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Post by ericb on Mar 9, 2015 19:15:38 GMT -6
I know when nymphing it is important to get down to the bottom. I've been using split shot to get down deep. The thing that drives me nuts is that it is not reusable. So once I'm finished with it, you end up with lead in the landfill. I know there are other metals used for split shot, but I'm also not thrilled with placing it on my tippet, then having to strip it off when switching to a dry fly. It can't be great for the mono to to that, right? So, what other options are there that you have employed and can vouch for? I'm thinking my best option may be tying my favorite patterns with a heavy bead head on the hook. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Eric
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Post by mirvc17 on Mar 9, 2015 19:31:11 GMT -6
Eric,
An alternative that I sometimes use is tungsten putty. It weights a ton and you can customize how much of it you put on. It will not damage your leader/tippet. You just put it on and form a little football shape on your leader/tippet. Once it gets in the cold water, it hardens and it stays put _most_ of the time. If you put it right above the knot (or tippet ring) where you tie your tippet on, it will stay there very well. Plus, if you get hung up on the bottom and the putty is the cause, it will pull free from the line. It is non-toxic. The only downside is that it is a little sticky to your fingers and your line. And if you don't keep it in your pocket and it is cold outside, it will get very hard making it unusable.
Now, on to split shot. I use a Boss Tin One-shot split shot dispenser. I can actually pry them back apart with my two middle finger fingernails, just enough to get them off the leader/tippet and put them back into the dispenser. Other brands of shot have little 'ears' on them that you can also pry them open again, but i find that the ears sometimes give way and then you cannot remove the shot. Anyhow, I like the boss tin stuff a lot when I am not using putty. You are right, shot can damage/flatten/weaken line/tippet though...
I use putty and shot about equally. The shot allows a more systematic approach at adding weight, while the putty is very heavy and very customizable.
Like you said, tie some of your favorite patterns with a tungsten bead. But often on smaller flies, that's not an option and you have to use shot or putty.
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Post by jonbo on Mar 10, 2015 17:27:56 GMT -6
Howabout a tungsten bead above a tippet knot as a kind of sliding sinker? Kind of haard to add to or subtract from...
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Post by ericb on Mar 10, 2015 19:02:29 GMT -6
Howabout a tungsten bead above a tippet knot as a kind of sliding sinker? Kind of haard to add to or subtract from... That would work if you are confident in the amount of weight to use and you were not planning to switch to dries maybe. |
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Post by mirvc17 on Mar 11, 2015 1:41:42 GMT -6
I don't think using tungsten beads on leader/tippet is a good idea because they are simply too expensive if you lose them.
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Post by slim on Mar 11, 2015 12:50:30 GMT -6
Eric, if you tie your own flies add a tungsten beadhead to a few of the flies you want to run deep.
If you don't tie it's no problem to buy beadhead flies in the pattern you need.
Your rigging time is saved and you'll have a less chance for tangles with beadhead flies.
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