Some sink rate questions

[Jim Murray]

Like to fly fish for pike and up until now have mainly used a floating line. Having found a couple of old sinkers in the garage recently was hoping to use them in the colder months.

 

Is there any way to determine what type of lines these could be...I think one is an intermediate 7 wt. and the other a shooting head but beyond that it's more guesswork.

 

Assuming I can find out what they are(or end up buying new ones).....I like to fish from the float tube and have a nice little sonar setup so I know the exact depth under the tube. Is there a method of determining the depth the end of your line or the fly is fishing at? Will be using medium sized(3-4") pike flies with varying degrees of buoyancy.

[Squimp]

Like to fly fish for pike and up until now have mainly used a floating line. Having found a couple of old sinkers in the garage recently was hoping to use them in the colder months.

 

Is there any way to determine what type of lines these could be...I think one is an intermediate 7 wt. and the other a shooting head but beyond that it's more guesswork.

 

Assuming I can find out what they are(or end up buying new ones).....I like to fish from the float tube and have a nice little sonar setup so I know the exact depth under the tube. Is there a method of determining the depth the end of your line or the fly is fishing at? Will be using medium sized(3-4") pike flies with varying degrees of buoyancy.

 

The easiest way to find out where the fly is, is to cast out and count (seconds) the line down until it hits bottom. If you know the depth you can then work out the sink rate.

 

Modern sinking lines are rated by the depth they sink per second. An intermediate (type 1 or 2) sinks pretty slowly and a T 7 or 8 sinks really fast. Lead core sinks the fastest.

 

Your old lines are probably good for the dustbin. You can get resonable lines like Shakespeare for a sensible price.

 

For casting decent sized pike flies you really need a 9 weight rod or heavier.

 

Hope this helps.

[Jim Murray]

The easiest way to find out where the fly is, is to cast out and count (seconds) the line down until it hits bottom. If you know the depth you can then work out the sink rate.

 

How can you be sure the line has hit bottom? Have read of a technique where you tie a piece of bouyant fluff to the end of your leader and wait for it to surface but this seems a tad tedious.

[Squimp]

How can you be sure the line has hit bottom? Have read of a technique where you tie a piece of bouyant fluff to the end of your leader and wait for it to surface but this seems a tad tedious.

 

The obvious way is to wait until you retrieve and have weed on the fly.

 

The golden rule for deep fishing is to have a fly that sinks slower than the line - that way you can fish the line on the bottom and keep the fly just above.

 

Skilled boat fishermen use a stopwatch to decide when to retrieve. It can be a more accurate way of fishing close to the bottom than using a lure/spinner.

 

The other basic to bear in mind is that the faster you retrieve (speed) the higher the line/fly will fish in the water column. Thus you can fish at the same depth with different density lines by adjusting the time you let the line sink and also changing the speed of retrieve. It can get quite clever!

 

Hope this helps.

 

PS I still think that the easiest solution to your 'problem' is to go and buy some new lines!