Fly Line Recommendation

[redsoxflyfishr]

I'm looking for a recommendation for a good full sink line to use at Strawberry. This past year I got off of the rivers and started fly fishing still water from a pontoon. I have been using SA wet tip type IV, which I normally use on rivers when I fish streamers. I had quite a bit success this past year with the sink tip line but am wondering if I would do better with a full sink line.

I have read online that the Cortland Camo Intermediate Sink line is great for stillwater fly fishing but I don't know if that is going to get me down fast enough at a place like Strawberry. I know the Scientific Angler uniform sink lines are pretty popular and have read that a Type III might also do the job. I'm sure the best answer is to have an intermediate and a type III and a type V...but if I wanted to choose just one which one would be most effective at Strawberry? I would be fishing it anytime of the year that there is open water so early spring through the fall. Any feedback on what I should be using would be appreciated. Thanks.
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[flygoddess]

I use a Density Compensated Type II more than anything. As for Strawberry, the II will work great year round, but I would think about saving up and buying SEASONAL lines. By that I mean a Fast sinking line for the summer warmer months and an Intermediate for Spring and Fall.
As fo line type, I say a Density Compensated for Strawberry, Wet Cell is more for shallow weedy waters.

Orvis is having a sale on their sinking lines. That is what I prefer.
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[redsoxflyfishr]

Thanks for the reply flygoddess. I'm familiar with most of the fly shops in the SLC area but I'm not sure I've ever noticed Orvis line sold at any. Do you know any local shops that sell Orvis line or do I need to look at buying this online?
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[LordoftheFlies]

I would echo what FG said. I generally use a type II on Strawberry.

Mostly I just wanted to say...GO YANKEES!
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[flygoddess]

Orvis would be online, but maybe look at SA or Rio sinking.
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[riverdog]

Angler's Den
5296 S. Freeway Park Dr.
Riverdale, UT 84405
801-773-1166
is the closest that carries Orvis products but I don't think you'll get the sales currently going online now.
The Orvis Store in SLC closed about a decade ago. They should have never put that store here would have done much better in Park City.
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[OldTroller]

You will be seriously handicapped with anything less that 4 lines.

Floating Line.... because dry fly fishing on a lake while you sit in a boat is the greatest and you can troll/strip a mouse pattern with a floating line too.

Clear Camo... a.k.a. slow sinking or intermediate. This will let you fish water less than five feet deep and still get your cast completely stripped in before you pulling weeds from the bottom. It is also great for drifting/trolling when the fish are looking up to feed when you are over any given depth of water.

Type 3...... is the most useful if you're going to use just one line. It will get deep enough if you wait long enough and will stay shallow enough if you're not making 60' casts.

Type 7.... Because sometimes you want to get deep and you want/need to do it quickly. This line is my go to when fishing emergers. I tie on a chironomid or mayfly pattern and cast out about fifteen feet of line to which is tied about 8 feet of tippet to which is tied said bug. I kick backwards slowly for about a minute (less if the water is under 10 feet deep) and then strip the fly in with short 2 to 4 inch pulls and short rests. That gives the effect of the fly swimming to the surface. Let me tell you when that is on you will get really hard hits from even the biggest fish in the pond.

You've read where each sink rate or "type" of fly line will sink at a given rate and by counting while the line sinks you can determine the depth the fish are holding/feeding. Well you can also troll/kick backward and each different sink rate will run at a different depth. And that is a really fun way to cover water and find fish.

So if you have only one fly line you will either be sinking below where the fish are (that is when the fish are not exactly in line with what line you do have) or not sinking down to the fish unless you count long enough.

For example if you are fishing a type 3 line and want to fish 20 feet deep you will have to count to somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 seconds. Where as if you're fishing a type 7 you're only going to have to count to about 35.

Here's my formula: Second per foot that your line sinks times depth = seconds to depth that you want to be. So a type 3 sinks at round 4'' per second (all lines vary in their sink rate) and that is 4 seconds per foot or 80 seconds to get 20 feet deep.

So you see here that if you want to target fish that are 20' deep and you have a type 3 line you will be counting down almost twice as long as you would if you had a type 7. That doesn't add up to awful fast for just one or two fish but if the fish are that deep all day you will catch many, many more fish by getting you fly in place in half the time by using a type 7 over a type 3.
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[flygoddess]

Handicapped? Maybe some, but I
use an Intermediate as I mentioned and to be honest, I have II, III, IV, V, and VII and have had for many years, but I can tell you they are all like new except the II and the intermediate. I will admit I use the III some, but rarely use the VII. Depth Charge gets the bottom work for me with 300gr on a 6 wt.
But deep nymphing I will use a floating line and up to 30' leader.
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[redsoxflyfishr]

@oldtroller - thanks for the info. I have a motor on my pontoon and I fish it like you described doing a slow troll or kicking backwards. Probably 90% of my fishing on strawberry has been done this way...I typically just troll my fly as I kick backwards slowly. I didn't do much casting and stripping in.

Is there a noticeable difference between an intermediate line and a Type II? From what I've been reading the sink rate seems relatively the same for both types of line. I'm also a little unfamiliar with the grain ratings on orvis lines...what grain do I want on a 6 wt rod for a faster sinking line? Sorry for the basic questions but I've pretty much stuck to just floating and sink tip lines for the last several years...there seems to be many many more choices when it comes to sinking lines.

