Sinking Lines for Summer Streamers

You can’t talk about summer streamer fishing here in Charlottesville without singing the praises of a sinking line. A sinking line is designed to turn over heavier flies and to enter the strike zone of the fish faster. Sinking tip and intermediate sinking lines have seen a groundswell of implementation in recent years, but still remain unfamiliar to many anglers. In this article we are going to break down what a sinking line is, its benefits, and use cases.

The vast majority of beginner anglers use a floating line, and for good reason! These are crucial for delicate dry fly presentation, shallower waters, and most trout fishing in and around Charlottesville. But throwing a sinking line brings the direct connection from angler to fly that streamers require. The important thing to remember with sinking lines is that they stop sinking when you strip! Depending on when you begin to strip and the speed at which you do so, they allow you to achieve consistent depth. 

A streamer, most generally, mimics a baitfish of your target species. Summer in Virginia means we are targeting smallmouth who are voracious hunters! The baitfish they target have agency against the current, they swim, they feed, they are not passive in the water. Mimicking these movement patterns triggers a fish to bite. So, rigging up with a line designed for such a presentation is crucial.

When transferring energy to animate a fly, a slinky floating line just won’t cut it. Floating lines designed for dry flies and nymphs are great for imitating aquatic insects who are more or less at the whims of stream currents, but streamer fishing requires anglers to animate their flies. This is why we now have so many specialty line options today!

The term “sinking line” encompasses a wide variety of lines. Many of these lines have floating running lines with front tapers sinking at a variety of rates. others offer consistent rates of sink across the entirety of the fly line. These rates are designated by terms like ‘hover’, ‘intermediate’, and various numerical ‘types’ or ‘sinks’. These all describe how fast that line or section will sink in inches per second, commonly displayed as ips. Hover indicates a very slow sink rate at less than 1 inch per second (ips). Intermediate means it sinks at a rate of 1.5-2 ips. And type or sink designations (depending on the company) are always followed by a number indicating the ips. 

Common streamer lines at a glance:

Diving a bit deeper:

Decoding a line’s designations can be tricky as different companies uses their own shorthand and terms to describe fly line densities. We recommend looking for the sink rate listed on the box rather than text-based descriptions. For example, what Rio calls a “fast sink” is a 6ips rather than a “type 6”. Always turn the box around and make sure you know what you are getting. And of course, you are unsure of how to decode the line language, we at the Albemarle Angler are happy to assist and answer any questions.

Floating Streamer Lines:

Yes, these do exist! They are essentially overweighted fly lines, designed to turn over smaller streamers like muddlers, wooly buggers, and some topwater. For example, the Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Titan Long or Rio Smallmouth Bass lines are floating and two sizes heavy. Rigging up a heavy floating line with a stiffer, fluorocarbon leader would be a good combination. This is a great choice for shallower waters with slow currents. But for summer in Virginia, such waters are not holding the fish we are targeting.

If fishing a topwater pattern, use a shorter fluorocarbon leader (~4.5-5.5ft) to maintain the line's ability to turn over that heavier fly. You can get away with throwing small streamers like wooly buggers on floating lines, but make sure you have a longer fluorocarbon leader for this application. This allows the fly to sink farther into the strike zone. 

These lines have their limitations and many anglers prefer the action of a sinking tip or head for poppers or topwater. Floating lines limit the amount of water these flies are designed to displace and perform poorly in faster currents.

Sinking Tip Streamer Lines:

Sinking tip lines are hybrid lines in which the running line and head floats with a ~10ft sinking tip. These lines are ideal for wade anglers who need leverage to lift the fly line off the water. With one roll and a haul, you’re back to fishing. This is not so much of a concern when fishing from a boat if you’re able to keep your line at your feet on board. Additionally, the floating nature of the running line helps anglers avoid splitting or damaging the line underfoot. 

Sink tip lines such as the Rio Streamer Tip or the Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan Sink Tip lines have short, aggressive heads that properly transfer energy to turn over heavy streamers. Think dumbbell head flies (clawdads, clousers, many sculpin patterns) and articulated streamers. These lines are also elite for poppers. When you strip, it allows the popper to dive and displace more water. 

Sinking Head Streamer Lines:

The benefits of a sinking head fly line is similar to those of a sinking tip line but with slightly different applications. The difference between a sink tip line and a sinking head is the amount of the front taper that sinks. A sink tip will have just the very front ~10-15ft sink whereas a sinking head is typically 25-30ft. A sinking head fly line has a more uniform sink, granting a more consistent presentation of the streamer.

We recommend a Rio Warmwater Predator or Predator line with a hovering head (1ips) and sinking tip as the perfect combination for fishing streamers in the first 3.5-6ft of water. The hovering head ensures your streamer stays at the same depth with every strip. This presentation is crucial for mimicking the natural fleeing pattern of a baitfish. Again, the floating running line allows for quickly cycling through casts.

Sinking head lines come in a variety of sink rates. We recommend you find a sink rate that matches the water you are fishing.

Intermediate + Hover Sinking Lines:

An intermediate sinking line is a great option for choppy water and windy conditions when throwing streamers. These are ideally fished in the first 1-2ft of the water column and thus avoid variable surface conditions. Many find the more consistent density easier to cast. But, they are more difficult to mend and cycle through casts. 

The Scientific Anglers SONAR Saltwater Intermediate Fly Line has a 1.5 ips sink rate and is made for warm waters. With the unseasonably warm water temperatures in our smallmouth rivers this season, this line, which is designed for warm water, is a great streamer line.

Full Sinking Lines:

When the rating of a sinking fly line is pushing above 3 ips, they are generally ideal for still water applications. These tend to be deeper waters where the strike zone of the fish is farther down in the water column. Denser sinking lines are ideal for lake or salt fishing. In lakes and reservoirs, these allow an angler to match depth. In salt applications, sinking lines allow you to break through the chop of the surface. 

Leader Recommendations for Sinking Lines:

With all sinking streamer lines (sink tip/head, intermediate, or full), remember to keep your leader short. This allows the aggressive taper of the fly line to transfer energy properly. Fluorocarbon is stiffer than nylon which is needed for directly animating streamers. Nip your fluorocarbon leader's butt section to get a ~4-5ft leader and you are set. 

As always, if you have any questions or want expert guidance for your specific setup, drop by the shop or give us a call (434-977-6882). We are always happy to help!