I have a full sinking line (vs. a sink tip line) that I am considering fishing for steelhead with in addition to the various floating lines that I have. I’ve seen guys fish with many split shot on their leaders to accomplish some depth, but I was just thinking of using the sinking line since I really don’t like split shot to cast with.
My main question is with detecting strikes. I’m a bobber fisherman, OH I mean indicator man. I always fish with an indicator in the very small spring creeks where I chase brookies and browns. So do I just watch the line while swinging a streamer or soft hackle? What is the trick to detecting the strikes with full sinking lines?
I have not not used a sinking line for Steelies, but do use split shot without a bobber (50 cents) or indicator ($3) for what is called high sticking. Basically just drifting a nymph, without a float, just above/bouncing on the bottom. Any tug you feel - set the hook. I’m not sure that a sinking line would work as my first split is usually 6" above the fly.
There’s also Galloup’s method of fishing large streamers using sinking line. He uses the current to present the streamer and does a jerk - strip retrieve. With the current bowing the line, the fly is presented head-on or sideways. Again, I was using split, but fished a 3" Gummy Minnow and caught a 9 lber that way.
I always fish streamers with a full sinking line ( haven’t tried it with soft hackles ) - a class II is just right for the currents and depths I fish on our bigger rivers and streams around here.
The take on a swinging streamer ( or soft hackle ? ) fished on a full sinking line will kind of remind you of touching a bare live 110v wire with wet hands.
Next to a big cutthroat coming up from a deep pool to take a dry fly, the jolt of a big brown hitting a swinging streamer on a sinking line is about the neatest thing in my fly fishing experience.
In other words - try it and you’ll like it.
John
P. S. Presentation is much influenced by current speed and depth. An upstream cast with an immediate downstream mend followed by appropriate stripping to race the streamer downstream is a good technique in slower currents, but with more current speed, an across or down and across presentation is more effective. Also, swinging and / or swinging / stripping technique depends on what you are fishing and fishing for. Galloup’s jerk-strip works for his kind of streamers, but I personally find that a steady, short strip works quite well for the baitfish patterns I like to fish for trout.
Others will likely have widely varying opinions and preferences, but for what it is worth, I don’t particularly agree with the thought that trout go after “injured” baitfish more readily than they go after healthy ones. If a trout waited for an “injured” baitfish to come by, it would probably starve to death before it got the opportunity to eat.
If I really want to get down deep, then probably a full sinker or heavy sink tip but generally I don’t use this. Where I usually fish for Steelhead ( they are just big rainbows) I use the same technique as for trout – that is, a strike indicator with two nymphs – and split shot as needed - just a heavier set up. Fishing streamers or other similar type wet flies, I will use a sink tip with short leader and tippet. By sink tip, I mean the exchangeable veratip type things and not an integrated line, only due to convenience of changing tips quickly and not having to carry an extra spool and change spools. They are convenient but are sometimies “hingey”.
Casting with any of these heavy tipped lines is tough, but so is casting flies under a strike indicator. The former is just plain heavy work for me (just got back from a week in Chile where thats all I did was cast sinking tip lines into the wind for 8 hours a day) – starting with a role cast to get it all up on top of the water and then cast. However, casting a strke indicator with flies and split shot is more of a huck, chuck and duck than a cast and yes, from time to time you get some dandy tangles. Just comes with the territory.
If you are fishing any stiill waters, Denny Ricard has some interesting thoughts on fishing sinking lines on still waters – definitely worth looking at some of his ideas. He recommends an intermediate sinking line that is really a misnomer in my opinion becasue it is a very slow slinking line – anyway check it out.
As others have said there’s no problem with strike detection when swinging for steel.
As for the line, I think a full sinking line would be a impossible to mend and a PITA to pick up and recast. A sink tip would be better. But since you already have the line, give it a try.
I see that there are different types of sinking lines, a slow sinking or Type I and a fast sinking line type IV. I actually bought a type IV and I am not sure if it will be applicable to fishing fast water that is only 4 or 5 foot deep. I’m not a steelhead fisherman; only been one time and was skunked and I have never tried a sinking line. I have 2, 7 wts and an 8 wt with the rods there are 3 reels and one of the reels has an extra spool so what the heck, try a sinking line on one for fun. If it doesn’t work in this application I will save it for the new little, personal pontoon boat and fishing the lakes. It’s all fun.
I do realize when I don’t know, what I need to know and am not too proud to say so. Thanks for the tips guys. I should be looking for a good book on Lake Michigan fly fishing for steelhead. The web is great but I could use something that went through a good progression from knowing nothing about these fish to a good intermediate level of fishing for them. Any recomendations?
Yes, it is next to impossible to mend a full sinking line once it starts getting down. But when you are swinging or stripping a streamer, there really is little, if any, need to mend because you are looking for movement of the fly and not a drift.
I generally end up stripping most of the line in, so there really is little line to pick up for the next cast. Personally, I prefer to cast a sinking line to a floating line, and much prefer it to a sink tip because of the “hinging” that Ortho mentioned. I suspect that is exaggerated in my case for not knowing how to properly cast the sink tip, but since I like the full sinking line there is no need, presently, for me to learn to cast the sink tip properly.
The point mending a swung line is to control the speed of the swing. If you get a downstream belly in the line the fly is going to be moving very fast. That’s not always what you want when steelhead fishing.
I’m sure that if and when I get a chance to fish for steelhead, there will be plenty of new things to learn, maybe even how to cast one of those danged sink tips. Before I go, whenever that happens, you can be sure I’ll be looking for some help from you guys that do it regularly.
Kelly Gallop has a great article on modern nymphing not a steelhead article
…But i thought it was very good on techniques… May issue Flyfisherman
Flyfisher121
I use a sink tip in the deeper pools of the streams that I fish. It get the streamers down to chromer depths. No more worrying about your fly not quite being on the bottom…it is.
I also troll for walleye in the spring with the sink tip. Same outcome.
I live in Nova Scotia and fish for Atlantic salmon. Here we only swing wets or dead drift dries. No weight is allowed. I have fished for steelhead and there is an uncanny similarity between steelhead and atlantic salmon in there life cycle and behaviours. I find an extra fast sink tip to be the most effective as you can easily mend the running line to ensure a slow swing and to achieve depth,which is imperative if the water is cold.
I find you can watch your line to detect strikes or keep a soft contact with your fly during the drift and you will know when a fish takes. You do not want to keep a real strong touch on the line and fly as this will cause it to rise in the water column.