Tip #16 Making Sinking Flylines and Leaders Sink!

AOJ tries to provide the most unique tips that our staff and friends have learned from the great outdoors over many decades. This is one that we are sure few if any anglers have considered when fishing salmon streams in Alaska.

Everyone who has caught and eaten salmon knows that this fish is very high in protein as well as very rich in Fish Oil. And fish oil has been identified as a very healthy ingredient in diets for lowering the chances of heart disease and other maladies. So let's focus on Fish Oil for this tip.

Some of the best fly fishing Alaska has to offer occurs in late summer and early fall when millions of salmon begin to spawn and then die. Dolly Varden, rainbow trout and arctic char gourge themselves on the loose salmon eggs drifting downstream, and later feed on chunks of decaying salmon flesh that provides the final meal before winter.

When fishing for trout or salmon during this period, wet flies, streamers, nymphs and many "bulk" patterns such as Fat Freddie and flesh flies are used. These patterns are fished on a dead drift close to the bottom. On some of the larger streams and rivers, a sinking-tip flyline may be used or perhaps a weighted fly in order to get in the zone.

With all the decaying salmon carcasses in the stream, the water is literally saturated with fish oil molecules which have leached from the fish flesh. This undetected oil can accumulate on your fly leaders and lines. And although you may be using a sinking tip or weighted fly, this microscopic buildup of oil creates additional surface tension which can cause the lines to resist sinking, thus impairing the angler'a ability to make a successful presentation.

Dish Soap is the magic elixir to solve this problem. Carry a little with you in an old (clean) insect repellant squeeze bottle or something similar and occasionally wipe down your flyline and leader with a bit of soap to remove accumulated fish oil and other contaminants. Use of a biodegradable soap would be suggested as eco-friendly to the environment too.

Good Fishin'
Klondike Kid

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