When using these faster sink lines am I going to get hung up on the bottom a lot just trolling? I'm just wondering if it would be more effective to try stripping my fly in rather than trolling. Again, thanks for all of the help as I'm still fairly new to stillwater.
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[OldTroller]

You will have some days when trolling is the key and some days when you can really wake the fish up by trolling backwards for a minute or two and then strip the fly in. Not sure why but that is my go to method when it's slow.

The faster sink lines serve two purposes for those that fish like us. They will sink faster when you're fishing to deeper fish and you want to count down your fly. However the better function is just running deeper while/when trolling.

On a slow day at the berry try a faster sinking line over deeper water. Troll for a couple of minutes then pick one of these metods: Stop moving and strip in the fly of keep trolling and strip in the fly. Use short 9" pulls one time and long 2' to 4' pulls another time.

Maybe after it thaws we can meet up and fish the berry.
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[joshomaru]

[quote OldTroller]You will be seriously handicapped with anything less that 4 lines.

Floating Line.... because dry fly fishing on a lake while you sit in a boat is the greatest and you can troll/strip a mouse pattern with a floating line too.

Clear Camo... a.k.a. slow sinking or intermediate. This will let you fish water less than five feet deep and still get your cast completely stripped in before you pulling weeds from the bottom. It is also great for drifting/trolling when the fish are looking up to feed when you are over any given depth of water.

Type 3...... is the most useful if you're going to use just one line. It will get deep enough if you wait long enough and will stay shallow enough if you're not making 60' casts.

Type 7.... Because sometimes you want to get deep and you want/need to do it quickly. This line is my go to when fishing emergers. I tie on a chironomid or mayfly pattern and cast out about fifteen feet of line to which is tied about 8 feet of tippet to which is tied said bug. I kick backwards slowly for about a minute (less if the water is under 10 feet deep) and then strip the fly in with short 2 to 4 inch pulls and short rests. That gives the effect of the fly swimming to the surface. Let me tell you when that is on you will get really hard hits from even the biggest fish in the pond.

You've read where each sink rate or "type" of fly line will sink at a given rate and by counting while the line sinks you can determine the depth the fish are holding/feeding. Well you can also troll/kick backward and each different sink rate will run at a different depth. And that is a really fun way to cover water and find fish.

So if you have only one fly line you will either be sinking below where the fish are (that is when the fish are not exactly in line with what line you do have) or not sinking down to the fish unless you count long enough.

For example if you are fishing a type 3 line and want to fish 20 feet deep you will have to count to somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 seconds. Where as if you're fishing a type 7 you're only going to have to count to about 35.

Here's my formula: Second per foot that your line sinks times depth = seconds to depth that you want to be. So a type 3 sinks at round 4'' per second (all lines vary in their sink rate) and that is 4 seconds per foot or 80 seconds to get 20 feet deep.

So you see here that if you want to target fish that are 20' deep and you have a type 3 line you will be counting down almost twice as long as you would if you had a type 7. That doesn't add up to awful fast for just one or two fish but if the fish are that deep all day you will catch many, many more fish by getting you fly in place in half the time by using a type 7 over a type 3.[/quote]

A lot of good info here. Thanks for posting it!
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[flygoddess]

Just one nore on the depth charge, as I pointed out, a 300 grain for 6 wt 250 for a 5 wt. It is 30' of the fast sinking line and a different color so easy to tell you have 30' plus leader out. The next 70' is intermediate. I does strip different then a uniform sinking line and I find it perfect for Leech patterns and Crawfish, both bottom dwellers. Trolling pulling these works fantastic, but I don't get that result with a VII.
As for using a VII for deep nymphing you need to also know the depth like using dry line and an indicator, plus you may find marking your line in 10 foot increments because the idea of using this line for deep nymphing is to drop it down short of the bottom and strip back up. So if you are in 30' of water, 30' of line. You don't want to cast 50 or 60 feet out as this line will drag the bottom, but this is just my findings from personal experience.

I agree that multi lines are a must for stillwater, but I think different weights is all. But I also fish shallow Trophy Lakes and these lines work for me in both deep and shallow.
There is a difference in Intermediate and Type II as pointed out in sink rate. Easy way to put it, ALL sinking lines will hit the bottom, some quicker than others.
The reason I didn't push Intermediate is again as mentioned a slow sinking sub surface line...something that can be achieved with a longer leader on a floating line, however I will say this is a line to have at some point. Just starting out and the cost of lines, I think this line can wait, again, just my opinion.

Another thought, the farther one cast equaling more line on the water, the more it will sink. To break this down, If I am fishing say 50' of Type II, and someone next to me is fishing 80' of Intermediate, both stripping or trolling, that intermediate will end up the same depth as the type II. With this thought, the counting down Old Troller mentioned does change dramatically.

Just adding another perspective and reason to my post.
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[redsoxflyfishr]

Thanks for the info everyone. I think I'm going to start out with a Type II for this spring and go from there we get into the summer months. Hopefully after a few times out on the water this year I'll have a better idea of fishing with a full sink line.
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