If I am mainly bank fishing and I own a clear intermediate, sink rate about 1 - 2 ips. Is there any point buying a medium sinking line which has a sink rate of 3 ips?

Have you frequently felt you were under-equipped by NOT carrying one ?

If yes, buy one. If not, save your money for other kit or even for fishing tickets.

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

I bought a couple of "mill ends" from fishtec at about a fiver a piece - and they've proven useful in water 6 to 12 feet deep fishing from the bank. - Booby on a sunk line is often a good tool.

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Plusnet/Madasafish > Liars to the internet community

Absolutely, depending on the nature of the water you are fishing. This is a great tactic on reservoirs and gravel pit trout fisheries, specially in winter. By contrast, on south of England style small waters, the tactic is less useful, even when the rules allow it, due to the presence of weed year-round and the fish's habit of holding and feeding a little less deep in the water column than on bigger lakes.

But FF knows the nature of his favourite fisheries and now has some useful information to work on.

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

It depends how often you're fishing deep water close in and what sort of water it is. If you're looking at 15+ft at 15 yards and it's relatively snag free then it's worth it. It also depends on the fishing style you're employing. Would you be able to get the same presentation and angle of retrieve without using one?

If you've got one you'll probably find a use for it at some point in the year even if it's just early and late in the season. If you've not got one you'll always be wondering.

All sounds very reasonable. Thanks guys.

thing about the booby is that it is banned in most private fisheries in northern ireland

What I am really not sure about is this. If I let my intermediate line sink for a long time, there comes a point on the retrieve when I catch the bottom, or weed, close to the bank. This, I think, really dictates the length of time, and therefore final depth, that I allow my line to sink. I am thinking that perhaps a faster sinking line might just be more of a hinderance than a help as it will continue to sink more quickly beyond my usable depth.

I am thinking ahead here for the winter when I am expecting the fish to be a little bit deeper, but lakes are not swimming pools with straight sides and I am really unsure of any advantages. Chris is right, most places I fish ban boobies so that style of fishing is not a consideration.

Thanks for the input so far.

You are right - the faster sinking line will simply reduce your waiting time for the flies to reach the depth you want.

However if you;

• Know the fish are close to the lake bed and want to fish there with a booby
• Have few problems with weed or other obstructions on the lake bed, as in a reservoir or gravel pit fishery

...then why bother waiting longer than you need ? More casts in the hot zone = more fish...

Anyone who has fished Farmoor reservoir and regularly caught fish in water 30 feet deep or more will need no reminder about the advantages of a very fast sinking line. Even the very fastest sinking conventional shooting head line will need a 90 seconds sink at the end of a 35 yard heave to reach the lake bed in the deepest spots.

Perhaps an academic debate on small stocked waters though.

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

when i go fishing i only carry 1 x floater, 1x inter and 1 x di-7....................this IMO is all i need to catch the fish i want.....................

I know when we read some magazine and see some of these guys having maybe 20+ spare spools of lines, it makes me think damn do i really need that many lines to catch a fish,,, maybe yes??? but for me nope...

andy