Sinking Lines

[gmreeves]

What sinking lines do you all prefer for musky?  I have an old Teeny 350 that I used to use for striper and while it casts fine and gets down, I'm not sure it is the best line for the job.  I'm mainly fishing the plateau rivers but am new to river musky.  I'm used to chasing them in Canadian lakes during the summertime where top water or flies just under the surface seem to do better.

Oh yeah, this is my first post on the forum but have been checking it out for some time.  Some of you will probably recognize me from some of the other boards.  I'll do my best to contribute.

[oldmanelrod]

Welcome to the hood.

[Looper Flies]

I've got the Orvis Depth Charge 350 and 400 grain for my 9 and 10 wt.  Just bought the SA Kelly Galloup Streamer Express 250 for my 7 wt.  Love it.

[gmreeves]

Are all sinking heads uniform in sink rate or do any actually taper from the running line to the leader so the tip is heavier and gets lighter back towards the running line?  When fishing the Teeny, I always get a big belly in the line from the transition to the head and don't feel like I will get a good hook set since I won't have direct contact with the fish.  Does that make sense?

[MikeA]

Orvis depthcharge would be a great choice. That line might not be the besting casting integrated line but it is absolutely indestructible and you aren't making long casts anyway. BTW CT has some on clearance. Next up would be Rio outbound in various configs.

[Yoda]

Welcome Gregg!

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2

[Racer X]

For me it's less about presentation than delivery.  I like to pair a 10wt with a 400 grain sink-tip for larger flies.  Turning over big wind catching 12-13 inch flies is easy with this pair, imo.  I think this is good river set-up.  Anything heavier is too much work.  Both line and rod. 

For a lake I'll sometimes pair up a 6wt with a 250 grain.  It'll turn over a 9 inch fly easy.  6-10wts cover TN/VA musky, imo.  Good idea to downsize when you get tired.

I've used these lines and like 'em....  http://buy.scientificanglers.com/lines/mastery-textured-series/mastery-textured-series-streamer-express.html

[TWiles]

Pretty much what Rusty said.

I have tried the newer Rio Leviathan line in 400 grain sinktip, and it works awesome, with minimal coiling in the cold.

I have tried numerous sinktips by SA, and here's what I've found. I love them all... But some will fail sooner on you.
The sharkskin, textured, and tropicore lines all start out great, and are smooth as silk until you stretch them ( mainly by deep water snags).  We have found longevity issues when the more brittle outer coating starts to crack and Debond in the tungsten sections.

After a couple send backs to SA (and great customer support). I have come to rely on just the plain old standard Streamer Express.  I also really like their Wet tip express... It has a fat belly floating line that is very supple and easier to grasp than the smaller intermediate sink lines.  Plus if your fishing smaller rivers, you don't have the hassle of your midline sinking and snagging as you're untangling a casting knot...which happens all the time Muskie fishing.

I pair a 400 grain with a 10 wt and my main rod is a 12 wt with 450 grain.

I use monster 12" flies and I need the aggressive sinktips to keep them in the sweet spot on 4-8 feet down through the entire retrieve and fig 8.

[gmreeves]

How long are your leaders?  I usually use a straight piece of hard mason about 4' long when fishing sink tips.  I ask because you say that the line helps with the figure eight.  Regardless of the line, the connection is in the guides during a figure eight.  At least the way I figure eight.  I have the connection coated with knot sense so it doesn't hang on the guides when passing through on a strike.

[TWiles]

I use a 2 ft section of 25 lb fluoro---slim beauty knot---2 ft section of 80 lb fluoro and connect the fly with a tiny loop and 100 lb split ring so I can change all day without retying.
 
The 25 lb with perfection loop is to prevent breaking the flyline while snagged.  I carry a telescoping pole with dehooker to prevent break offs.  I prefer a long bite Tippett to giver confidence against refusals.
I keep my rod underwater the entire retrieve, so the line has done its job of keeping the fly at depth when leading into a fig 8.  All but  18" of the leader is stripped in as I begin my turns.  The backset into the fish is still my hardest reflex to master, but its getting better.

Here's a photo of my fly connection:

[gmreeves]

I may have to incorporate the split ring.  Does it cause the fly to run on the side? 

I wish this rain would stop so the water would settle down a little bit.

[TWiles]

Flies ride hookdown, tied on a heavy gauge 6-0 600 SP hook.

[Racer X]

It starts at 500 grain but this is the toughest line I have used...

http://buy.scientificanglers.com/lines/mastery-fly-lines/mastery-series-bluewater-express.html

If you get stuck at a launch this line can always double as a rope.