Fishing in skinny water at Crowley has been on most occasions nothing short of spectacular. I have focussed my last 10 to 15 guided trips in shallow, clear and very technical waters. I have been fishing early in the mornings under low light and low pressure 5 to 6 feet of water. Its so clear, you can read the weight on my anchor which is 22lbs. In shallow water you need all of the help you can get. Being very quite, less movement and above all else low light and some wind on the water will trigger these fish to come alive. The other important component that is a monster factor is tippet size. I have been fishing 5x tippet, yes 5x tippet to these fish in this clear water and I have not been losing any fish. Why? Because Cortland has come up with a phenominal new tippet called “Top Secret” and it performs with the strength of 4X or better. Its thin, its supple and its very hard to break. its by far my favorite new tippet material and I think it will be yours also when you try it!
Cortland’s Ultra Premium Fluorocarbon Tippet
With extensive research, development and field testing, we are proud to announce the most premium Fluorocarbon trout tippet offering on the market. This tippet is formulated with a “Top Secret” blend giving it the perfect balance of knot strength, suppleness and abrasion resistance.
I first started using this tippet about 6 weeks ago. I was told by the John Wilson, “President of Cortland Line Company” that Cortland had been experimenting with a new tippet material and it was a real “Game Changer” When I first received the tippet spool from Cortland of course I was hesitant, I have been using my tippet material for a very long time, to the tune of buying 1000 yards spools to build my leaders over the entire season. I change out my leaders on average every other guided trip to make sure everything is in tip top shape, much sooner if needed, because when you fish in shallow water, every little nick and fray will pick up light and spook your fish! It took me about the second week to actualy start fishing this leader material, I was looking for an edge and boy did I find it. My first fish landed on “Top Secret” was a fat 20″ rainbow that leaped 4X’s out of the water. Usually the jumps on these Phat, chunky rainbows in skinny water is the undoing but the tippet held its ground and didn’t break. I landed over 20 fish that evening fishing in McGee all by myself, fish from 16″ to 22″ on the same 14 foot peace of 5X leader material. I was impressed, however how was it going to stand up when my clients hooked fish with 5X material. Some clients are far more and far less skilled when it comes to fishing lighter leader material. Would it hold up to the holding onto the fly line a little to long, not getting the fish on the reel quick enough and the toughest part, the hook set with only 3 to 5 feet of leader under the indicator. I have also logged in a 30+ fish afternoon where I landed fish in the 18″ to 23″ range and never had to change out my leader for that evening. I have also used it on my last 15 guided trips. It has survived and surpassed my standards of being tough and strong and now I am hooked on this tippet! I highly recommend you try out this new and advanced tippet material and see for yourself just how good it really performs. #fishthesecret