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Best Floatant
#1
ran out of floatant at the end of last year, looking for some new stuff this y ear. I don't know what I used to have, but it worked great. came in a flat, circular container, and on the inside it had a little pad, to apply the floatant to your line. it was almost like a paste type of floatant. If anybody knows something similar, let me know. I also bought a bottle of the gel stuff, and did not like it. maybe i did not apply it right, but it sucked. I was also looking at the tubes, with the powder in them that you shake, those looked good. tell me what you know.
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#2
[font "Garamond"][#008000][Image: happy.gif]I find that the gel works better for me than the crystals. Last year I forgot my floatant at home and bought the only product they had on the shelf. Worked just fine. [/#008000][/font]
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#3
I just thought about this while at work, but what if you took the boot waterproofer in the can that they sell and sprayed it over all of your dry flies a few days before you went out fishing and let it set up and dry. do you think this would have the same effect?
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#4
[font "Garamond"][#008000][size 4][Image: happy.gif]You could do the same thing with vaseline however, your fly in both cases will have that 50's slick down hair doo effect. Floatants are made to wick away the water on the fly yet retain they're fluffy appearance. Plus the floatants don't contain any offensive odors. [/size][/#008000][/font]
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#5
For me, easy. Frog's Fanny. I use allot of CDC, and you can't use the paste or gel with CDC.
Now for my leaders, Mucilin.
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#6
[quote SdDryFly]I just thought about this while at work, but what if you took the boot waterproofer in the can that they sell and sprayed it over all of your dry flies a few days before you went out fishing and let it set up and dry. do you think this would have the same effect?[/quote]


Been there and done that. Works great at first, but once a fish hits/slimes it you have to retreat.
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#7
I usually start off with a gel based floatant (my favorite is Aquel because it is pretty temperature stable) and when the fly does get waterlogged i use a dessicant like frogs fanny to pull the moisture out of it.
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#8
Aquel and Frogs Fanny. Those are the two I use.

Aquel lasts longer but Frogs Fanny gets the fly to shed the water better. Do use the brush to smear the flakes into the body and the hackle.

Some times I use Duck butt oil on the CDC but a tiny bit goes a long way. Otherwise you end up that slicked back 50's look that DryRod or FG mentioned.

As FG mentioned Musclin is used by a lot of people. It does come in a flat round canister. I have never used it though.

The first time I used the Frogs Fanny I was fishing a small windy meadow stream. It was a great day and a great day of fishing. I would be fishing along and realize it had been a few minutes since I had had any attention to my royal wulff. This would cause me to think that my the fly might be riding a little lower in the water. Stop put the frogs fanny on and make a cast and bang a fish would rush up from the depths and smack it. Repeated this for several hours.

The Aquel did not produce the same result this day.

Frogs Fanny you have to apply more often than a gel or paste floatant.
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#9
Frogs Fanny is pointless as an inital floatant before your fly hits the water. If the fly is dry, then the powder just comes right off on your first cast. The Aquel gets the fly on top and once it becomes waterlogged, the frogs fanny pulls the water out of the fly, reactivating the floatant.

I do like to use Miculin on bigger flies such as cicadas but it bulks up too much on smaller stuff.
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#10
Respectfully disagree. It is very fine powder, it doesn't come right off dry flies.
Plus try it on a nymph, it forms a bubble like an emerging pupa and does promote strikes.

As I said, it is my choice and ALL I use, but again, I use CDC.
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#11
[font "Garamond"][#008000][size 4][Image: happy.gif]I have heard that some folks spray their newly tied flies with Scotchguard. Sure is cheap enough. What the heck I'll give it a try next week.[/size][/#008000][/font]
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#12
I have done that. And even the pre flotant. It is all good at first.[Wink]
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#13
Quote:Respectfully disagree.
As do i..... I regularly use Frogs Fanny (I remember when the only place to find it in Utah was at the Chevron in Manila and came in a tiny eyedrop size bottle). Most of my smaller dries are also cdc (with biot bodies) and have tried them all and had best luck using a drop of aquel on the back of my hand, BARELY toughing the tip of my finger into it, and rubbing it into the fly. THen when it starts to get waterlogged, (which takes forever) use the frogs fanny and brush out all the water, and then coat it up good with the powder, which adheres to it because it is wet.
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#14
You go your way, I go mine. I don't care for any gel really, although I do use it and have used it. But once on your fingers it is on everything. Tippet, nymph....so one. No matter how careful.
With my CDC, if the fly gets slimed, I run the CDC portion of the fly down a sleeve or on a towel to DRY IT OUT again and fluff it back up. Then more powder.
That is why I prefer Mucilin. A little tin so to speak and I don't have to touch it. Plus it has no build up on my leaders (no saying Aqual does) and it last longer on leaders than ANYTHING else.[Wink]
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#15
[font "Garamond"][#008000][size 4]Couldn't find any Scotchguard in the house so I sprayed a bit of Old Tanner Water & Stain Protector on a indicator and it held up just fine. No 50's slick and just as fluffy. It's suggested use - fabrics, leathers & suede's. A 9 oz can cost a bit more than a ½ oz container. However, I wouldn't want to carry a 9 oz can in my vest. Must be a lot of stuff out there that will work just as well.[/size][/#008000][/font]
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#16
Blip for paste and I grind up silica gel in a coffee grinder for powder . It works about like Frog Fanny and a $4.00 box lasts a lifetime.
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#17
an Archer's fletch powder is suppose to be the same thing as Frog's Fanny. much cheaper.

I have not run out of frog's fanny yet though.

[url "http://www.3riversarchery.com/Product.asp?show=info&c=52&s=162&p=236&i=5086#full"]http://www.3riversarchery.com/Product.asp?show=info&c=52&s=162&p=236&i=5086#full[/url]
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