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Best Dry Fly Floatant?

50K views 17 replies 15 participants last post by  Green Ghost 
#1 ·
Looking for opinions on the best dry fly floatant available. I've used some in the past that seemed to leave an oil slick on the water's surface. Also the ease of application of the dry fly silcone sprays and the powder filled shaking containers seems much easier than applying gel with the fingers. Any thoughts?
 
#5 ·
At one time or another I've tried almost all of the methods. The scotchgard is the one method I can't vouch for. Its on my list to try this year.

Of the stream side applied products I like the Loon Aquacel (sp) best. Once it hits your fingers it melts into a liquid that is easy to apply.

2 cautions:

If you use flys with CDC (Cul De Canard) in them do not use a floatant. The feathers have Preen oil on them which is a natural floatant.

And if you use the little holders that hold the bottle upside down at all times you may have a leak that spews floatant over your vest/pack.
 
#7 ·
Hawkeye,

Yes, it last through many fish catches. You do have to use a surficant on the fly to dry it after each fish though.

John,

Scotch Guard works on CDC as well because it does not matt the feathers. CDC floats not because of the preen oil, it floats because of all the air that it traps due to its many branched rachiis. Scotch Guard works on CDC precisely because it prevents water displacing the air it retains.
 
#8 ·
I bought some stuff at a recent trade show that is a powder sold under the name Frog's Fannie. What impressed me about it was that when applied to the marabou tail of a god sized (shall we say 3" long) wholly bugger with dumb bell eyes, that sucker would float like an indicator. It can also imitate the gas bubble a nymph uses to riase to the surface.
 
#11 ·
i have experimented with a lot of things to permanently waterproof flies...scatchguard is the best, but i have even used a light, and i stress "LIGHT" spritz of creamic glaze and fabric stiffener both are a trick to work with without gumming up your creations, but i was impreesed with the results...a word of caution...i ruined many a fly before i got the amount of spray just right....try the scatchguard firat and then experiment with other things....i've heard that vaseline spread and worked in thinly works well too.
 
#13 ·
My technique.....

Here's the technique I use.

1. Dress the fly prior to use by submerging in a good silicone (liquid) floatant for at least 30 seconds.

2. Let dry for a minute or so before using.

3. After each fish, clean off the fish slime well, then wash the fly by holding the leader just above the fly, and swishing it back and forth in the water.

4. Dry the fly by a few short false casts, snapping the fly to remove excess water.

Usually, this lets the fly float like you just started out. Occasionally, though, you have to dry the fly with an amadou patch, and redress.

A little work, but it gives me good results.

BobK
 
#15 ·
Skip the floatant and carry a few of each pattern with CDC wings. Usually a fly with CDC wings will float until you catch a fish with just some drying from false casting. When you catch a fish, put it on your fly patch to dry and get out another fly. By the time you catch another fish, the first one will usually be dry.

I tried floatants years ago and finally gave up on them. They all coat the fly with a nasty layer of crap. I've been using the approach above for years now and I'm perfectly happy with how my flies float.

A good floatant is no substitute for an experienced fisherman. ;)
 
#16 ·
glue

So I fixed a drawer at home the other day using Gorilla Glu, and I noticed that after it dried, it had a hard foam consistency. So I decided to dab a bit on an old adams I had lying around. Yeah, it leaves a little white dot on the fly, if u absolutely cant stand it, take a sharpee to it! But WOW, does it float. I bet this stuff would hold up a fat juicy nymph. Try it!:smokin:
 
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