French_Nympher
02-25-2011, 06:08 AM
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A good degreaser accomplishes much more than just removing glare from your tippet. Degreasers are composed from three parts: clay, a sinket and a soap. I make my own degreaser in the traditional style of the UK stillwater anglers, and I learned about how to make it from their conversations on the internet. Some of the UK fly-fishing magazines also mention it. Loon Snake River Mud is a good product, but I believe mine works better. The Loon stuff is sometimes not too stable in warm temperatures, but maybe they have since improved their formulation. I store a little tub of my degreaser in an empty Mucillin tub. A little goes a long way.
The three components I use are Fuller's Earth, glycerine, and dishwashing liquid.
Fuller's Earth is a natural clay sometimes used in cosmetic masks. It is a really fine abrasive that removes the shiny glare from your leader. Old-timers often rubbed river mud on their leader for the same purpose, with the additional benefit of covering up the human scent left over on their leaders or flies (a decade ago, I saw Dave Whitlock do this on ESPN).
The glycerine I use is somewhat hard to find. I like the vegetable-based kind. Glycerine is a chemical that absorbs water, and in fact is a common component in many hand lotions (to prevent dry hands). Since it absorbs water, this has the benefit of sinking your leader.
The third component is a soap. I use some of the newer more organic dishwashing liquid. The soap has the feature of actually removing the greasy oils from the leader. As you know, oil is less dense than water, making it float. If oil is on your tippet, it will not slice through the water or may even float. Every time you touch your tippet or fly, you are reapplying oil from your skin to the rig.
You will notice the greatest benefit of a degreaser when using long, fine tippets with lighter nymphs. You can also apply the degreaser to flies and make them sink better. I always tell people that good degreaser has as much benefit in a nymphing rig as a No. 4 shot.
When you mix the three materials, your goal is to make a paste, about the thickness of peanut butter. Make a little at a time, mixing the powder in to the liquids. To apply it, just put a tiny dab on your fingertip and run the tippet through it. You can never use too much degreaser, so reapply it often. Since I also use Mucillin concurrently to float parts of my leader, I always apply the degreaser with my left hand and the floatant with my right. You don't want to
mix these two things.
Consistent success on stream is the sum of many small steps. Degreasing is one of those small steps. I don't believe I would have landed the paddle-tail 13-in wild male brown trout you see without all these small steps from this highly-technical fishery. This fish was landed in the last week using long, fine tippet and tiny flies.
I hope this discussion of degreaser is useful to you.
A good degreaser accomplishes much more than just removing glare from your tippet. Degreasers are composed from three parts: clay, a sinket and a soap. I make my own degreaser in the traditional style of the UK stillwater anglers, and I learned about how to make it from their conversations on the internet. Some of the UK fly-fishing magazines also mention it. Loon Snake River Mud is a good product, but I believe mine works better. The Loon stuff is sometimes not too stable in warm temperatures, but maybe they have since improved their formulation. I store a little tub of my degreaser in an empty Mucillin tub. A little goes a long way.
The three components I use are Fuller's Earth, glycerine, and dishwashing liquid.
Fuller's Earth is a natural clay sometimes used in cosmetic masks. It is a really fine abrasive that removes the shiny glare from your leader. Old-timers often rubbed river mud on their leader for the same purpose, with the additional benefit of covering up the human scent left over on their leaders or flies (a decade ago, I saw Dave Whitlock do this on ESPN).
The glycerine I use is somewhat hard to find. I like the vegetable-based kind. Glycerine is a chemical that absorbs water, and in fact is a common component in many hand lotions (to prevent dry hands). Since it absorbs water, this has the benefit of sinking your leader.
The third component is a soap. I use some of the newer more organic dishwashing liquid. The soap has the feature of actually removing the greasy oils from the leader. As you know, oil is less dense than water, making it float. If oil is on your tippet, it will not slice through the water or may even float. Every time you touch your tippet or fly, you are reapplying oil from your skin to the rig.
You will notice the greatest benefit of a degreaser when using long, fine tippets with lighter nymphs. You can also apply the degreaser to flies and make them sink better. I always tell people that good degreaser has as much benefit in a nymphing rig as a No. 4 shot.
When you mix the three materials, your goal is to make a paste, about the thickness of peanut butter. Make a little at a time, mixing the powder in to the liquids. To apply it, just put a tiny dab on your fingertip and run the tippet through it. You can never use too much degreaser, so reapply it often. Since I also use Mucillin concurrently to float parts of my leader, I always apply the degreaser with my left hand and the floatant with my right. You don't want to
mix these two things.
Consistent success on stream is the sum of many small steps. Degreasing is one of those small steps. I don't believe I would have landed the paddle-tail 13-in wild male brown trout you see without all these small steps from this highly-technical fishery. This fish was landed in the last week using long, fine tippet and tiny flies.
I hope this discussion of degreaser is useful to you.