What are the sink rates for the three types of sink tips?
A. All type 8 sink tips sink at a rate of 8″ to 9″ per second, all type 6 sink tips at 6” to 7” per second, the type 3 sinks at around 3″ per second, and the intermediate sink at about 1.5″ per second. The type 8 & 6 are recommended for very warm or very cold water where fish are deep and currents are strong. Type 3 are recommended for medium current and in still water where fish are 3′ to 4′ deep. Intermediate sink tips and shooting heads seem to be the best all around fish catching line. RIO recommends the intermediates for standard wet fly fishing, and in normal temperature waters (45F-60F).
