The Truth About Tips - Part 1

Apologies about the brief hiatus in our blog series - with the start of salmon season, as you might imagine, it’s been busy.

This is part one of a two-part blog in which we cover tips. If you are new to swinging flies, the world of tips is likely confusing, and it can be a challenge figuring out where to start – not only are there quite a few brands out there but they also each have their own “system” and innovations. It’s not too dissimilar from the fly line market today. 

We’ll do our best to help demystify the confusion starting with the different types of tips and when to use them. 

• Floating tips – These are leaders that mirror a stand fly line and are designed to float at the surface and serve as an extension of your head. They are most commonly paired with a Skagit head 

• Polyleaders – These are weighted leaders typically made with a dense sinking core and coated in PVC. They are commonly paired with Scandi heads and used to get streamers and wet flies down fast but with a delicate presentation (note: Polyleader is a generic reference and this has been adopted by Airflo while Rio has branded them Versileaders) 

• Sink tips - These are leaders made of tungsten that are coated with….. Sink tips are usually paired with Skagit heads and designed to get larger streamers down and fast (we'll get into the specs a bit later but the heavier sink tips can be a bit clunky to cast but get the job done in getting flies to the proper depth in the water column). 

Now, all three of the above tips require the use of additional leader material off the end with the length varying depending on how you are fishing (that’s a topic for a different day). 

So now you have the basics down on the 3 different type of tips. In part two, we’ll cover some of the more advanced details such as tip length, density, and sink tip systems.

Until then, have fun on the water!

Jay