any recomendations

I use Dacron 20#.....then some 15lb (cheap) monofilament to fill some more. then half a spool of Siglon FF

As for floats, Drennan, blackbird...raven. Sheffield floats are ok, but their sleeves that slide onto your line are plastic and suck

Stay away from Optimum,,,,,junk in my opinion,,I used it and had nothing but problems and alot of lost fish! ,,,,,I just started fishing Siglonf and so far i like it very much........As for floats i would go with Balsa any day of the week....But i really do like the ez trout floats that are made by trout magnents....work very well and very cheap...........centerpin_drift..............

20 lb fly backing to 12 lb siglon yellow.  Spool it up through a patch that has silicon fly floatant on it for the last 40 yd or so.  Once it is wrapped onto the spool, give the spool a good spin and spritz it with more silicon fly floatant.  Let it dry a day or two (overnight is usually plenty) and fish it.  The silicon helps it float and the 12 lb yellow is very visible.  Almost like fly line.
 
thanks
rick

Dru2112 do you have my reel!!! I am running the same thing. I  just fished the Tribs yesterday and let me tell you they where super hot! I have never tried Siglon f before but i tried it yesterday am very,very,very, pleased with it thus far,,, And it was super cold yesterday with no  problems. If any of you guy's fished Yesterday it was one of the best day's i have had in Erie in about 3 years, I know i hooked over 70 fish, It got to the point of not even a challenge anymore........januraury 14 will always be a day too remember that's for sure. And as floats go i just bought a **** pile of floats yesterday called Sheffield floats they look like a drenna but are not i have both drennas and black birds but i must say that that  Sheffield floats are very sweet,,,,,i like.....be using more of them 4 sure......................Centerpin_drift!

received my order last night after ordering from FishUSA.com on Sunday[super awesome], in which I got alot of blackbird floats and a Sheffield float, which looks sweet, but crap.....Made in China, this will be the last one I own, I ended up with 20 # dacron and siglon ff 10lb, thanks for your advice...but one more question for the pros , how are you guys removing your splits when you are on water(tired of changing tippets everytime), cause I quit using the ones with ears 2 years ago

ORIGINAL: venomous grin

received my order last night after ordering from FishUSA.com on Sunday[super awesome], in which I got alot of blackbird floats and a Sheffield float, which looks sweet, but crap.....Made in China, this will be the last one I own, I ended up with 20 # dacron and siglon ff 10lb, thanks for your advice...but one more question for the pros , how are you guys removing your splits when you are on water(tired of changing tippets everytime), cause I quit using the ones with ears 2 years ago

Try using a shot line...leave your float on your mainline, make shot lines out of  a lighter line than your main(different patterns for different conditions), put a micro swivel at both ends, then tie your tippet to that. Now you have different shot patterns ready for each situation. Remember to use a lighter tippet than your shot line so if you break a fish off, you dont lose your whole rig, just your tippet...FYI Try Pline Hydrofloat main line.......

18,
 
     Dumb question.  How long do you make your shot lines?  I really like this idea, but am struggling to decide how long they should be.
 
Thanx in advance,
 
HH

ORIGINAL: Chromeslayer

to be honest shot lines are a pain in the butt.. u have a extra swivel in which creates another breaking point.. and who wants all that down time tying on shot lines??  it cuts into your fishing time... i run Berkley Big Game in 10lb right down to my swivel... then add your floro from there... all my shot and float is up on the 10lb.. pinch shot on so its snug but not so tight as to where u cant move it around if you need too

Yeah, sometimes I run that setup. For some reason though I have confidence with a shot line. Probably just in my head, whatever works though. Plus I dont like running colored siglon under the float. For erie streams, my shot lines usually end up around 4 ft.  When I think of a shot line, I think I get a better presentation. I feel my tippet and shot line are at more of a 90 degree angle than a continuous slope.

dude poor richards has every sort of float you will need for about 2 bucks or less a pop

Crap, doesnt look like Im gonna make it up north[Erie] for a while, was hoping that I might score some floats here in south-western PA anyone have any ideas where I could?

thanks, actually I found Drennan Floats at the local Gaunder Mountain ...sweet without the drive , or waiting for shipment