Drag : "The Force," in presentation.

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Date: December 27, 2002 at 13:52:23
From: ken, [pool-64-223-38-62.prov.east.verizon.net]
Subject: Drag : "The Force," in presentation.

Re: In the Drift

Spring 2001 Archive

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Re: In the Drift

From: Ken
Date: 27 Apr 2001
Time: 00:28:35
Remote Name: 207.180.0.8

Comments
Floating lines

Double taper lines are the classical solution for mending. They work fine and I like them very much and I do not have any disagreement with using them. Salt water tapers are also a good solution for the type of fishing we do in salt water. The reason for this is simple the head is not lifted and moved by fliping the running line it is moved by using the backpressure from the head to lift the line with the rod and then place the line where you wish it to be. In the salt we are not as concerned with moving the fly as trout fisherman are in fact having the fly move is not a bad thing to do at all. I use a much longer rod than most so I can easily lift a salt water taper and most of the running line off the surface simply by pointing the rod down the line, pulling out the slack and lifting with the rod. It is very easy to do and I have been showing people how easy it is to do for twenty or more years. If there is a problem it is in the conceptualizing of it, not in the execution. As you practice this move you will get better and better at it. It does not take long to be able to mend right down to your leader if you use the rod to move the line not the line to move the line. The backpressure is the key to this, sink tips and lead core tips rigged in the middle of the leader are even easier to mend because the sunk portion acts as an anchor you can pull and move the line against to lift it from the surface and move it where you want it to be. Often you have to make two or three little mends to straighten out the line before you tighten and make a big mend otherwise there is no tension in the line to lift it with. This is much like having your backcast straighten before you begin your forward cast.

Sinking lines

The weight of a sinking line does not counteract current. Current on a line is lift. It is torque on a resistant surface. The higher the speed the more lift. If you are drifting down stream at the same speed as your line the line will sink quickly to the bottom. Stop your movment downstream and it will plane up and move across the flow because of the width of the line resisting the water. The surface of the water moves much faster than the deeper layers. When you cast from a stationary position across current with a weighted fly and a quick sinking line the part of the line that is deepest is going the slowest. The line that is between you and the deepest part is going faster because the current is faster. This causes the fly to be pulled and lifted by the faster currents toward the top of the water column. Add to this the acceleration of the curve unfolding as it moves down against the pressure of your stationary position. It acts much like a backcast accelerating just before it straightens out. This is called drag and that is exactly what it does to your fly. It lifts and drags it downstream behind the loop that the current forms in your sinking line. Even lead core does this. The solution to this problem is to position yourself where the cast you make can be allowed to sink straight to the fly unhindered by drag long enough to reach your target just before drag sweeps it up and away. You can extend this productive time by feeding line into the drift and allow the fly to fish longer at depth. There are many variations on this type of deep presentation that have been worked out over the years and are written down in many traditional fly fishing books. If you are serious about using sinking lines effectivly you must come to an understanding of what drag actually does to your line and develop skillful stratagies to make it work for you. There are many ways to fish with sinking lines that have been worked out and are effective for both steelhead fishermen and salmon fishermen. The only methods that don't work with any consistantcy are the ones that disregard drag entirely and depend on the sink rate of the line to be effective. Drag is only a force when there is current. No current, no drag and only then are the instructions on the line box helpful. The West coast steelheaders found this out the hard way. They are about twenty years ahead of East Coast salt water fly fishermen in their methods of fishing with sinking lines in current for fish that are holding deep. Trey Combs in his book, "The Steelhead Trout", really delves into the use of sinking lines in current and gives many formulas for splicing lines together to meet specific deep water presentation needs. The users of sinking lines in salt water need to recognise drag as "The Force," that must be factored into their presentations if they want to achieve the results with them on big fish that have been so absent to date.

Last changed: July 04, 2001

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