Re: Stripping in a floating line

Presentation Floating Line

Date: April 07, 2008 at 21:59:17
From: ken, [pool-70-109-211-205.prvdri.east.verizon.net]
Subject: Re: Stripping in a floating line

Quakers have fun. I think.

Every and all possible ways of fishing are good.

At some point you will find that catching fish becomes less important then learning new ways to catch them. Honest... it will happen and I know that it will happen to you because you like to learn new things. After you get used to the floating line somewhat you will find that you can mix up retrieves and drifts and mends all on the same cast and you will do that as you become more and more familiar with the possible things you can do with he floater.
It is the most versatile line hands down and the only place in fly fishing in the whole world of fly fishing that this is not known and accepted is in the type of modern salt water fly fishing that became popular about fifteen years ago.
In that it is an aberration.
Sinking lines are used in all forms of fly fishing and are useful but not the basic first line to buy to learn with. It prevents growth and limits the angler to simple spinning cast and retrieve techniques.

Yes you can cast and strip with floating lines and very effectively too
You can do this with Clowsers that jig up and down, epoxys that sink, traditional flies that are neutral and with split shots and with sink tips within the leader. Often you can fish two to four or more times deeper than sinking lines can in current because you can mend and use drag rather than be defeated by it.
The old masters say you can fish fifteen feet deep in current with control with a floating line and you can. You will not be able to do all those different kinds of things with a totally sunk line so the options you have with them are limited.
You will catch fish with both floating and sinking lines.

Over time if you become acquainted with the old masters you will attempt to fish very deep, fifteen feet, with a floating line and you will succeed if you keep at it and trust them and at that point you will truly know how to use your sinking lines very intelligently and effectively.
The things you learn by fishing deep with a floating line - learning how to do everything that one can --- is the fast lane for learning the limitations of presentation with any kind of line.
Fly fishing is line handling. You can only learn how to do that if you can move the line once it is in the water and you can only do that with the floating line.

Fishing with sinking lines intelligently depends on and is built on that knowledge.

Sinking lines are specialty lines created for special purposes and are not basic all purpose fly fishing lines.

Once you learn about line handling with floating lines you will be able to dead drift and greased line (slipping drift) swing and strip and back the fly down current at depth and be able to control the fly the way you want it to swim.
Casting and stripping as your only option will never teach you that. Is it worth learning?

It is traditional fly fishing with all its richness so maybe it is.

Drag is not defeated by sinking lines it is just ignored and that is not very smart. Knowing about drag will not stop you from catching just as many fish as you would by ignoring it. It adds to your skill it does not subtract from it.

I strip with floating lines often and it is a very effective technique by itself and used along with and in combination with other techniques it is fundamental to fishing successfully in the ocean.

You can do it with sinking lines too but you can't learn how to do it at depth with perfect control visually with them. You do need to see it before you learn how to feel it. At a certain point in your experience the feel takes over.

Using sinking lines alone to learn with extends the learning curve of presentation and control of the sunk line towards infinity rather than shortening teh learning curve.

I like sinking lines and I use them and I always have but they do not ever replace the importance of being educated in line control that comes naturally through being able to understand drag and current that enables one to be able handle the floater expertly and through this knowledge to be able to use a sinking line intelligently with the greatest effect.

That is the heart and soul and spirit of fly fishing.
It is also the mind of traditional fly fishing and all the knowledge of line handling and fly control is based on that fundamental understanding of current and drag and being able to understand the dynamics of it fully.
There is no short cut. To limit yourself to a sinking line in fly fishing in salt water is to find oneself separated from all other fly fishing traditions in teh use of the meaning of terms and on a path that is truly a dead end.

I am not talking about you Mr. Fisherman.

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