My floating lines turn into sink tips

[chapmag]

I've always had a problem keeping the tips of floating lines floating. After only a few outings the loops at the tip of my floating trout lines sink.

I've tried cleaning and conditioning the line after every trip, putting floatant on the first foot or so of the line, using floating poly leaders. The only one that has worked somewhat is the floating polyleader.

I've had this problem with Rio, Scientific Angler, and Airflo lines. I see that S.A. has a Dry Tip techology now, at least in their $125 (!) fly lines.

So I suspect my fishing technique might cause the problem. I make upstream mends when I dry fly or indicator fish so drag is not pulling the tip down.

What mending techniques/cleaning strategies/line dressings/leaders/etc. have you found that keeps your tips floating? Thanks.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

This is a old problem.....

The fly line manufacturers want to have smaller delicate fly line tip diameters but this does not allow much room for the floating material inside the fly line.

[Mr F]

Hey Greg,

That's a weird one. I only clean my lines about once a year. For trout I use Rio Gold or Rio Trout LT (DT). I spend a lot of days on the water and rarely have a problem. My lines usually crack or get cut before they start consistently sinking (usually about 2.5 seasons of hard use).

I don't see how your fishing technique would sink your line. That upstream mend is a pretty standard thing. If just the connecting loop is sinking I wouldn't worry--OR I'd cut off the loop and nail-knot in some mono. If it's the first few feet of line, and it's sinking like an intermediate tip, then I'd be worried.

Try laying off the floatant and conditioner and go for more of a squeaky clean. I think adding grease or conditioner to a modern fly line attracts too much river gunk, and the gunk is what makes it sink (that's just my theory--others still swear by Muclin).

For the annual line cleaning I use the Rio/Tim Flagler method:

Pt 1: https://vimeo.com/25624469
Pt 2: https://vimeo.com/25624909

He recommends the full clean more often than I have time for--but doing it once a year works for me. Those Rio cleaning cloths work pretty well for me--and I like that they're reusable. Agent X is nice but other brands (like Loon) work too. Just make sure they leave a dry finish (again, grease attracts dirt and gunk).

If I'm fishing exceptionally dirty water (like a bluegill pond) I'll run the line through my shirt tail or bandana before I head home. Sometimes I'll remove the fly and drag it through the grass a few times.

Lastly, I don't know what kind of line you're using, but the higher-end models seem to last/flaot longer--even within brands (for example, there's a huge difference between Rio Mainstream and Rio Gold). Make sure you're using quality line, not the cheap stuff. And yes, $125 is way too much to spend on a line--but $80-90 isn't.

Hope that helps,

MF

[HSano]

I'm not sure what a poly leader is. I've had the same problem over the years. Cleaning and treating the line has helped. If your leader has a butt section, try greasing a couple feet of the butt section with paste-type floatant. This will keep the tip of the flyline from sinking and absorbing water. You may have to re-apply the floatant several times during the day.