequency. This sudden stopping of your high powered perfect cast, half way to it's target when the tangled mess of running line hits the first rod guide does not make for happy anglers. Not to mention the time it takes to untangle the whole mess. Good technique on the retrieve by carefully laying down the slack running line in large, wide loops on you apron, will certainly help reduce tangles on the succeeding cast. So, are shooting heads for you? Well, they are certainly easier to carry than 5 different fly reel spools filled with your various sinking lines. And not having to re string your rod with each line change is a huge advantage. Especially in a tube or pontoon craft. Some anglers get around this by carrying 2 or more rods with them when they go out. If your in a boat, it makes since. But I love the intimacy and convenience of a float tube or pontoon craft. And I've never figured out a good way to carry more than one rod in a float tube. |
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