Interchangeable sink tip length for streamers

[flyfysher]

I'm kind of with Buddy on this - it's going to be a trial and error solution, and the solution will change every time you move to a new water depth.

I fish sink tips almost exclusively in saltwater, and I vary the Type by what my sonar is telling me about the water I'm in. Where I fish, it runs 2-12 feet, so I'll use everything from a Type I (Intermediate) to a Type VI. And you CAN approximate sink rate with line Type - The Type is very closely the sink rate in ips. Close enough for our purposes anyway. The advantage I see in a ST as opposed to a full sink is that the running line stays on top and is easier to control, feel, and pick up.

An 8-wt is pretty hefty stuff for the rivers you mention, but go with what you've got. (I would use more like a 30- or 40-lb butt section with the 8 wt, tho.) If you want an idea of what the manufacturer thought was the ideal sink tip length, go to their specs and see how long a tip is on their standard 8 wt ST lines. An 8 is probably going to run 7-10 feet. I know mine run from about 7 to nearly 20 feet, and the 20 is going to go deeper than the same line with a 10-ft tip. Your 7-10 ft length range will be pretty close, but I think you'll find a slower sink rate than the 7 & 8 ips tips will work better for you.
They won't be fun to cast, so your plan to keep it short is a good one. Good luck!

I agree with your assessment about the 8 weight being a little too hefty for some of the Rocky Mtn. freestone rivers. However, there are times where a 8 weight comes in handy. Think Miracle Mile and early spring and late fall season iffy weather type fishing. I had this 8 weight with the Rio Versi-tip for a long time and it was originally intended for steelhead fishing. Never got the chance to do much of it when I lived in WA because I was just beginning to work for myself and that took precedence. Since returning to CO I decided I would use this one as my primary big streamer rod. It's just been lying there unused.

Most of the time I'm fishing 4 weight or bamboo but we been going up to WY a little more often the last couple of years.

I just picked up a 5 weight Orvis Helios 2 and I'll get a 7' sink tip 7-8 ips sink rate for tossing streamers. My 6 weight rod is an old Sage LT and I feel as though it is a little too soft to be throwing large weighted streamers. But in terms of specifically targeting big trout, I wanted to dedicate the 8 weight to that.

My concern was the dynamics of casting a Rio Versi-tip line. I'm sure it'll likely be less than ideal casting wise and I've mulled over the idea of pulling it off the spool and just buying a dedicated streamer line with a sink-tip rate of 7+ ips. I'm figuring the waters I'm fishing will probably go about 3' to 10' deep.

Bottom line: I'm just going to have experiment with this.