keeping egg patterns down

This year, I switched to Twist-ons "matchstick" lead, and now will probably use it for all of my nymph and egg fishing. The lead comes in a pack that looks like a book of matches, with the paper book and the matches are replaced with thin strips of lead. You just break off a stick (or a half of a stick), and wrap it around your line wherever you need the weight, then give it a good twist to tighten it so it doesnt slip.

I find it gets hung up on the bottom less than shot, and the twist method means you dont have anything clamped tightly and possibly weakening your tippet. Also, you can slightly untwist it so that you can slide it up or down your leader as necessary, or totally remove it, with no damage to your tippet/leader.

Since my egg patterns tend to float like a cork, I'll also use a sink gel on them.

I use split shot. Mostly, small blackbird shot and sometimes B & BB sized shot.
I'll have to give the lead ribbon a try.
Where are you guys getting it? 

My FLFS (friendly local fly shop) has it. Before that, I got a pack long ago at an orvis shop that just had it in a "basically free box of junk"...got it because it was a cool concept, but never really used it.

Then Jerry recommended it so highly and I had to give it a more serious look, in the process discovering that my FLFS had it. If you're having trouble locating some I could grab some for you and send them up.

Good idea anad, I never thought of that.

If you are really having trouble getting your flies down, they are probably tied with way too material. If you tie your own flies tie them sparser by adjusting the amount of yarn or strands of angora your using. If you are buying them stay away from the el-cheapo angora flies that use way too much material and try the SS's tied with glo-bug yarn. If your egg patterns are floating with no weight they are tied too dense.

Hareline has put out a "putty" like weight that has tungsten in it. Its pretty workable, I havent tried in freezing conditions yet but it supposed to work well then also. I like it as you can take as much or as little as you need and make a kind of noodle with it on your tippet. its removable and reuseable. Only tried it on one outing but it seemed to work fairly well.

I like the idea of adding a piece of tippet with a weight at the bottom also, gonna have to try that.
 
Fish USA carries a similar product called "Tung Fu"
http://www.fishusa.com/Anglers-Image-Tung-Fu-Moldable-Tungsten-Putty_p.html

ORIGINAL: anadromous

Black bird...
Afraid of nicking line by pinching on split? Leave and extra inch of tag end on your tippet knot and attach shot to it instead of main line.
Another technique that gets a fly down with minimum weight is ti attach an 8 inch piece of 7x tippet to the bottom fly(tied through the eye) then tie an overhand knot in the tip of the 7x. Attach small weight to the 7x piece(overhand knot keeps the weight from sliding off). This is a highly effective nymph technique. The line gets pulled straight down through the water column in a straight line rather than in a "V" which has more resistance. Less weight, better drift, less snagging bottom, less lost flies...

very nice idea