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3. Sinking line reccomendation for Stillwater fishing

I am really getting into Stillwater fishing one of my local reservoirs.

I have a 7wt that I want to equip with sinking line.

Looking for recommendation on what line to purchase for slow striing wooly buggers in about 20-30ft depth and Stillwater nymphing in the same depth

I'm sorry while I fly fish extensively I have never trout fished in a lake.

Be prepared for surface fishing! You will be surprised how often you will be fishing on top in a lake. I know, I've been hitting a couple of trout lakes on a regular basis for the last 8 years, and have yet to use a sinking line even in a lake that reaches a depth of 38 feet. Just sayin'...most of my lake fishing takes place in the top 10-15', but of course, your results may differ.

Jonathon

P.S. It's not easy for me to find a topic in fly fishing for trout in which I actually know more than Matt does. Just sayin'... ;oD

I’ve never really fishedfor trout in a Stillwater situation either, what do you hide, mostly streamers?

I do mostly streamers, but you gotta be ready for a hatch...plus grasshoppers and crickets, which work extremely well when twitched on a smooth glassy lake or pond surface. But yes, streamers and woollies are what I use mostly in stillwaters.

Jonathon

Cool Johnathon, and how deep do you usually run them relative to the bottom? Are you scraping bottom or riding up in mid depths somewhere?

Dave, I'm using a floating line with streamers weighted by nickel-plated lead dumbbell eyes. Pretty much a standard leader, 7.5 - 9 feet long, usually 2x or 3x tippet depending on the size and weight of the fly I'm using (usually a #6 or a #10). If I let it sink, I can get down maybe 10 or 12 feet, too much deeper and I'm in the weeds. I'm not much of a "bottom-dredger" when it comes to fly fishing...and this is in Reid Lake, which gets to a maximum of 38 feet and probably averages over 20. Big perch are hitting these flies too, my biggest from this lake is 13 3/4"! But the rainbows get bigger...and my other spot, [REDACTED] Pond, is shallow enough to never need much weight other than perhaps bead-chain or a bit of underwrapping with lead or non-toxic wire. Woolly buggers and KBFs with bead-chain eyes are all I need there for the brookies and more big perch.

There's nothing like the jolt of a fish hitting a streamer HARD on a tight line! Sends a shock wave straight up your arm into your brain that says only one thing: FISH ON!!!

Jonathon

Gotcha, sounds like an awesome place to fish! So do you use a countdown to get to a specific depth Johnathon? How far do you cast out roughly to let it sink? Are you also trolling in your kayak?

Thanks for your insight as always 😊

I park and cast, and usually don't wait too long before beginning the strip, but of course the longer I wait the deeper it goes. I don't really use a countdown, I just kinda go with what feels right. As far as casting, I am throwing it as far as I can to cover as much water as possible. Areas I am working are generally the outside of the weed beds. I should mention that I don't fish this in the summer - it's mosquito hell as soon as they emerge and I don't even wanna think about the deer flies in there in July! I hit this spot in the fall, October and November if we have a nice fall (like 2015 & 2016), as it stays open year-round. So, I am only fishing it during colder weather when the trout are up top and not hiding down in the cold water during summer heat.


And, as I said, I love to twitch a hopper and watch the rainbows come out of the water after 'em! Though the bigger ones all hit streamers...


Thank goodness its March and our fly-rod seasons are almost upon us - steelhead around here!

Jonathon

Johnathon, hownfast do you strip the streamers, in particular the buggers? I haven’t ever really had much luck with them except for bass but would love to try them this season

I vary my stripping speed and try to make it somewhat irregular: strip...strip strip...strip...…………..strip strip strip....strip...trying to make it look like a baitfish in trouble, or with the Buggers trying to imitate a swimming leech or dragonfly nymph or ? And with the baitfish imitations I strip about 1 foot but can vary from 6" to 18" per strip. You just don't want it to be too regular, you want to give the impression that the baitfish is not well and is an easy target for a hungry predator. Shorter strips with the Buggers, usually about 6" or less but you can vary that too.

Fish these flies these ways and EVERYTHING will hit them - bass, trout, perch, sunfish, crappie, etc.

Jonathon

Do you kind of jig the bugger a bit as you strip it? I know another guy told me try that years ago; I never did cuz I haven’t had much faith in that pattern but definitely need to try it this year cuz a lot of guys cite them as one of their favorite patterns

Dave, anything that makes your fly look like a vulnerable, crippled food item that is an easy target will help entice them to hit. Irregular is better than regular! Remember, those WBs and KBFs have marabou tails that "breathe" under water - give them all sorts of different motions and make them look ALIVE.

Jonathon

P.S. Man, you got me thinkin' about this stuff now...and we're having a serious thaw! Lookin' at those fly rods again...