Slow sink or intermediate

[Love2Fish]

Technical question.. I ordered a 9 wt intermediate line manufactured by AirFlow. It's for striper fishing in NJ.

The WEB site I purchased it from was out of that line and sent me a 9 wt. slow sink line from Scientific Anglers (Mastery series) . They called to tell me that they didn't want me to be without line in case I was on a time schedule and said that if this was not the proper line that they would gladly send me what I ordered when it came in. It was nice of them to do that and to call me.

Anyway.. What is the difference between intermediate and slow sinking. I looked at the line specs and they seem damn close as far as i.p.s. rates. Is there any difference besides intermediate being a .25 second faster in sinking?

Thanks..

[Moonwalker2000]

Looking at Airflo's website www.flylines.com the sinkrates are as follows.

Intermediate 1.5 i.p.s.
Fast Sink or Sinking DI-3 3.0 i.p.s.
Super Fast Sink or Sinking DI-7 6.0-7.0 i.p.s.

[flysully]

The difference in sink rate is very small. Sometimes, particularly with albies the small difference seems to make a difference in the catch as compared with a friend's Cortland slow sink and my Airflo intermediate. He might catch while I don't depending on at which water depth the albies are "taking" on that particular day. I wouldn't buy his line because of this, though because on other days, and on most days, my Airflo int. line is just perfect! In my opinion, and I do use Airflo's cold saltwater clear intermediate line, the Airflo outperforms any other clear line as far as minimum coiling and better performance in cold weather. The line rarely kinks or knots up. If it does, you can pick out the snarl more quickly than with any other line. It's plain slippery. Your decision as to whether to keep the Sci Ang or send it back? SciAng makes fine lines. Maybe you'd like to try it out and see if it coils or has a lot of memory. But, the sink rate is minimally different. I don't feel, if that's your concern, it's a problem at all.

[Moonwalker2000]

Question about your coldwater line:
How does it perform through the year when the waters get warmer?

I just sent back an Airflo 12wt multi tip line because it's designed for warm saltwater and was giving me trouble with the floating tip section and the running line.
The cold lines only go to 10wt so I'm about to choose a floating and intermediate 12 wt from them but have just come across their specs on cold water lines and need advice.

I live in Queens NY and fish around LI.

Thanks

[FLYRODER]

Moonwalker2000 the Airflo coldwater lines will cast well in all water temps. I've been using there lines for a few years now and have never had any problems with the lines. They cast great in cold or warm water.

I also have there multi tip line. It works well in calm waters but if you need to get deep in moving water forget about it.

I checked out the Airflo site and all the full Coldwater Lines go up to 12wt.

You could also go with a shooting head system using the Airflo 35ft heads. Very easy to change from 1 sink rate to another in less than 2 minutes.

[Love2Fish]

Thanks for the replies..

I ended up going to an Orvis outfitter near my house. Ended up purchasing Orvis Wonderline intermediate 9wt in clear for cold water. I know $$$$. But it casts and shoots line effortlessly and comes with a triple nail not loop to attach to the leader..

Oh, while I was there I also purchased a Tridant TLS 9wt. (Fathers day gift) They are having a great deal until the end of this month. If you trade in any working rod. (I traded an old freshwater spinning rod that I haven't used in 15 years). Any working trade will get you 25% off. I saved $86.00 on the TLS. Great deal!

Anyway, I became a believer when I went out back of the store to cast. I can't wait to get hold of a nice striper or weakie.

Good fishing all..

[Moonwalker2000]

FLYRODER: Thanks for the advice. It’s the multi tip coldwater (fresh water) line that I meant only goes to 10 wt. I have a 9 wt multi tip (coldwater) for an 8 wt rod and love the handling and convenience of it.

I’m going to go with the cold water lines for now once I get the store credit for the 12wt multi tip but I have deliberated over a shooting head system also. I will get into them soon but I don’t feel comfortable using them as my full time choice but would rather draw on them when the need arises.

Now that you’ve got me started, would you recommend a floating or intermediate running line for a multi head shooting system? I’d like to get one spool, one running line and different heads for both 8wt and 11 wt rods. I’ve over lined both these rods by one for the lines mentioned before but what about overlining shooting heads. Both rods are Orvis tip flex rods. Thanks once again.

Love2Fish: That’s a nice setup. It’s great to be able to try before you buy.

[FLYRODER]

For a shooting head system your better off using 100-125ft of Gudebrod Braided Butt Leader 35#test as a running line or something similar. It shoots thru the guides real smooth and is great for long distance casts if needed. The Gudebrod running line will sink at the same rate as the head you would attach to it. I wouldn't use an Intermediate or a Floating line as a running line. You won't get the distance as you would using Gudebrod and the head will hinge on those types of running line.

[Moonwalker2000]

FLYRODER: Thanks for that info. I'll get the regular lines sorted out once I get back from a trip to Ireland and then put together a shooting head system for the 11 wt.