We’re a big advocate for the more time your fly spends in the water, the more fish you’re going to catch. Therefore, we usually recommend focusing more on changing up your presentation, than constantly changing up your fly, sink tip, leader, and so on – particularly when swinging up species like steelhead or king salmon.
After all, every few minutes or so spent changing up your rig is another few minutes that your fly isn’t in the water – you know, where the fish tend to be.
With that said, there are certainly times when a change in sink tips is needed. However, we’ve found that even when a change in tips is evident, many anglers are reluctant to make a change due to the time required to re-rig. Therefore, we like to build our sink tips to allow for this quickest change possible.. How so?
Make your sink tip loops big enough to pass your fly though.
When building sink tips, make sure the loop in the leader end of your sink tip is large enough to pass your fly through. That way, when it comes time to change sink tips, simply remove the leader and fly (still intact), change tips, and loop your leader and fly back on. You’re fly is back in the water in no time!
Keep in mind, the loop doesn’t have to be massive. Generally a loop just large enough to pass the conehead, lead eyes, dubbing ball, or other bulky material through will get the job done. Just remember, whenever making a change, it’s always a good idea to check the condition of your leader in the process.
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