I switched floatants for my latest trip. I had been using SA type silicone thick liquid. After reading the Ginks description at Cabela’s I bought some to use. It seems to work well, the flies float higher and longer. However and herein lays my question.
Do floatants have an off-putting scent or taste? Perhaps one of the most engaging and exasperating things about our sport is the immense number of variables. It seems I had MANY more bows ?mouth? my fly, or hit it a release it than I recall. I say recall because I do not keep any kind of record or this type of take (really a non take). It just seemed like a lot more of this than I ever remember.
Is it just me or do y?all have any similar experiences? What floatant do y?all recommend?
Perhaps on this particular day the fish wanted a fly that floated deeper in the surface film…maybe they do most of the time given your previous floatant…
Having said that …I’ll say that I think that kind of question is an excellent one…IMHO too many people will say …“The fish don’t care”…how do they know…do they speak fishy…or do they know that they could have done better or worse…at any given time with something else:confused:
Parnelli…interesting you brought Oil of Olay up…I was thinking of mentioning it and seeing if anyone had experience with it.
I went so far as buying OoO soap figuring I would use it before tying and also before fishing …never have actually done it though…
There’s an OoO body lotion too…
For flotant check out Albolene, available at CVS or Walgreens.
Comes in a pint jar.
Heat in boiling water.
Pour into smaller squeeze bottles.
Practically a lifetime supply for $11.
Tried it & like it, IMHO it’s as good or better than Gink & a heck of a lot cheaper.
I have heard about the Oil of Olay but never gave it a try. Let me know how it works out…
A certain floatant named after an amphibian’s butt is, by far the best floatant I have ever used. It is a very fine powder (hydrophobic fumed silica) that is worked into the fly with a small brush. You can also work it into weighted nymphs, and it will cause the fly to leave a trail of bubbles behind it as it drifts.
The only real problem is it is very expensive. I did some research, and found an outfit that manufactures the stuff, and sells it for about $29 a gallon. I won’t post the name of the company here, as I don’t know the policy on this forum, but if you google “hydrophobic fumed silica”, I’m sure you’ll find a source.
If anyone wants a smaller quantity, the same product is available from archery shops, for less cost than the fly fishing stuff, used to dry feather fletching on arrows.
Wow! If ya go to Cabela’s and read the reviews of the Frog Hinney stuff it is like unbeliveable!!! I got try that stuff. Googled the other product mentioned but it appears very complex and perhaps hard to get. Frog’s fanny for me!!
Nothing complex. Just contact the mfg in Pittsfield, NH. You might want to buy a bottle of FF so you have something to refill. If you fish with CDC or hare’s foot flies, this type of floatant is the only way to go.
I read the article mentioned, and Petrolium derivatives are a no-no? I used to kick butt with WD-40 sprayed on saltwater lures and LMB plugs…never tried it FFing, because I don’t want it near my fly line.
May try the ol’ glo-bugs soaked in salmon egg bottles, tho? j/k
j/k