Sinking lines for fast currents

[GSB fly]

As a general rule are full sinking or sinking tip lines preferred when fishing fast currents from shore? And if sinking tips do you have a favourite maker / tip length?

Appreciate any comments

[capemike88]

Sink Tips, like the Teeny shooting heads..check them out

[danny]

it depends where you're fishing, and what you're fishing for. that said, when i have fished surf that is big or a very strong current, i feel like i can have better line control with a sinking line or at least a sink tip. otherwise, i prefer an intermediate from the beach.

[brushfly]

Although I fish 90% of the time by boat, I've used both the Teeny Sink Tip and a Full Sink. As Danny said, alot depends on where you're fishing.

That said, I like the full sink more as IMO, it maintains better direct contact with the fly. Boat way, it also has the ability to fish much deeper than the sink tip but that is the purpose of the full sink. If your fishing real swift current at an Inlet or point or the like, I would think the full sink would take you down where you want to be if your looking for bass or such. Off a Ocean Beach front, in heavy rollers, I think the Sink Tip would have the edge. On a big slope, the backcast of the Full Sink can be an issue.

[venture]

During my term as a beach bound fly angler, I never saw or heard of anyone fishing with anything but a floater or intermediate.

Let's face it. When your standing in knee deep water and casting your fly 60 feet, your fly is landing in 5 - 6 feet of water tops. Why would you need a sinking line in that depth of water for a feeding saltwater fish?

From the shore, I've caught fish in the high south side surf and off the calm beaches of the north shore....from Long Island to Nantucket. Never saw anyone hinder their casting abilities with sinking lines thinking that they were better off dragging their flies on the bottom.

And fish in the surf or near a beach usually eat what they see as long as it's close to what they are feeding on. Go with a floating or intermediate line from the beach for salt water fish and you will have no problems.

Howie

[Strat]

I like the 300grn RIO Striper DC - think it's a 26' head/intermediate running line. I fish the surf/rips with sinking lines because:

-Minimal false casting required
-Shoots well into the wind
-Maintains better contact with the fly (less affected by wave action)
-Gets down in front of fish's eye level fast

[Punchshot]

I have the Rio line too, but have yet to use the 250,350 or 450 lines yet, just the intermediate. I fish it from shore and from my yak

[GSB fly]

Thanks for the comments.

The areas I was thinking about fishing are Jones and Fire Island Inlets & I was thinking that sink tips might be better than full sink since as one would be retrieving from deep water into shallow the slower sinking (can you get a floating running line on a fastish sinking tip?) running line might (a) help avoid catching the bottom and (b) assist in line management.

Rio seems to be a popular line choice

[surfrat59]

If you intend to fish off the jetty at Jones Inlet then a full sink or sink tip will put you in the strike zone, if you are fishing the pocket then an intermediate line will suffice...

[tsheehy]

I fish a 400-450 grain sinktip w/intermediate running line about 85% of the time from a boat. Of all the sinking lines I've used (Teeny, Cortland 444, Sci Anglers, Rio) so far the Cortland 555 is my favorite. Most of the places I fish have a decent current, and I feel like I can fish down to 15' or so without too much work. I have found that the current will make it very difficult to fish any deeper with this type of line.

If I need to consistently fish 20+ I'll switch over to my dredging line. This is a home-made shooting head system made with 30' of Rio T-14 and a Rio full sinking DI-7 running line. Both the T-14 and DI-7 are very dense, and have a narrow diameter - which I think becomes the biggest benefit when trying to fish a deep hole with any sort of current above 2 knots.

I don't know if I would want to cast my dredging line from shore, but you could definitely use 28-30' of T-14 (around $8) loop-to-loop connected to the back of an existing intermediate fly line. You will at least get a feel for how these heavy/narrow diameter lines fish and if it works in your situation, you could then purchase a more permanent running line.

-- Tom

[capemike88]

Most Teenys have a floating running line I believe, least mine do.

[Striperondafly]

I like and use the Teeny 350, 550 for shore and the Rio 750 grain 150ft line offshore.

[GRH]

I fish a fast moving channel at times and need to get down to the fish. Orvis Depth Charge is the only way to go.

[Doug Jowett]

I use Cortland Quick Descent lines from 225 to 625 grain heads with intermediate and floating running lines. Have used these lines for many years. They get the job done and more importantly hold up under tought conditions being dragged around rocks all the time. They also don't hinge like most of the other sink/tip lines.