Floatant & Sink Stuff

[Gemrod]

Just an fyi or heads up. I have never treated a fly with anything other than Orvis spray floatant. I thought I would try a sink treatment. Bought one from Gink....XINK or something like that. It plainly states on the bottle once you apply this you will never need a lead weight again...blah blah...you get the picture.

That stuff is the greatest floatant in the world! I cast it into my stream and have to yank it 3-4 times to even get it under water off the top....and by then that cast is ruined already. I probably should not say this as it's heresay. But I have talked about it before and have been told that company is famous for mis-labeling their products.

Just n FYI....I should have taken it back huh?

Well, it didn't do my morale any good while I was THERE at my fishing spot and things didn't work as labeled. Messed up my time a bit.

[Gramps]

You know the powder that you roll your fly is to soak up the water? Why doesn't that work to sink a fly? It soaks up water and should sink a fly no?

[Buddy Sanders]

Gem,

All that 'sink' stuff is basically a 'wetting' agent that allows the water to flow effortlessly around the surface. It basically defeats the 'surface tension' of the water.

That's great for getting a fly through the SURFACE of the water. Once there, however, how deep or fast a fly sinks is efected by all the same natural laws of physics and hydrodymanics that effect everything else.

Weight, drag (from both current and the line tied to the fly), 'shape', and material all effect both how deep and how fast something 'sinks'.

By the way, if you can find a pure liquid 'detergent', that will work as a 'wetting agent' and help get your flies under the water.

Also, it's often helpful to apply such things to the tippet as well, as that can have a large effect on how fast/far things wil sink.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[Gramps]

Buddy,

What about that powder that dries the fly? Are you supposed to put a floatant on after the powder? It would seem if any powder was left on the fly it would defeat the purpose, because the powder would soak up water. How do you get the powder off?

[Buddy Sanders]

Gramps,

I've had nothing but problems wih both that powder stuff and the 'on stream' gel/paste floatants. I just don't use them.

I 'permanently' waterproof all my dry flies with a 'silicone water guard' that I buy in an aerosol can at WalMart in the camping section.

I 'concentrate' the stuff into an old Orvis 'Watershed' jar (any small jar, baby food, airbrush jar, etc., will work fine). Soak the flies in the stuff for a couple of minutes, pull them out and place on a paper towel to dry overnight.

This keeps the materials from absorbing water. Forever.

The fly can still pick up water in the 'nooks, crannies, and voids', and fish slime can sink ANY fly. If they begin to sink after a few fish, I'll wash them well by swishing them vigorously in the current, then dry them with a few fast false casts to 'flick' out any water that's gotten in.

That usually returns the fly to a high floating state. If not, they need a 'real' cleaning, so I replace the fly and 'wash it late with dish soap to really 'clean' it.

Every time I've tried that desicant powder, some of it stays on the fly, and IT absorbs water like a sponge. The silicone gel/paste 'floatants' don't 'dry' they just 'coat' the materials with a waterproof film. They add 'weight' which is one of the things that helps SINK a fly.

Both of these might work just fine in slow, languid, still streams where the fly floats on its hackle tips using water tension to keep it up.

Where I fish, fast, western 'pocket water' streams, I need a fly that FLOATS without counting on the surface tension.

That means bouyant materials, waterproofed.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[Gramps]

Thanks for the info.

[Garic]

Gemrod, you will know if the labels are wrong between Gink and Xink, Gink is a gel and Xink is a thin water like consistancy

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

I can testify that xinx sinks because I dropped a bottle in the Selway. It sank out of sight just like a rock. The dry powder stuff works well tho. You just shake some on your dry fly and any excess is immediatly blown off on the first cast.
I use Gink on the drys first. then after a few casts the fly starts to sink a bit this is when you use the powder to dry off the fly. It works really well.

I bought a second bottle of xinx and have hunted high and low for it without success so can't tell if it works or not.

[Flyrodde]

If you want to sink a fly, just use dish detergent. It breaks the surface tension and emulsifies (SP) any oils still on the fly that would keep it afloat.

[Gramps]

If you want to sink a fly, just use dish detergent. It breaks the surface tension and emulsifies (SP) any oils still on the fly that would keep it afloat.

You think a trout likes the taste of soap?