Journal

The sink rate is determined in IPS – inch per second. It can also be converted to cm/sek. This means that the higher the number, the faster the line will sink. But in reality, and especially when fishing in running water, there are many factors that you as an angler can do to fine tune and adjust the depth of your line.

The term S3/S5/S7 means that it is a triple density fly line with the Sink 3 density in the back end, a Sink 5 density on the mid section and a Sink 7 density in the front. The triple density configuration ensures that the line has a nice and straight sinking profile in the water, to give good sensibility, bring your fly down deep and increase the hookrate.

Release line vs. retrieve line – With the help of line release you can quickly make your line sink an extra half meter or meter if needed. Make the cast and let your line drift with the current without having contact with it. When the line free-runs, it sinks unaffected, and as fast as it should according to the instructions. This is well needed when going really deep or fishing in strong current. An easy trick I use often myself is to make your cast and then move your three or four steps down stream. Normally you move first and then make your cast. Do the reverse and you will fish much deeper.

Angle on the cast – With the help of different angles on the cast you can make your line sink at different speeds. A well mended line with a great “hang” will chew it’s way deep into heavy current. If you make your cast more across the stream the water will push your line up much more and prevent it from sinking.

Weight & dressing of the fly – Large flies with a lot of volume are difficult to get down to depth. Sometimes they are more like dry flies, floating on the surface! Here it is important to use bottle tubes, tungsten cones and different kind of weights on your flies. You can also tie the flies with thinner wings and smaller bodies to make them sink faster. Bucktail is a great and almost forgotten material in flies for deep fishing.

Type of leader, densities and length – If you want the fly to get deep down as quickly as possible, you should use a very short leader. A short leader in fluorocarbon will help you get the fly down quickly. In some cases it can be a fast/hard current at the surface but much calmer a bit down in the water. Then it may be a good option to use a longer leader instead and fish it with a light and unweighted fly that gets a nice floating hang below the fast current. Sometimes you can also use this trick when fishing deep necks with slow current.

Sinking back end vs floating back end of the shooting head – At a first glance two different lines can look pretty similar, for example F/S3/S5 and I/S4/S6; the front end density only differs by 1 inch per second. But in reality there is a bigger difference as the floatability of the back end also affects how deep the front of the line will sink, especially in fast running water. The fast current will push your line against the surface and will prevent it from getting down.