#824288 - 02/21/13 10:25 AM
T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
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Repeat Spawner
Registered: 12/06/07
Posts: 1388
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Anyone tried the T-20? I'm thinking of making up some tips and am curious how it will cast compared to the T-17. Will I need to use a higher grain head above it to get it to roll over? Not an expert and find it difficult to understand this stuff?
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#824302 - 02/21/13 12:04 PM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: FleaFlickr02]
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King of the Beach
Registered: 12/11/02
Posts: 5207
Loc: Carkeek Park
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I've never used anything over T-14, so can't provide you an answer on the T-20.. Just curious, what conditions or type of water are you trying to fish that would require T-20? SF
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#824377 - 02/21/13 06:45 PM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: Salmo g.]
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Repeat Spawner
Registered: 12/06/07
Posts: 1388
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I gues my thought is, and I could be wrong, that the faster sink rate would allow better, longer, deeper coverage...dredging, on the swing. It could open up more water to swing closer to the bottom, where I seem to have greater success for winterrun.
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"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller. Don't let the old man in!
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#824472 - 02/22/13 12:26 AM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: FleaFlickr02]
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Repeat Spawner
Registered: 12/06/07
Posts: 1388
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Well, I agree that you need to get down to catch winter fish, but my opinion is that when you make a decision to swing flies, you are giving up your opportunity to effectively fish water deeper than about 6 feet. Using T-20 to try and reach deeper lies will likely result in more bursitis than fish (you'll be lucky to get 6" deeper than you would with T-14 unless you are using a full sink line), and casting it will be torture, at best. If you want to swing for steelhead, walk right by the water deeper than about 6 feet. My two cents. There's plenty of water on any river that holds fish and is less than 8 feet deep. Focus on that, or break out the gear rod (which I have been known to do). I agree FleaFlicker, I have suffered and am recovering from tendonitus elbow, although not from casting. To gain opportunity to access that deeper water, so much that is past up as not swingable, technological advances make it difficult to resist trying to obtain that magical grab! I will cut some up and give it a try anyway. Thanks.
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"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller. Don't let the old man in!
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#824479 - 02/22/13 12:38 AM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: RUNnGUN]
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Repeat Spawner
Registered: 12/06/07
Posts: 1388
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Salmosalar I grew up chucking lead core, and although it sucked to cast, it produced. The next phase was deep water express which provided better castability but still was chuck and duck! The last few years I have got back into it and have discovered the great advances to cast better, and further to more and more water, that in the past was unfishable, hence my questions about T-20. I guess I need to venture on my own again to experiment with the new stuff. Thanks.
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"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller. Don't let the old man in!
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#824596 - 02/22/13 03:46 PM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: FleaFlickr02]
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Juvenile at Sea
Registered: 03/30/08
Posts: 148
Loc: Washington
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Intermediate head sounds like a pretty good way to go, Gray Ghost. I suspect I would have a hard time with it, though, since I can't consistently work an upstream mend into my casts, and once an intermediate head has been on the water for more than a couple seconds, I bet there's no mending that bad boy.
Should work great for a better caster, though. FleaFlicker02, A skagit intermediate is not the best head choice for slightly upstream or straight across 90 degree swing cast presentations. It will not fish pocket water very well and can not be mended a lot. A skagit float is a better choice for these fishing situations. The Airflo and Rio skagit intermediate heads have a floating rear section, allowing for a little bit more on the water mending. A skagit intermediate is an excellent choice for the classic even speed wide broad fly swing water. It excels with downstream 45 degrees or more swing cast. Sometimes a basic roll cast is needed first to bring the head to the surface to make the cast. An aerial mend reach cast works well for the initial set up of the cast. One more quick mend can sometimes be made right after the cast. Then just steer/swim the head with rod tip movement from there. The nuances of the skagit intermediate can easily be mastered with just some on the water time. GG
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#824643 - 02/22/13 05:26 PM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: FleaFlickr02]
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Ranger Danger
Registered: 02/08/07
Posts: 3098
Loc: AK
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I am fairly good at making one shape with my line consistently, the pile shape.
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#824668 - 02/22/13 06:38 PM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: FleaFlickr02]
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Repeat Spawner
Registered: 12/06/07
Posts: 1388
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I like the Skagit Intermediate idea. Seems like a comprmise between using T-20 to get deeper, and should be easier to cast. Also like the idea of slowing the presentation down by the end of the head being subsurface.
Question: I presently am using the 525 gr Skagit Flight SHD, 25.5' long by RIO, on a Sage ZA 7136, with 12' of T-17 added. Am able to cast it ok and like how it fishes. If wanting to try an Intermediate head, why drop 30 grains, especially if able to lghten up on the sink tip? As expensive this stuff is, I want to get it right the first time. Thanks for your input.
Edited by RUNnGUN (02/22/13 07:01 PM)
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#824844 - 02/23/13 05:13 AM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: RUNnGUN]
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Juvenile at Sea
Registered: 03/30/08
Posts: 148
Loc: Washington
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I like the Skagit Intermediate idea. Seems like a comprmise between using T-20 to get deeper, and should be easier to cast. Also like the idea of slowing the presentation down by the end of the head being subsurface.
Question: I presently am using the 525 gr Skagit Flight SHD, 25.5' long by RIO, on a Sage ZA 7136, with 12' of T-17 added. Am able to cast it ok and like how it fishes. If wanting to try an Intermediate head, why drop 30 grains, especially if able to lghten up on the sink tip? As expensive this stuff is, I want to get it right the first time. Thanks for your input. RUNnGUN, Most skagit casters will drop down 30 grains from their preferred skagit float head weight because the skagit intermediate heads tend to load the rod quicker than skagit float heads. Most skagit intermediate heads are a foot or two shorter than skagit float heads for the same weight skagit head. Thus a 30 grain less skagit intermediate head is still are a grain or two heavier per foot than a skagit float head 30 grains heavier. For a Sage ZA 7136, the Airflo two-handed line to rod chart recommends a 480 skagit intermediate. Go by the recommended Switch weight, the Intermediate is not listed on the chart yet. Same concept though, drop down 30 grains for the Switch also. http://www.rajeffsports.com/spey_chart.pdf Some more info. http://www.larimeroutfitters.com/airflo-skagit-intermediate-compacthttp://www.larimeroutfitters.com/content/airflo-skagit-intermediate-compactGG
Edited by Gray Ghost (02/23/13 05:24 AM)
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#824857 - 02/23/13 10:47 AM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: Gray Ghost]
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Repeat Spawner
Registered: 12/06/07
Posts: 1388
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Thank You for the info. I am going to give it a try. This subject can be rather complicated unless one gets the chance to play with all the new stuff that comes out every year.
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"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller. Don't let the old man in!
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#834185 - 04/14/13 09:39 PM
Re: T-20 Tungsten Sinking Tips
[Re: Capt Downriggin']
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Alevin
Registered: 11/28/12
Posts: 17
Loc: Walla Walla, WA
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I have to agree that T-14 seems to do the job when it comes to swinging deep. The biggest stick I use is a fast 13'6' 7 wt. And the biggest head I use is 12' of T-14, but usually I throw longer, less massive tips (type 3 medium MOW). This is with a 525 or 550 skagit short.
I'm also perplexed by an intermediate Skagit. But new tools sometimes need an interested party to show their usefulness.
If I absolutely must scrape bottom, it's probably going to happen with a long leader and my patented "#4 sink tip" (a collection of #4 split shot). But at this point I am basically drift fishing with a fly rod, I'm OK with this...but perhaps it is not relevant to a chat about sink tips.
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