I need a good floatant for dry flys etc. Anyone have any home ideas or remedies.
thanks
TonyC.
Thanks everyone, here I sit tying flys, temperature dropping from 40 the low teens and winds to 40 mph. Don’t feel like going out, “talk about me getting lazy.” I can’t wait for summer.
Thanks again
TonyC.
THE SUGGESTIONS ARE GREAT,I WON’T BURN THE HOUSE DOWN ALTHOUGH THE TEMP. IS A RECORRD 0’ DEGREES.
I HAVE RAIN X, AND WILL BE SURE TO BUY GINK AND TRY OTHERS WHEN I GET TO THE FLY SHOP.
TonyC.
Gink.
not to steal your thread but at fly shops is there floatant on the flies that you can purchase? sorry this may be a stupid Q but i’ve never bought any flies from shops
WWFF
Rain-X . Dip fly, shake off excess, wait 24 hrs and you’re ready to go.
Regards,
Scott
Definetly Gink 
I’ve heard about some folks making a concoction out of kerosene and parafin wax as a floatant. It may be “good” for fast water, though the mini oil slick = bad kharma, IMHO. No idea about the specific recipe. I have no experience with pretreating flies with Sno-Seal, or Scotch Guard type of products though I believe others on this board have mentioned doing so.
Warmwater- Fly shops do sell dry fly floatants, which can be silicone powder, paste, or sprays to apply on-stream to flies. ( I like the paste type, but use the silicone powder type to restore flies after they have been worked and slimed over by a fish). Most commercially sold dry flies, to my knowledge, are not pretreated with flotants. The few that I have seen that have been pretreated are identified as such, to help sell them. Even if they were pretreated, I’d still want floatant with me.
peregrines
Frog Fanny; since I started using it my liquid Mucillin, Gink, etc, just collects lint.
I think the question was about “home brewed”
Gink is $3 a bottle, a bottle will last a year or more. Why bother with a half baked home brew that will not work anywhere near as well???
Silicone Wate Guard.
Permanent waterproofer that is sold in camping supply places (section at Walmart).
Works well. Not expensive. One can will last a lifetime.
Good Luck!
Buddy
Here’s a couple of options:
(Previously mentioned) Albolene. Very similar to Gink. A large jar from the makeup section of your local drugstore will cos about $12.00 and is darn near a lifetime supply.
(Better option) Frog’s Fanny is, IMO, the best floatant currently available, but is pretty expensive. After a little research, I discovered that FF is Hydrophobic Fumed Silica. You can buy it on the cheap in quarts or gallons from epoxyproducts.com. You will need to buy one container of FF to start with in order to get the brush applicator.
NOTE: AFAIK, Epoxyproducts sells only Hydrophobic Fumed Silica. Other companies have a similar product, Hydrophyllic Fumed Silica, which will absorb water, and eventually sink your fly.
Frog’s Fanny is expensive, about $5 for a little bottle, however there is a way you can get the same stuff dirt cheap!
http://www.3riversarchery.com/Product.a … p=0&i=5086
Tried lots of stuff. Frogs Fanny gets my vote! Best stuff on the market and doesn’t get old or stink. Also, it last fairly long on a fly. Best stuff! Ron G. 
Tony,
At 2-5 bucks a bottle it a lot easier to just go buy a bottle at your favorite FF shop. One bottle of gink or any other brand will last years. Depending on how much you fish. I wind up losing or breaking the bottle before I run out.
Abolene is a great flotant but you still need a smaller bottle to start with. I think Art Lee was one of the first to talk about Abolene. In the long run its still the cheapest option. It’s also water based and taking from the food network’s Alton Brown is a multitasker. Makup remover,skin lotion,lubricant etc…
The old home brews of parraffin melted in gas or kerosine or other solvents are not only unfriendly to the enviroment but also carcinogens excuse the spelling. Not to mention you can burn the house down in the process. Remember all the fly shops and rod building shops that have burned down way back when.It was some of the chemicals used as thinners and whatnot that they felt they had to use.IMO buying is a better option.
Drying crystals are also free if everytime you buy a product that has the silica packets packed inside you add the contents of the packets into a small container. Its the same stuff sold in FF shops. Even my work shoes had these packets in the box but mostly electrical items.I feel the crystals are easier on my flies than the amadu patches.
Tom
Tom
AK Best swears by Gink.
Loon’s Aquel is an excellent gel/liquid floatant.
Joe
I think Gink and Aquel both work well. In a pinch or a fit of frugality, I understand Vaseline works also.
I checked out Epoxyproducts.com and they mention using it for flyfishing and will sell it to flyfishers in 1 pound size for $4.00. As flyfisher7 said, they only sell Hydrophobic Fumed Silica. (the kind flyfishers want )
The stuff is so light I wonder how much bulk 1 pound of the stuff would be. Probably enough to supply several fish-ins. lol
Where do you find it on their website? Is it called something else?
Joe