Sinking Poly Leader
Saw T. Rosenbauer suggest attaching a sinking poly leader on the end of a floating line for getting streamers down fast w/o the need for changing lines. Wouldn't a heavy fluorocarbon tippet do the same? The sinking poly tippets are a very expensive option IMHO.
Sinking poly leaders are much heavier than flourocarbon. They are more like a section of sinking fly line with an attached tippet.
Thanks for your help Jayatwork...Originally Posted by Jayatwork
Hmmmm ....
fritz -
My impression is that the weight of a piece of fluoro is determined only by its length and diameter. A longer, thicker piece will weigh more than a shorter, thinner piece, but both will only weigh a bit more than the amount of water that they displace. While a thicker piece will be "heavier" it won't necessarily sink faster, and the thicker it is, the more surface it has may in fact cause it to sink slower because of the resistance of the water against its surface. It seeems that most folks who use fluoro for nymphing suggest using smaller ( thinner ) fluoro so it will sink faster.
Poly leaders incorporate tungsten, and the sink rate is determined by the amount of tungsten as a proportion of the overall leader. Sink rates typically run from about an inch or inch and a half per second through about seven inches per second, with interval sink rates stepping up about an inch per second from the lower end. It is the amount of tungsten, which is clearly much heavier than fluoro, that is the key to poly leaders getting streamers ( and anything else ) down faster.
As to the expense, if you put a tippet ring or small swivel at the tip end of the poly leader, you only have to change out tippet as necessary and the leader itself will last for quite some time. Probably well worth the expense if you like using the same floating line for a variety of fishing approaches.
John
P.S. I personally prefer a full sinking line for fishing streamers. But some folks prefer floating lines because picking them up and casting them is easier for them, and that seems particulary true for people fishing from drift boats and rafts.
The fish are always right.
Another hmmmm....
A few days ago, a fellow from Canada posted an interesting YouTube video on the use of poly leaders, split shot and weighted flies, which may be of interest to you, fritz, or others who want some additional information on the question you posed.
Go to YouTube, go to its search function, and look for hooked4lifeca. Once you get to this fellow's "video index" scroll down until you find the title poly leaders vs split shot vs weighted flies. The video is rather long, but well worth the time for someone wanting or needing some good information on these subjects.
John
The fish are always right.
For some information on a potential alternative to the poly leader thing, check out Rio Products' video on versileaders on YouTube.
John
P.S. Thank you, fritz, for the occasion to get back into looking at some of these products, which I have been generally aware of, but haven't really kept up with for some time. And I suspect some of the other BB members and visitors to the BB might benefit also from the brief discussions herein.
The fish are always right.
Yes John Scott, i have seen hooked4life.ca videos and they have been very helpful. I was on the river last week fishing weighted streamers and because the waters were about 2 feet deep, I didn't feel the need to use a poly leader but will consider using them in deeper waters. Thanks for your helpful suggestions and insights.
Had a Private Message from a B.B. member who would rather be in Wyoming that makes no sense at all, but that is not unusual for that person. To quote:
"Trust that it took ALL the self control I could muster to not comment on your obvious command of the topic of "sinking leaders". You and all who voted for this POS and the HO should be prosecuted for TREASON."
If anyone can enlighten me on what "HO" might mean, I certainly would appreciate it. Thanks.
John
The fish are always right.
Laughing ...
... at myself for how I read the P.M. referenced above. I took the phrase "sinking leaders" to refer to the various methods of getting streamers down when fishing mentioned in the earlier posts on this thread. A subject, by the way, on which I have no command, just a limited familiarity.
So I took the words "this POS" to also refer to the thread that fritz started and wondered what an "HO" is and who were all the folks that "voted" for the thread ?? The thought of prosecuting that small group of people "for TREASON" is what absolutely made no sense at all.
Anyway, after scratching my head for a while and considering who it was that sent me the P.M., I had to laugh at myself. The only sense I could make of the message is ...
... the "sinking leader" refers to POTUS Joe Biden ...
...the "POS ( piece of sh*t ) also refers to POTUS Joe Biden ...
..."you and all who voted for" Biden, meaning me ( and how would anyone know who I voted for ) and the other 80,000,000 who voted for Biden ...
... should be prosecuted for TREASON, which is a crime defined in the Constitution of the United States with a meaning that could no way apply to Americans who exercised their right to vote.
So, if my second take on the P.M. is correct, the person who sent it ( who is more than welcome to come forward on this thread and confirm or clarify that take ) is a lunatic. ( Since I haven't identified that person, I can't be accused of "flaming", right ? )
So let's think through the lunacy, assuming Americans exercising their right to vote can be prosecuted for treason - 80,000,000 people are going to be prosecuted for treason. By how many prosecutors and their staffs, and defended by how many attornies and their staffs. In how many courts. With how many judges and assorted court support persons. With 80,000,000 twelve person juries. Over how long a period of time. And how many children would be without one or more parents for how long ? And who would be responsible for their care ? How many employers would suffer the loss of employees and how many businesses would close with 80,000,000 people at some stage of prosecution for treason, how many personal and business bankruptcies would result from the process. What would the economy look like during and after the 80,000,000 folks and all those lawyers, judges and juries were tied up for how long. That is the lunacy of the idiotic, hateful, deranged message sent to me by a fellow B.B. member, who appears to be a seriously damaged individual.
So that's why I was laughing. At the same time, I pity the lunatic who sent the P.M. What a terrible life one must have to be in such a place.
John
P.S. I still don't have a clue what the "HO" means.
The fish are always right.
WOW! Didn't know this thread was going to bring out the ghouls and goblins hidden in the stream beds.............."HO" (no clue about its meaning either)
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