sinking line

[jackinok]

I am just really starting to get into the basics of using a sinking line in my fishing .in fact I have never even seen one used!,but I really want to understand the basics of flyfishing since i'm finally getting some more time to do it.My question is ,why does it seem like every one of my old rod mfg's info seem to recommend going with the next heavier line weight when using a sinking line?such as a 8wt sinking or a 7wt floating.. all my real "FISHING" rods are bamboo or fiberglass,(really slow rods)i do have graphite rods in various wts but dont actually use them much.does this go back to the old silk lines we used to use where the oil or whatever used to treat floating lines might have added a certain amount of wt to a line?

[Diver Dan]

I have no idea why they would say go heavier. If I was to make a recommendation of anything other than what the rod is weighted for I would be more inclined to go one lighter. I have several different types of sinking lines. Sink tips, intermediate sinking, and full sinking lines. I have not gone heavier on any of them and have not once thought they might work better if they were heavier. The most radical sinking line I have is an Orvis WF-11-S fast sinking line. It goes to the bottom like like you're fishing with jigs. I put it on a 12 wt. rod and put line farther out than I really needed it. I think it really depends on what you want to do with it.

Next year I am going to Pipestone in Ontario with a Canadian friend of mine. We have been experimenting on what to get those Lake trout you spot on the graph at 70 - 80 feet deep. Here is what we came up with. [not actually my idea, a modified wreck fishing method] A thin mono running line and a Rio Leviathan shooting head. Roll cast the head out and start shaking the running line out of the rod. When it gets to the fish strip line in and make the fish rise and take it. This takes a 12 wt. just to roll cast it. The Orvis line as fast as it sinks was not good enough for the job.

Bottom line, it really depends on what you plan to do with it. If you are casting to fish that are really close to you heavier may be better. Casting for distance lighter will be better for it. You may need to experiment. Find someone that has the lines you are looking at and try them if you can. Don't just take their word on the one heavier thing, you may not be happy with it.

[jackinok]

I mistakenly posted this on the wrong forum ,sorry,I have never fished a sinking line or even seen one fished,but I was wondering why on nearly every rod specs I have found on my old bamboo or fiberglass rods,manufacturers almost invariably recommend stepping up one wt in size when fishing a sinking line? in other words a 7wt floating and a 8wt sinking .I'm going to try fishing some streamers for bass this spring and was curious.does this go back to when we fished silk fly lines and maybe the oils and things used as floatants would add wt?or just generally to get a fly deeper faster?shorter casts needed extra wt to load rod maybe?ive always wondered about this, it seemed almost universal years ago.

[jackinok]

thanks for the reply! ,(I posted this later over on the fly line forum Where it belongs obviously)I'm going to try to fish some sinking line with streamers for bass this next summer in some deeper water and was just curious.I agree with you on the weight but maybe the old specs i'm finding is for the old silk lines ,where the oils and things used for floatants added weight to line and load a rod easier?dont know.it always seemed strange to me but in the old literature it seems to be a almost universal recommendation.your probably right on trying different lines.All of my rods are so old and slow you can start your back cast and eat half a sandwich before your forward cast.but i have used them so long that with a newer one i wind up wore out about 10 in the morning from flailing them!thanks again!

[Joni]

I think the idea of ONE HEAVIER line is because sinking line is a much smaller diameter.
I know at Orvis this was pushed allot. It is suppose to load up easier. I was guilty of it.
Some rods I still feel it is a good thing and I don't see that it can hurt.
This is me, but I don't do near the casting with a sinking line as I do a floating.
True I use them on rivers and there might be a whole day of using it, but all in all I use Floating more, and definitely cast it more.

I find sinking lines easy to cast.
A must for stillwater. Recently I have been buying more the WET CELL over the Density Compensated as I like the idea of the belly on some waters, but I will never give up my DC.

[jackinok]

Thanks Joni,I'm bound and determined to get this stuff figured out,ive fished floating lines for a long while,(mostly I bass fish farm ponds and small lakes)but when the fish moved deeper in midday i have been going back to casting tackle.i'm going to try some sinking lines this summer and try to fish deeper for the fish laying off in creek channels and drop offs.Thanks again!

[MoscaPescador]

What I am going to post is more of theory than gospel.

Many will agree that a sinking line is going to be used with a streamer. Many streamers are very bulky and heavy. They don't cast very well. By uplining, one gains more line mass to help load the rod to cast that fly more efficiently.

This is a common practice with shooting heads. Most fly fishers will upline their shooting heads usually up to two line weights. In extreme cases, some upline as much as four. Many modern rods can take those loads.

MP

[Rip Tide]

Originally Posted by jackinok

,but I was wondering why on nearly every rod specs I have found on my old bamboo or fiberglass rods,manufacturers almost invariably recommend stepping up one wt in size when fishing a sinking line?

I think that there's some confusion here
When an older rod has two line weight designations such as a 6/7 or a 7/8 they're talkin' [double taper/weight forward] not [floating/sinking]

I overline my rods often, but never with a full sinking line
For example on my 10wt I use a WF12F, a WF11intermediate, and a WF10S type 3 or 6
Full sinking lines are heavy enough as is

[jackinok]

I agree on the line wts of rods,i have several that say 6-7wt etc.,my question is/was ,oddly enough ,it is not unusual at all in the old literature to find people recommending upsizing one line wt when using a sinking line.MescaPescador might have hit on the answer since the bigger fly would be harder to cast in theory.I have no clue,closest ive ever come to a sinking line would have been when dad about 50 years ago would have us boys catching crawdads so he could use his old fly rod with live bait and a sinker to catch smallmouth!us boys would save up our paper route money and buy a roll of old black casting line and a package of hooks and tie it on a willow pole,sinkers were washers and a pocket knife would make all the stick floats you could use.thought we was right up there with Hemingway when we all got real cane poles for christmas,LOL(well he used a cane rod didn't he?)fished ever since,but in close to 60 yrs ive never used a sinking line.but I'm going to figure it out..I think.There IS one other thing ya'll can help me with,where would you put up that new Herters masterweave sinking line to keep it?I should remember,its only been 25 yrs or so since I bought it!LOL

[Rip Tide]

I tried to find some reference on overlining when using sinking lines
What I found was in fact the opposite... at least when it came to fiberglass
A rod underlined when using a sinking line was far easier to cast.
I fish vintage fiberglass the majority of the time in fresh water and except for trolling streamers, I can't imagine a case where overlining would be needed.