sink tip fly lines

[jeffnles1]

What would you guys recommend in a sinking tip fly line for a 9' 5wt Scott G2?

Mainly fishing lakes with some small streams. The area in the lake I want to fish is in the 15 - 20' deep range but in other times of year, I'm fishing 8-10' water.

I don't know much about the sinking lines.

Thanks,
Jeff

[rockthief]

give the Jim Teeny website a good perusal.

[Buddy Sanders]

Jeff,

If all you want is to get your fly down a few feet deeper during the retrieve, or have it drift deeper in moving water, then a sink tip is okay, but...

I do a LOT of fishing in lakes...I do have a couple of sink tip lines, but find that in a lake situation, especially deeper than 10 feet, you'll need a full sinking line to fish effectively.

Even a type VI 'sink tip' won't get your fly down past ten feet for more than just a few feet of a long cast. And even that only on a super slow retrieve.

If, as you mention, you really want to fish in that 15 to 20 foot range, you'll want to buy the fatest sinking line that your rod will throw. Look at the Rio Deep 7 line, or the Rio Outbound in the type 8 for your rod weight (you'll want the 6 wt. Outbound full sinking line for your 5 wt. rod). Either of these lines will get you down right quick (you'll still need to wait about 20 seconds or so to get down to fifteen feet before you begin the retrieve), and help KEEP you down during the retrieve.

Buddy

[tailingloop]

I think and fish along the same lines as Buddy. Some anglers may find the 6wt Rio Typ 6 or Type 8 lines hard to handle with a 5wt rod due to the long (37ft) and heavy (240grain) head. This will depend on the angler and the rod. I have 5wt rods that are happy with this and 5wt rods that are not.

An alternative would be to match a 7wt type 6 or type 8 Rio Shooting head matched with .024" diameter Rio Powerflex Shooting line or a Rio Custom Cut T8 Outbound cut back to 27 or 26 feet.

The Rio Deep 7 is a great line for deep fishing as Buddy noted.

[kglissmeyer]

Ditto with Buddy. That deep requires full sinking, not just a sink-tip. Right now at Henry's Lake here in Idaho the fish have moved into the shallower water (2-6 ft.) along the lake margins, so an intermediate (1.5 to 2 ips sink rate) line is called for. During the early season the fish are hugging the bottom so a full sinking line is not only desired but manditory.
I use a Class VI Sink-tip for my river fishing and never for the lake. I use full sinking as Buddy described and Intermediate lines for the lakes depending on whether I'm fishing the depths or the margins.

Kelly

[Bluegill222]

I've found that I can get by in most situations with a long sink-tip (24-30ft). I fish in waters that are 20-30ft deep fairly often, but rarely if ever do I find myself fishing right along the bottom in those depths. Most of the fish I catch in those depths are either suspended or relating to some sort of cover such as drowned timber or brush piles or rock humps which means I don't usually have to get all the way to the bottom and stay there. I'm not a big fan of casting full sinking lines, but having said that, I do own one that I use in those rare case when I have to get all the way down there. It's just usually my last resort.

[jeffnles1]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Jeff