Sinking lines and running line

[wilbert]

I have just been out today for a practice cast before I head up to the Dee for a weeks fishing. I was casting with the IG 65' fast sink and a windcutter multitip and was getting a respectable length out of both of them but was getting into a bit of a mess with the running line. This was only really a problem with the IG line as the running line sinks pretty fast and was stopping the line from shooting properly, I was stripping in about 20' of running line before making the next cast. Are you supposed to keep the running line in coils as you strip it back and let go of it as one when shooting the line? I have never really had a problem with this before as most of my fishing is done with a floating line which allows you to get away with murder when you feel like being lazy. Any tips are more than welcome.

[elwyman]

There is a technique for holding loops of line between your fingers, but you might also look at one of these:

www.fish4ituk.co.uk/catalog2/product_info.php/products_id/742

I think Graham and Malcom have tried them, and they rated them highly.

[Fruin]

Wilbert,

Hold the running line in loops. I normally strip 5 times, say a yard at a time, and grasp, then 4 times, then 3 times, and stay at three for any more stripping if I am shooting a lot of line.

If you are shooting 20 ft then three strips and clasp, three strips and clasp, and then two strips and clasp would give you about twenty feet. You can also clasp each loop over a different finger, with the first over the pinkie, the next over the ring finger and so on...

It takes a bit of getting used to but will make your line shoot far better.

[kercock]

I would normally do three pull of 4ft per pull,holding that in my left hand, then do three pulls again and trap that under the trigger finger of my right hand which is holding the cork handle. When I start the cast ie a double Spey,my left hand,still holding the line is on the butt of the rod.When I go into the final or forward part of the cast very little of the line is touching the water. The crucial part is when bringing the rod forward ,if you stop the rod tip at the 2o'clock position,then let the line go,it will go for sure, . If you bring the rod tip lower you will cause problems,if you let the line go before the rod tip is in the 2 o'clock position you will definately have problems. it is pretty much to do with timing. ,think two o'clock.,it will all work better. Relax and let the rod do its job. Hope it helps.

[williegunn]

I thought the IG running line floated.

If you are shooting that much buy the 75ft head

[woburn]

The Flexistripper is great. Ive been fishing shooting heads and it will handle 40ft of running line no problem (im sure it would handle more but Im not good enough yet to confirm). Its so light and not bulky, you forget you are wearing it after a while.

[robmason]

Will you need a fast sinking line at all?

I've never gone deeper than a sink tip on the Dee.

[salar76]

graham said:

It depends on the pool and the water height. I can certainly think of a few pools, which in high water during the spring, need a fast sinking line. Saying that, the Dee is generally a shallow river and can be fished effectively most of the time in the spring with a sink tip or intermediate line.

well its lower blackhall we're off to - certainly looking forward to seeing the beat after their success yesterday! its currently not looking like we'll be encountering high water, but of course all that could change.

graham - i was fishing a medium sink IG with copper tubes in low water at middle blackhall a couple of weeks ago without encountering the bottom too much. i'd imaging that if you're using sink tips/intermediates most of the time you won't exactly be scraping the bottom. do you not think its too important to do that on the dee? any tips welcome!

[fishingd0]

I tend to stick to a sink tip all season - granted some of them have a fast sink rate- and have on many occasions caught when others on full sunk lines have not.

I have a week on the dee in two weeks, and unless the water is high, I will be sticking to my trusty carron floater with a short sink tip.

one good aspect of the sink tip is that you have a better idea of when the fly has come onto the dangle, especially on slower pools. I find that when I have ever used a sinking line, I am often pulling the line in too soon or leaving it in the water too long. This often leads to getting snagged up.

Hourses for courses I suppose.

[Fruin]

I suppose it's one of those thinkgs that there is no right or wrong with, it's often just a matter of trying different tactics on the day.
One thing that I have noted on my local rivers that seems odd to me, is that some years most of the fish are taken on full sinkers and other years the sink tip does better. I think that running fish are more likely to take a fly higher in the water.
I usually fish a full sinker when I am fishing fast water and want to slow the fly down a bit. The difference in depth of fly probably isn't a lot, but the full sinker cuts down below the faster surface currents and slows the swing down significantly.
Gordon, you probably cast twice as far as me so can achieve this with your angle of cast

[salar76]

wow - a flurry of responses! one thing i do know is that since i stopped using my trusty old multi tip windcutter at the end of last season i haven't touched a fish! i'm certainly not short on lines to play with this week, so i'll have to make sure i try some different ones over the week.

Graham - that was a dangerous comment you make about setting up two rods.....that's just the excuse required to justify another 15 footer!

[Fruin]

A good argument for shooting heads is the one that justified there use to me. If you are an angler that likes to roam on a beat, like myself, you can travel light and still cover all eventualities. When using shooting heads I stick two or three different line densities in a pocket. If I come across a pool that requires a change of line it is a relatively simple process and doesn't require me to carry a load of spare spools with me.