SA Clear Tip and Pike...

[k.hanley]

I just wanted to mention that the SA Clear Intermediate sink tip (350 grain) was an awesome line for our latest pike and walleye adventure. I just returned from a great experience in northern Manitoba... we used the clear tip for most of the trip. It performed excellent for working the shallows pulling streamers and equally effective with gurglers on top. It was especially productive within the depth range of 1 to 6 feet.

Not much of a problem with tangles (though there were a few). It casts beautifully in the wind. I don't yet know how long it will last??? I just got mine. I plan on fishing it hard in Alaska and back here in northern California for the rest of the year.
Cheers, Ken

[KD]

Kenny, I've been using that clear tip streamer express line on the Delta for stripers last season. It's great for shallow water tactics. 2-5ft seems to be the sweet spot. No problems with durability..

Sounds like you had a good trip.

KD

[k.hanley]

That's great news KD. We had a terrific adventure.
Cheers, Ken
PS: For those of you not familiar with the line in this thread...I forgot to mention the tip length on this design is 30 feet. Sweet stuff!

[KD]

Hey Amigo, fill us in on the fun stuff. How'd you like those topwater grabs!!!?? Kind'a makes those bass blowups pale!

KD

[Digger]

Sounds like the ticket for tossing streamers for browns, although 350 grain 'sounds' like a lot. Were the flows fast where you were?
Are there lighter grains for softer water?

[k.hanley]

Say hey Digger...
Don't let the grain weight fool you. In this case it's uesd to match the rod class (8 and 9 weight outfits). The line is an intermediate sinking design. Very slow in it's descent. Perfect in my mind. Yes, there are lighter versions to match lighter rod classes.

Grain weight plus line diameter combine to create floating and sinking designs. You could actually have a 350 grain floating line because of a large diameter tip (which causes drag resistance)...or... a 350 grain sinking style because the tip diameter is designed very slim (providing less surface area for drag resistance). Perhpas someone who is a line spcialist will help us with this thread?
Cheers, Ken

Say Hey KD...
We worked on sand flats, rock fields, rocky walls, lilly pads, grassy points, deeper cabbage grass, snake grass flats, and even river mouths. The place offered quite a variety of exploration. We even worked deeper holes for lake trout (of course we switched to fast sinking lines).

The pike bowups where incredible. My skin would crawl when seemingly a pike would appear out of nowhere and crush the fly. Often though, we cast to specific fish we saw in the shallows. The walleye ate streamers readily. The grayling were excellent for dryfly action with small brown caddis (we didn'tget a shot at them...but others in the lodge did).

The weather made it tough. Some days were fine. A few had heavy winds. One was a day for the record books with a huge squall and lightening cracking on top of us.

The wildlife was cool. The region amazing.
Cheers, Ken

[Adam Grace]

Digger,

Fly lines have specific parameters for physical weight which is measured in "grains". Fly rods are designed to cast a certain amount of grains in order for the rod to load(flex) properly.

A floating line may weigh 400gr but the density of the line will determine whether it floats. A line's specific gravity needs to be less than the water in order to float. The line companies add micro balloons to thier lines to decrease the line's specific gravity and make it float. You may have noticed that some lines float better than others. The better floating lines usually have a higher specific gravity.

On the other side to make lines sink, extra weight such as lead or tungsten which is more commonly used in todays quality lines. Tungtsen is nearly twice as heavy as lead and therefore less is needed to make a line sink at the same speed. A smaller amount of powder allows the line companies to decrease the diameter of sinking lines which reduces drag and produces even faster sinking lines like type 7 's and 8's. These ultra fast sinking line can sink up to 8.5 inches per second.

Any questions?

[Digger]

Thanks Adam, Ken. It all makes perfect sense.
You'd think an engineer (such as myself) would have figured that out sooner.

[k.hanley]

okie dokie Digger
Cheers, K