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| Sometimes fishing late pays off with stunning lake sunsets. (photo by Callum Brock) |
Lake fishing seems like it should be simple, I mean, growing up as a child and going to the local lakes was pretty simple, especially when fishing over planted fish. However, now, knowing what I know, it can be quite technical. As Callum from the shop here says it..."Lake fishing is the perfect example of how simple it can be or how complicated you want to make it." I couldn't agree more.
That being said, it's amazing how technical stillwater fishing can be and it can make your head spin trying to choose which lines to use/buy. Anyone who loves to fish lakes knows what I'm saying. Honestly, I mean no offense, unless you're a stillwater ninja, the need for all the different types of stillwater lines out there seems uneccessary. I hope to try and simplify things here and hope that I'm successful. When it comes down to it, most often I'm fishing a couple to three lines at the most. Especially if I am fishing from a float tube or pontoon and space is limited and I can't carry extra rods or a bunch of spare spools. On the other hand, if I am in my drift boat, then I will carry more in case I need it.
FLOATING LINES:
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RIO Elite Stillwater Floater.
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| RIO Elite Stillwater Floater Taper Profile |
When fishing stillwater (lakes) having a full floating line that performs well is a necessity. I personally like a floating line that can serve as an all-around multi-purpost line. Unless I'm fishing out of a boat and have much more room for extra rods with different specialized lines, a multi-purpose all around line comes in real handy.
The RIO Elite Stillwater Floater has been specifically designed to easily cast long leaders, and will turnover indicator rigs with multi-fly set ups we commonly use while Chironomid fishing. This line has the ultra-low stretch ConnectCore Plus core that provides unbelievable sensitivity for those sometimes subtle takes for a quicker reaction time when setting the hook. The Stillwater Floater also has a Hang Marker which allows you to estimate when to stop your retrieve and fish the "hang down" which can be extreamly effective. This line additionally has the SlickCast coating for incredible casting and durability as well and the MaxFloat Tip, which helps keep the tip of the line from sinking as many floating lines tend to, especially when dirty. The Elite Stillwater Line works well fishing from a boat or from shore.
NOTE: It is always a great idea to carry a few of the RIO Fly Line Cleaning Towelette's in your boat, pontoon or vest when fishing lakes. If your floating line starts to sink, they are a blessing and you can get a quick cleaning and your back to full floating.
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| Airflo SuperFLO Stillwater Floater |
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| Airflo SuperFLO Stillwater Floater Taper Profile |
Airflo's version of the stillwater floating line has their classic Delta Taper which is great for casting multiple fly set ups for distance with minimal disturbance on the waters surface, which helps prevent spooking fish. Airflo lines are made with a durable Polyurethane coating and are 100% PVC free. This has proven that the lines last longer over time. In addition, the
FLO technology has made it possible to create thinner diameter running lines in comparison to their older lines. This is a huge improvement because the newer lines are super slick and have minimal friction when going through the rod guides.
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| SA Amplitude Smooth Anadro Stillwater Indicator Line |
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| SA Amplitude Smooth Anadro Stillwater Indicator taper profile. |
The Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Anadro Stillwater Indicator fly line has become a pretty popular Chironomid line when using strike indicators. I like this line alot. It roll cast really well and is easy to see with it's alternating Hi-Vis bands near the tip. Even in low light conditions, I can easily track it. I also like the fact that it is one and a half line sizes heavy so there is no need to upsize the line for your rod. This also takes less effort to roll cast because it easily loads your rod so that you don't have to "make it" or try to "force it" to roll cast. With every rod that I have used this line on I just get the line that matches the rating of the rod. In other words if you have a 6wt rod, get the 6 weight line and you're good to go.
NOTE: One thing to note is that indicator specific lines tend to take up a lot more room on your reel because of the fact that they are sized heavy. Instead of a standard 6wt line being put on your 5/6wt rated reel, you're now trying to put a line that is more like a 7.5wt line on that reel. So your backing capacity will need to be adjusted accordingly. We also typically use longer rods like a 9.5' or 10' rod and sizing up on the reel is a great idea for two reasons, #1 it will balance out the rod better and #2 it will have the capacity to hold the right amount of backing and the indicator fly line. Make sence?
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| Beautiful Bow Bow, caught with a Chironomid and a sinking line. |
SINKING LINES:
Let's face it, when fishing stillwater, having sinking lines is critical to consistent success, especially when fish are not activly feeding on or near the surface. This is where it can be overwhelming, with so many choices of different sink rates available. Some manufactuers even have different stages of intermediate sink rates which we will discuss shortly. This is where having multiple spare spools make sense to me, especially when fishing from a float tube or pontoon. If you can easily change the spool to accomadate the techinque or sink rate you need, then having spare spools uses up less space than having seperate rods for each depth or tecnique to get the job done.
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| RIO's CamoLux Sub-Surface Line |
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| CamoLux Taper Profile |
I probably use the RIO CamoLux sinking line the most. It's a full interemdiate line that sinks at 1.5-2 inches per second, and is perfect for fishing near shore or in shallower areas or even when slow trolling. This line works really well when fishing Chironomids without an indicator and utilizing a super slow figure of eight retrieve.
The beautiful thing about this line is that the weight forward taper makes it pretty easy to roll cast or overhead cast and it has a hang marker to let you know to stop stripping and start slowly raising your rod tip up to fish just under the boat. This can be extremely effective.
