The “Why” I think the way I do
When I break things down into their simplest parts, I realize my hatred of weighted flies comes more from poor fly design than the weight of the fly itself. Guiding anglers for steelhead is a challenging task. So many factors can get in the way of one's success, casting being one that stands out for me. On many occasions, I've cut flies off clients' lines and replaced them with a more sparse, unweighted, easier-to-cast bug. You see the results immediately, they feel the results immediately, and they are now casting better, feel better and in turn, fishing better.
A thing of beauty. This is an absolutely gorgeously tied fly yet i would likely never tie it on my line. Too much “Stuff”. Wind resistant, over dressed (in my opinion) and likely would’nt sink worth a shit because of this.
What is the barrier to a fly sinking?
To dive a little deeper into this one, I will make a comparison.
I have two flies, same hook, same weight. One is dressed with a simple body wrap of tinsel. The other has the same body wrap, a fluffy wing, some rubber leggies sticking out the sides, and a palmer of marabou. The latter may be the cooler-looking bug, but which one will sink? Which one will be more difficult to cast? Do these extra materials make the fly more desirable? Would it be fair to say "Sparse sinks"?
Heavier yet not “sinky” alot of the weight is in the materials.
More material = Less “Sinky” requiring more weight to make it sink.
This fly would be less dense.
Heavier and Bulky = more difficult to cast.
Lighter yet quite “Sinky” alot of the weight is made up in sinking materials.
Less Materials = More “Sinky,” requiring less weight to make it decent.
This fly would be more dense.
Lighter, dense and Sparse = less difficult to cast.
Of the 2 flies pictured above, the latter will sink MUCH faster yet it’s 1/3rd of the weight.
There are many beautiful flies available commercially that I would never tie on my line. Sometimes, when there's a load of material on a fly, all the weight counteracts the resistance or drag of the materials to sink. It's like the old saying, Bigger boat needs a bigger motor, needs a bigger, stronger trailer, needs a bigger truck to tow it, etc., etc., etc., as it snowballs down the hill.
Or in this case, a Bigger rod, bigger tip, bigger Skagit head etc, etc.
In my next post I will disclose how I came to this conclusion.