The Fly Floatant Test-A Test/Review of Several of the Top Floatants

floatants-1024x302

Finding the best floatant is a common desire for the trout angler. The team at Troutster.com really did a phenomenal job with it’s analysis of numerous products. Below is just a part of the test. Read the entire post here: http://troutster.com/fly-floatant-test/

I will start by giving you an overview of what I hope to accomplish with this post, so if you wish you can get an idea of what is going to take place and then skip to the results.

The Testing Procedure

I will be putting a huge lineup of fly floatants through various tests to determine what type will float your flies best. Are some of the floatants that cost 2x and even 3x the price of inexpensive competitor products worth the price? Will they in fact make your flies float better and longer? Or will they just cost more and deliver similar floating ability. Keep in mind that I do not work for any of the companies who make these products, nor am I being paid by any of them. What tests will we use? The short answer is we are going to run these floatants through the mill! We will test the following properties of these products Their ability to continue to float after being subjected to “fish slime” (which we all know destroys a flies ability to float.) We will determine how much weight our flies can hold up using all of these different products, think “hopper dropper rig“ We will try to measure the amount of “oil slick” on the surface of the water from each type of floatant Also taken into consideration will be how easy is this particular product to apply and what type of effect do extreme temperatures have on its consistency and viscosity. My original plan included a test of how long a fly will float using each product in completely still water, however they all stay up for a very long time. It turned out to be a very time consuming test to measure. I also began testing using humpy flies. I decided that these flies could have different levels of buoyancy, due to possibly different amounts of deer hair on the base of each individual fly. I opted for a fly without any deer hair (or any heavily floating hair on the body)for the test, the parachute Adams. The Results I spent a lot of money on every floatant I could find at Backcountry.com I also bought a couple from Amazon as well. The floatants included in the test are: Gehrkes Gink Loon Aquel Mucilin (non silicone red can) Mucilin silicone liquid Loon Lochsa Umpqua Bug Flote Umpqua Dry Magic Fly-Agra Umpqua Shimazaki Frogs Fanny

Read the rest of the test at: http://troutster.com/fly-floatant-test/

This entry was posted in Fly Fishing Gear Review. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to The Fly Floatant Test-A Test/Review of Several of the Top Floatants

  1. mike doughty says:

    i really dig the mucilin. works like a champ

  2. john says:

    Dillywax puts them ALL to shame. one application lasts all day!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *