Sink Tip Lines

The Sink Tip Line

If you like to streamer fish, and you fish moving water, it is best to have some sort of sink-tip line with you. The quality of these lines improves greatly every year. I keep one rod rigged up with sink tip, and one with sinking line.

Sink Tips cast easier. When fishing tips, there is no need for long leader lengths. Tie on 4-6 feet of mono or flouro and you straight. A short leader means that it is easier to turnover those less than aerodynamic streamers. These lines are dense, so they add weight, which will help to flex and load your rod. The better you are able to feel the load of your rod, the better and more accurate the cast. Pure and simple.

Roll cast, yup, much better here too. As stated above, streamers tend not to be very aerodynamic. The enemy here is the long leader…..not needed with sink tips. When fishing in tight to shore, being able to roll cast your fly is paramount. Essentially, by eliminating leader length and having more mass close to the fly, we can enjoy less slack and smoother levels of tension into our casting strokes.

Depth. Get the fly in front of the fish’s face, the better your chances are he’s going to hit it. Sink tips get you to depth FAST! They also help keep your flies looking natural during the presentation. These lines allow you to keep your patterns at a specific depth in the water column without pulling them up towards the surface and away from a waiting fish. This actually has to do with the overall length of the tip. In fact, full sinking lines are best at maintaining a certain depth throughout the retrieve.

So what about sinking line? They are tapered just like a floating head. Here’s the kicker though, the entire portion of the fly line including the running line portion sinks at various rates. The whole head sinks at the same rate, which is great for getting deep and maintaining that depth throughout the retrieve. This line really performs its best in still water. In running water, it just doesn’t seem like I have the same control. Mending can be brutal. If you know the direction and presentation before you cast, you can get by with sinking line. I simply prefer to use sinking line in still water. Moving water, the sink tip is my go to.