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best floatant?
#1
i am looking into what the best floatants are, i have had some cheap ones in the past and before i went on my camping trip i found an old container of gink brand floatant and it looked good thats why i didnt buy any new stuff but the gink i had really sucked and i dont know if it was because it was old or what, any suggestions on good floatant brands. Also the gink worked like crap with my dry shake i use[frown]
thanks guys
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#2
I think I used Gink once[Wink]
I have Loon's Aqual. Good stuff, but when warm it becomes very liquidy. But, when cold, it is like silicone. Hard to work with.

I use Dry Magic and Frog's Fanny all the time. They are the only stuff you can use when fishing CDC flies, plus Frog's Fanny can be used on Pupas and Emergers. It creates a little bubble around the fly like the natural might have. Plus it dries the fly out like your dry shake, but much finer powder.

I also use Mucilin. It is in a great little plastic tin and has a pad in it. I run my leader through it when fishing dries and it floats all day.

In a pinch, I have used Chap Stix
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#3
hmmm the frogs fanny sounds like something i could use for sure, thanks for the info ill go check some out after work today.
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#4
chapstick huh, i had some of that. i bet it would have worked better than the gink[:p]LOL
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#5
I love frogs fanny as well...(A sentence that only a fly fisherman would understand)

I have used it for a while now and compared Gink I would say its 10x better and like FG said its versatile too. Using it on small scuds works wonders
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#6
Aquel for me. I have never had it jel up like Gink were I couldn't get it out of the jar and frogs fanny was useless after the first fish slimed it.
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#7
It's called "re apply"[cool]
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#8
+1 you gotta reapply after every fish you cast cause the fly might not be all that wet but your leader and tippet lose the floatant after abit so when you go to twitch or stripp something back on top the drag of the line just pulls your bug down and its no bueno.
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#9
Do a search on eBay or Google for " hydrophobic fumed silica" [Wink]
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#10
Frogs Fanny is the best....but you will not find any at Sportsmans.....everytime I go there it is completely sold out....they do have it at Fish Tech though.
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#11
I make my own.

Works better than any I have ever used. I can't give you the recipe, that was a promise I made when I got the formula, but I make it a qt at a time and will gladly exchange flies or other items for some.

It gels in the cold and becomes liquid at body temps, it works great either way on everything I have ever tried it on including CDC's
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#12
Liquifies? That is interesting. I buy mine at Sportsman's, but I am pretty sure I didn't buy it all...LOL
Like in Fly Fishing, Timing is everything...[Wink]
CPierce made some and sent it to me. Pretty close to Frog's Fanny but I think FF is still finer. More like flour.

Maybe you all don't use any CDC flies. I do. Caddis, Midges, The thing with CDC is the liquid floatant plasters the feather and prevents it from doing what it is meant to do. Frogs Fanny works the best for this feather without any chance of plastering.
Dry Magic is a liquid but it acts like Frogs Fanny..

I bought a great big bottle of home made Frogs Fanny from James HFT when he had his shop. It was perfect!
I miss your shop J!!!!!!! You had some very cool hard to fine fly tying supplies. Even my Tiemco #32s
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#13
Foam! I'm too lazy to use floatant if I don't have to. I do carry it and even use a half dozen times a year. I like aquel. Still have some frogs fanny which is good if things really get waterlogged. Just don't open it in the wind.
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#14
Rain-X
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#15
I just go to fish tech and they have some gel type next to the fly rack and it works great. just dabe it on mix in with the fly and whip it in the air for a little bit and it works great. I have trolled in uinta mountain with flies and sometimes the fish would go after it because its still on the top water skidding around.
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#16
Powerbait smeared on the fly should do it![Wink]

I am a frogs ass user.
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#17
I use a variation of Ray Bergman's formula from way back. (Its in his book TROUT, from the 1930's) Google it.

I use four parts lighter fluid to one part shaved parrafin wax. (his ratio was 8-1) I fish cdc flies every day, and often all day. I don't even own a nymph or wet fly for trout fishing. This stuff works great on CDC and everything else dry. It cleans the fly, and leaves a very light wax coating.

One drawback, it only works above 60 degrees. If you carry it inside close to your body like in a pocket, you can use it in cooler temps. Not a late fall-early spring thing though. Then, its frogs fanny every few minutes.

Commercially, I like Gink.
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#18
thanks for all the good info from everyone, as always.[Smile]
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#19
[quote riverdog] Still have some frogs fanny which is good if things really get waterlogged. Just don't open it in the wind.[/quote]

Good point....and be sure not to get it near your nose....you don't want to look like you just got out of the bathroom from an 80's party.[Wink]
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#20
[quote Tarponjim] Commercially, I like Gink.[/quote]

Gink" type floatants is something you find in the makeup isle of a pharmacy. It is called Albolene
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