Waxing Leaders

"sandy" wrote


Well I *was* referencing the hoity toity spring creek culture,
not Roff, in anyway.

Not roff.....where, just the other day, someone actually suggested
using anchovie oil and beeswax for dubbing nymphs.
Who was that anyway? Was it Vincent?



Years ago, I tried various ways to mask odors on flies that might repel
fish, including dipping them in Dr Juice and PowerBait !

I can't honestly say I noticed an improvement in catch rate as much as I
noticed a slight sense of guilt g.

I do make a special point to avoid pumping fuel for the truck/boat or other
things that might make my flies 'stink' especially whenever I intend to fish
streamers, where a fish will likely follow in the 'scent cone' before
taking.

Smell is nearly overlooked in fly fishing circles ( except maybe the bouquet
of pricey booze ) but for sub-surface fishing I think it is very important.
I first noticed this after buying a diesel pickup and seeing my catch rate
decline. I keep my gear in my truck 100% of the time and I'm convinced the
absorbed diesel fumes put fish off. I've since taken to storing some
flies bagged in bags designed to protect foodstuffs during
fumigation of homes.

Even more important, as a workaround to 'smelly' wet flies, I've taken up
hoity toity spring creek dry fly snobbiness, and I use 11X. Measuring
0.000 inches, it allows total drag free presentations, and greatly increases
takes.

"rw" wrote

5x??? You must be joking. No one on ROFF uses anything finer than 3x. You
see, it stresses the poor fish too much. :-)

As far as 7x, the less said the better.



Sadly, it was decided just last weekend that I should cancel a planned month
( I would have gotten to Hayspur today ) at Silver Creek/Big Wood.
Unexpected home repairs, fuel prices, and college costs ( huge ) ganged up
on my budget enough to make such a trip ill advised, if not really
'impossible.'

Run down to Silver and catch one for me on a Mahogany Dun, will ya? ( If
ya have to use 7X, that's OK, but the less you mention it, the better :-)



WARNING to any ROFFIAN youngsters still raising families .... college costs
are incredible, start saving NOW .... we thought we were fairly well
prepared AND the kid earned a lot of money in academic scholarships, but
it's still a very large hunk of change each year. ( I figured out I could
go in my months long, but cheapy camper, summer fishing trips for a DECADE
for the money we have to pay each YEAR to higher.edu. )

Bob
I'd try Musclin with Silicone. Through the years, it always worked for my
purpose.
Tight Lines Only,
Brad
"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Last year I started waxing the first 20 feet or so of the mono on the rods
I use for fishing topwaters. I got the idea because Hank Parker mentioned
it on his TV show as something that fly fishers use on fly leaders to help
keep from dragging down dry flies.

Anyway, do you guys do this? Wax your leaders when fishing poppers or
dries? Do you use any special kind of wax?

--
Bob La Londe

Win a Spinnerbait Tackle Kit

Spinnerbait Tips & Tricks Contest
Through the Month of September 2005

http://www.YumaBassMan.com

Not roff.....where, just the other day, someone actually suggested
using anchovie oil and beeswax for dubbing nymphs.
Who was that anyway? Was it Vincent?

Couldn't have been me; I use Worcestershire Sauce.

vince

WARNING to any ROFFIAN youngsters still raising families .... college costs
are incredible, start saving NOW .... we thought we were fairly well
prepared AND the kid earned a lot of money in academic scholarships, but
it's still a very large hunk of change each year.

Change? Any number with three or more zeroes after it can hardly be
called "change."

I seem to recall that my first semester at U. of Illinois cost me $40
tuition. Not sure my memory is correct, though.

vince

"Larry L" wrote in message
...

"Bob La Londe" wrote

Anyway, do you guys do this? Wax your leaders when fishing poppers or
dries? Do you use any special kind of wax?



I occasionally grease a part of the tippet/ leader to use as an indicator,
it also "supports" the fly in the water column to an extent. ( I use
use
paste style fly floatant .... I'm partial to Hydrophobe )


When nymphing, greasing the back three-quarters of the leader is an
excellent aid to detecting bites. I use an old tin of Mucilin that must be
32 years old at least (belonged to my grandfather who died in 1973), and it
still does a good job.