Fly lines Sink rates

[Paul Arden]

The voices in my head count for me :whistling:

They count for me too, but they're in French.

[Marc LaMouche]

[Eric]

If you have to count higher than 20, maybe switch to a faster sink rate. Besides that's where I run out of fingers and toes!

If you've got a song stuck in your head you can start the retrieve at a certain point, but that'll drive you crazy too unless it's of sufficient quality like... Smells like Sexyloops :p

[Paul Arden]

Last time I did any serious stillwater fishing the fastest rate was 6"/sec, it was either that or leadcore shooting heads, which I did a bit of too, although not very successfully! Most of my deep trouting (20ft as far as I'm concerned is deep) was on nymphs. The problem with trying to nymph with too fast a sinking line is that after you've hit the correct depth you're not in it for very long! Fortunately trout are usually found in much shallower water; fishing a HiD is only fun for a couple of weeks.

Cheers, Paul

[mpukas]

Alright I count - I maybe a bit OCD... but it doesn't bother me.

Now onto a slightly off-topic topic, which is after all related to the title of this post...

Why do so many poeple, especially in the media - mags, books and vids - say the dumb thing such as "and for deep water I switch to a 250-300 grain sinking line"? They say that with the implication that the grain weight is the sink rate. Well it's not! Grain weight and sink rate have nothing to do with each other. You can have a 800 grain floating line and conversly a 150 grain type 8 fast sinking line. Pick the grain weight of the line to match the rod you're fishing, and the density to match the depth.

Now here I'm talking about regulat sinking fly lines or shooting heads. When we're talking about Rio's T8, T11, T14, T17, etc that's a different story - the weight of the line is directly proportional to the sink rate. It almost seems as if you have to pick a rod to match the line you want fish. Sure you can cut the line to length to adjust the weight, but I think there's a pretty short window that works well, and if you go too short you might as well up-size your rod.

[Aitor]

The reason is that for the same density the heavier line cuts through the water (and the air) better than the lighter one. So for the same sink rate a 300 grain line sinks faster than a 150 grain one.

[Paul Arden]

You're quite right, Michael, they're probably confused by the word "grain".

[Aitor]

Paul,
I your opinion 2 sinking lines of the same make, density and sink rate but different weight have the same sinking speed?

[Paul Arden]

Who said they had the same density?

[Aitor]

This is what mpukas posted:

Grain weight and sink rate have nothing to do with each other.

What I have replied is that sink rate depends on density, but also on mass. The same sink rate implies the same density.
Between two lines, say Sink Rate 4, that which has more mass will sink faster than the other.

[Paul Arden]

:p OK but he also said this:

"and for deep water I switch to a 250-300 grain sinking line"

Do you think the writers really meant that to fish deeper they use a heavier line but with the same density? I don't know anyone who does that, apart from you maybe!

Cheers, Paul

[Aitor]

:p OK but he also said this:

"and for deep water I switch to a 250-300 grain sinking line"

Do you think the writers really meant that to fish deeper they use a heavier line but with the same density? I don't know anyone who does that, apart from you maybe!

Cheers, Paul

I don't know who those writers are so I can't know for sure what they meant.
What I know is that mass has a lot to do with sink rate.

[Paul Arden]

I guess we're getting duped by the market into thinking we need lines of different densities, when all we need in fact is one density in many weights, with corresponding rods to match. I agree that mass has a lot to do with it, but they're probably not technical like we are

Cheers, Paul

[maxie]

Thanks for all the info! i think i will go with marking the line it seems to be the preferd methord. I do fing fishing in winter a bit of a pain,with no fish rising but it is better than no fishing. Cheers Maxie

[maxie]

Please ignore the spelling in the above post. still new to computers, and writing!!!
Cheers maxie