Line Types

[Bmarsh]

So when it comes to floaters I have a pretty good feel for what is what but when it comes to sinking lines I am a noob. I saw sinking tips, full sinkers, type II, Type III ect. Anyone care to enlighten me on what the different types are and maybe what their best application is for.
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[flygoddess]

Sink tips are just what they say. 5 to 15 feet of the first of the line is weighted. Bad thing for me with those "IS" because all the weight is in the front. Like adding a lot of split shot. Very hard to cast.
They are great for rivers because that short distance sinks so quickly and they they transition into a floating so you can get the drift.

On full sink, there are two types.
Density Compensated which sinks uniformly and does not form a belly in the line.
or Wet Cell which does form a belly in the line making it a better choice for weedy water beds to put the fly above them .

The roman numerals are the rate they sink. This will vary also with manufacturer. Type one is very slow sinking as is Intermediate with sink rates at like 1.25 to 2.50 ips. The bigger the number, the faster the sink.
I say SINK RATE. All sinking lines will eventually hit bottom, just some faster than others.
So why do you need faster? Because sometimes smaller fish hang higher in the water and you need to get past them fast to get to the bigger fish.
Higher numbered lines or faster sinking are great for the warmer months.

Intermediate and slower sinking lines are great for shallower waters because they do have a slow sink rate. You are able to cover allot of water before they reach the bottom.

So, slower lines for shallow and colder weathers when fish are hanging shallow like ice off or late fall.

Good all around lines are Type II and III remembering you can count down as well

Type IV - VI are great warm months lines

TYPE VII is an awesome hot day line but also deep nymphing line.

To add to fast sinking and sink tip lines, one of my favorites is the DEPTH CHARGE or Kelly Galloup Extreme Streamer lines. These are 70' of intermediate line with 30' of grain weighted tip. You buy the grain weight by rod weight with 200 to 250 for a 5 wt. and 300 to 350 for a 6 weight.
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[cpierce]

Great answer FG on the regular sinking lines. Any thoughts on the weighted line that you can add to a floating line to make a sink tip? I have used one once while backpacking, because I didn't want to bring an extra spool or reel. It cast pretty lousy, but it got my nymph down to the fish where I wanted it to. I have since found out that you are supposed to trim its length according to how it casts, but I haven't tried it again. Anyone else have any experience with these?
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[flygoddess]

I have used the 5' add ons. Again I see them more for rivers or shallow fishing as, they are limited sinking.
One more thing on sinking lines of whatever design, play with leader length too. And by leader, I am saying, you don't need a tapered leader as presentation is not a factor. Try regular fishing mono or fluorocarbon. I will use from 4' to 6' at times. This all determines where the fly ends up.
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[Bmarsh]

Thank you for the information FG, oh and for the fly info on henrys. I wish I would have asked this question before I bought my setup for henrys.. I wasn't to sure exactly what to get. I ended up buying a 10 ft sink tip with it being a type III. Wasn't too hard to cast actually but I didn't feel like the sink tip was getting things where I wanted them.
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[flygoddess]

And if I am in the neighborhood you are always welcome to try different things out.
On the casting, try a sink tip next to a full sink, big difference to me, but I use soft rods.
We need to plan a trip to H for this summer if we ever get one.
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