The CamoLux comes in line sizes 4wt to 8wt and has a camo tone color scheme and the ConnectCore Plus technology. Another option of this line is the RIO AquaLux, which has the same taper and sink rate as the CamoLux but has a Clear/Translucent Green color scheme.
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| SA Sonar Stillwater Clear Camo Fly Line |
Intermediate Versions: SA's Sonar Stillwater Clear Camo line with AST
(Advance Shooting Technology) is famous for this technology which is an aditive that is impregnated into the line and creates a super slick line that cast like a dream and it enhances the lines durability. This line has also been built on the very popular MPX taper and it is a full intermediate sinking line that sinks at a rate of 1.25" per second, allowing you to fish just under the surface and choppy water and it is a full line size heavy, so there is no need to line size up. This line is perfectly suited to fish nymphs and streamers in your favorite lakes when you're not trying to get deep fast. Offered in line sizes 4wt thru 8wt line sizes.
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| SA Seamless Density Lines |
Deeper Sinking Versions: SA Sonar Stillwater Seamless Density fly lines are designed to provide straight line presentations to your subsurface flies with a seamless transition between the sink rates. These lines are based off the SA MPX taper and are two line sizes heavy for casting multiple fly set ups. Offered in S1/S3, S3/S5 and S5/S7
Intermediate Versions: New to us is the Airflo Sixth Sense 2 with Power Core and a smooth running line. A few have started to show up in the shop recently. The line boast low stretch of 6% and has hang markers at 10', 20' and 40' so there is no excuse to not fish the hang and feel confident you know exactly where what your depth is. Just in the intermediate versions, they have three different options, #1 Slow Intermediate at .5" per second, #2 Mid Interemdiate at 1" per second, and #3 Fast Intermediate at 1.5" per second. I personally would never fish all three of these, BUT if you're a stillwater ninja like I mentioned before, you might need all three. If I had to settle on one of the three, I would just fish the normal intermediate which is the Fast Interemdiate at 1.5" per second.
That said, I could totally see fishing the slow intermediate for instance in the very shallow weed beds along the shoreline where fish are cruising. Being able to keep your fly in the zone would be pretty important in that instance. A line that sinks too fast, requires a faster retrieve if trying to fish in shallow water, therefore giving the fish less time to decide to eat. Other manufactuers like RIO and Scientific Anglers have a Hover and Midge-Tip verstion of these slower sinking "intermediate" rates of .5" - 1" per second.
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| Airflo Sixth Sense Sinking Stillwater Fly Lines |
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| Sixth Sense Taper Profile |
Airflo's Sixth Sense Stillwater sinking lines come in a variety of sink rates. If you need a line that sinks deeper than the intermediate sink rates, you can choose from either
Sink 3 (3ips), Sink 5 (5ips), Sink 7 (7ips) and Sink 8 (8ips). Comes in line weights from WF5/6 TO WF8/9. These lines are very subtle and easy to manage, which is really nice and helps cut down on the line coiling on retrieves. These are also great for slow trolling or a slow figure of eight retrieve.
NOTE: The Airflo Sixth Sense sinking lines DO NOT come with a tip section loop at the front, there is a loop that attaches to the backing but not one up front.
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| RIO's Fathom Sinking Line |
RIO's assortment of Lake Series lines pretty much have you covered for any situation you might find yourself fishing. Just like Scientific Anglers and Airflo, RIO has put a lot of thought and effort in helping stillwater fisherman become better and more consistent anglers. From full floating lines, to Hover lines, to Midge Tip lines to Sink 3 to sink 7 lines.
One cool thing about the different colors for the different sink rates is that, if you can remember, just by glancing at the reel, you will be able to tell the sink rate by the color. Honestly I am a big fan of the sinking lines since I use them the majority of the time, which makes sense also because the trout spend their majority of time below the surface.
These lines get even more technical. Designed to sink in a "U" shape allowing to fish different depths in a single cast and retrieve. Wether you use the RIO Fathom CleanSweep or the Scientific Anglers Sonar Stillwater Parabolic Sink line, you will be fishing effectively. These lines help cover the more water per cast than a typical sinking line because when you strip the fly in, you go from shallow, to deep, level out a bit and then go from deep to shallower as you retreive. Sounds pretty effective doesn't it. Well, you should try it and see what happens.
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RIO's CleanSweep Lines - Slow & Fast Sink - Avail in 5 through 8 wt lines.
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| Scientific Anglers Sonar Stillwater Parabloic Sink Line |
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| Available in 5 thru 7 wt lines. |
As you can probably see by the length of this article that there are a lot of options of fly lines for stillwater fishing. I'm just scratching the surface without really going in to super detail about each line. This is where it is good to call the shop if you need to get deeper into it.
As a kid, I loved how it seemed simple to go lake fishing. Never gave it much thought. We just went and fished and whatever happened, happened. Now that I'm older and more inclined to think about why I am not catching trout in a lake, I am very pleased that we have the assortment of lines to choose from. Turns out, that having your fly at the right depth and the right time makes a huge difference.
Well, nuff said. Hope you got something out of this. If you have questions you can always give us a call at 541-386-6977.
GFS Team
John G.
PARTING SHOT:
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Beautiful Rainbow couldn't resist a Chironomid and a super slow retrieve on sinking line.
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"The Gorge"
Gorge Fly Shop Team - 541.386.6977
"Fly Fish the World with Us"
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