Sinking Tip vs Sinking Line for Saltwater

[dwilliamsceg]

I am currently using a cheaper trout line (at least that is what is says) with a sinking tip. It has about a 10 foot section tip. This combined with the tippet is enough to get it to the bottom. My question is, for fishing in <15' of water for saltwater fish (stripes, fluke, croaker, etc.) is this a good setup of are there benefits to fully sinking line?

Thanks.
Dave.

[boats]

15 feet is deep particuary if there is tide running. Most of us in the lower bay carry full sinkers. I use the Teenys but others are good too. On 7 wts I use mostly 200 Teenys ,8 250, 9 300, 10 400. For real depth however we use a home made outfit with Courtland LC 13 or TC 14 heads on braided running line.

You might want to try one of our club meetings we can show you how to rig for salt.

vcfa.org

Boats

[David M]

Hey Dave, check this post out from a while back...

http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/fly-fishing-anglers/191367-what-your-favorite-fast-sink-line.html

[jskiff]

Hey guys, is there a site I can go to that explains this stuff in pictures? I have read that thread of e-mails in the link provided above and just don't understand much of what they are talking about. I've been throwing a Teeny 400 in E-Bay and points north for a couple of years with some success but feel the need to better understand how to put together a sinking line from guys on the Bay who really know what they are doing. Thanks much.

[boats]

Not that I know of. It's real easy but there are couple of things to watch out for. You can waste time and money getting components that don't work well too.

Best thing to do is get in touch with someone who has done it in your area.

Let me know were you live or we can go over it on the phone

Boats

[David M]

jskiff, if you can make it you should come to Flyfest (http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/fly-fishing-anglers/211886-flyfest-6-september-8th.html) in September. There will be a lot of experienced saltwater fly fishers there. I can bring a number of different lines that I've made using Rio's T-8 and T-14, some are married to braided mono running lines, some connected to standard intermediate production running lines (like Rio's striper running line), and even some that are connected to density compensated full sinking lines with the front taper cut off.

There will also be some folks there that have a lot of experience with Rio's Lake 7 line, a full sinking density compensated line. I've used it before but don't own one so I don't have a lot of experience with them.

The only thing that takes some practice when making your own lines is the loops on the ends of the line and the connection between the running line and the sinking line. I whip my loops and the ends of the braid at the connection, while others use nail knots. I'm more comfortable using a bobbin than making nail knots and I think the whips go through the guides easier.

Anyway, you should come to Flyfest, there's always a lot to learn there.

David

[rhahn427]

If you are in the Baltimore area, got to Tochtermans ...... Joe Bruce is there and he will give you the in's and outs and even set you up with the proper line for your type of fishing for the same price (and maybe a little cheaper) you'd pay elsewhere ......... he did 4 of mine ...... definitely satisfied !!!!!

[Flying Fish]

David M and Dave: I'm one who swears by the Rio Lake 7 line. I generally prefer full-sink lines because the fly stays deeper longer than with a sink-tip, but some of those LC sink-tips are almost like jigging a Stingsilver.

I plan to be at Flyfest.

DD

[boats]

Fish you are right about the LC 13 outfits, but they will reach the fish when others wont I keep a spool loaded with one in my bag whenever fishing deep or fast water. I only pull it out when all else fails

Boats

[Flying Fish]

Boats: Yes! That's exactly what I meant.

FF

[David M]

If you like LC 13 you should try the T-14. That stuff gets down. I have a line that I built with 30ft of T-14 and the running line is an SA Density Compensated type V 8wt line with the front taper cut off (the diameter of the 8wt belly is exactly the same as the T-14). That thing is a dredger. I was fishing with Chesbay in the winter down at the CBBT and he was using the line for a while to try it out. He snagged an oyster on the bottom and we both turned to look at the screen to see how much water we had under the boat, 52 feet. No joke. There was some current too. It wasn't ripping but it was moving.

David

[jskiff]

Dave M et. al., thanks for the invite to Flyfest. I was planning to go and then work has called me to Chicago. I live just outside of Baltimore and used to live around the corner from Joe's shop until he moved on. I will try to track him down at Tochterman's. Any idea if he is there full-time? part-time? If not, I can give them a call. Looking forward to improving my fly line selection. Thanks everybody!