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Sinking lines


Jim Wright

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Jim,

how deep are we talking here and how quickly do you want it to get down? Can you get by with a sinking TIP line rather than a full sinking line? I hate casting full sinking lines, difficult for one to pick up and get out when one's technique and timing are less than stellar such as mine.

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Sinking lines are not hard to cast properly. Most of the line must be stripped in The short line remaining is than roll cast to make it airborne.Begin casting before the line falls back to the water preferably with a haul.This single cast should take the line out a good distance. The weight of a full sinker precludes false casting.

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Guest rich mc

I have a sinking line and use it at shabbona in the summer. see if your rod can handle it you may need to use the sink tip over the full sinking depending on the flex of the rod. stiffer rod is better for the full sink rich mc

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For those that use a sinking tip line a lot, if you tend to over line your rod by a single weight with your floating lines, ( 6 wt. line on a 5 wt. rod), do you find you like to over line the same with your sinking tip lines? I realize it would probably depend on the particular line and rod but just trying to get a general feel or mild consensus here.

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Just the opposite, Rob. Rich's comment on fast rods bears on this too. When casting full sink lines one backcast & shoot works best. The line shoots easily & far because its heavy & small, wind resistant. If casting a medium action rod go down one line wight. The old rod designations used to be 5/6 or 9/10 the larger would be for floating the smaller for sinking.

Jim the feel won't be the same on grass. I have a number of full sink lines on reels/spools. They are specialized & you won't be casting one all day. What rod & wt. are you looking to try?

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Just the opposite, Rob. Rich's comment on fast rods bears on this too. If casting a medium action rod go down one line wight. The old rod designations used to be 5/6 or 9/10 the larger would be for floating the smaller for sinking.

 

 

Those old line designations, would that be applicable to a sinking tip line or only a full sinking line? In other words, do you underline a sinking tip line as well ?

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No, the sink tip casts about like a full floating line. I often use the sinking leader sections instead of a sink tip & that setup casts well & allows you to change your leader only to go back to floating. I think sink tips work better in flowing water but full sink does much more in still water. Pickups & hooksets feel mushy on a long cast fished deep in lakes. It can get you down to the fish when you have to. When you are regularly trying to fish 15' or deeper spinning is more efficient to work the water column.

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When using sink tip, the tip should be at least 2x the water depth (e.i. in 10 fow, the sink tip should be 20' or more). Integrated sink tips come in a variety of lengths (12, 15, 20, 33,35). I believed the longest integrated sink tip in the market today is 35' which would allow you to fish up 15 fow (or maybe 20 fow) effectively.

 

On the added-on vs integrated sink tip line, these are some of the issue one should consider:

 

1. How the line would shoot thru the guides. For only 10-15' of sink tip, this is not an issue for the added-on, because the attached section would be outside the rod tip most of the time. The integrated sink tip line would definitely shoot better when you have 20' or longer tip.

 

2. Transfer of energy. Integrated sink tip lines are engineered to have a smooth transfer of energy from the floating line section out to the sink tip section. Again, on short sink tip line, this is not a big issue,, but on a longer sink tip if not well matched between the floating and sink tip line, I'd experienced both kicked back and crashed landing. A kicked back in when the fly-line rolls out and the the end of the roll, the tip bounces back and causing a pile-up. A crashed landing is when the tip of the fly-line piles-up and crashes, because of not enough energy to roll it all the way out. However, with time and practice, these issues can be over come.

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I am considering a 7wt. I believe that my rod is fast enough to handle the full sink. A 9' 7 wt St Croix Imperial series.

Jim, you'll be fine with a 7wt sink tip or a 7wt full sinking line. The St Croix Imperial will be able to handle both type of lines. If you do choose to go with a sink tip, I'd highly recommend a Type 5 and 20-25' sink tip.

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