[Flyfishin'jam]

Was worried hearing about fishing gut flies so decided to do a dry test, tomorrow i will finish a wet test after the hook has sat in a glass of water over night.

So i just lashed on a pretty short piece of gut, coated thread with essie nail polish





Tested some fluorocarbon attached with a lefty non slip loop knot. And attached to my record box (fully loaded 19.5lb), put on sunglasses and an oven mitt and went to work trying to lift the box.



First up was the 10lb, and no match for silk.



Next the 17lb as i fish this a bit i was concerned the whole lot slide off the hook, nope silk wins.



Then the 20lb, really had to put a few wraps around the oven mitt for this one. Nope silk wins. The hook did ping right off and land in the kitchen somewhere tho.



Tomorrow i will re do the test after silk has soaked. But in an artificial environment where it is not wet, frayed, or compromised it seems rather strong, even the short attachment.

 

[fish0n4evr]

Broke the hook huh - Yikes!

I've been fishing some flies looped with gut also - twisted 3 strand in 1.5 inch segments. Im using 0X (16#) Seaguard FX tippet. Checking the loops and they stay firm and tight after being fished half an hour or so. I haven't put it to the test though. Not like you have and I look forward to your findings.

 

[kova1385]

I have never had the entire thing slip off, even when it was only gutted a centimeter down the hook. Thats never a worry for me.
Is that japenese gut or spanish gut? How old is it? I have heard the japenese stuff holding up well. But my tests with vintage spanish gut, dry the gut frays, wet its fine and decently strong, but not consistently. Its old, has weak spots.

Personally id only fish the japenese stuff or spanish stuff that i knew was fresh. Not saying old stuff is garbage, but its a natural material that doesnt last forever..

Interesting to see these tests !

 

[fish0n4evr]

What I have is definitely not Japanese . It is claimed to dissolve in water - not a good thing for fishing-flies. Nice ornamentals: sure, not here though. I've let the stuff soak for hours before putting it on the hook...

 

[domantas]

Even though I cheat with 20lb Fireline cristal braid on my loops, I like when people take their time to share little projects like this, thanks.

 

[Jabrowning24]

I have actually had some Spanish gut dissolve. I put it in a cup and then got busy, however many days later I remembered and it had completely vanished! For this reason I don't usually fish gut flies (does that answer your question Mike?) I'll get back to you soon as I have some questions for you as well!

 

[Flyfishin'jam]

Broke the hook huh - Yikes!

I've been fishing some flies looped with gut also - twisted 3 strand in 1.5 inch segments. Im using 0X (16#) Seaguard FX tippet. Checking the loops and they stay firm and tight after being fished half an hour or so. I haven't put it to the test though. Not like you have and I look forward to your findings.

So the hook is still ok in it's glass of water (actually looks fine and dandy after a good 4 hrs, no issue!), i think the springyness of the 20lb breaking just projected the hook a good 30ft across the house when the line snapped, who knows but i was wearing sunnies for a reason. Ricochet!

The brand i am testing here is...



In no way does this represent real world fishing situations! I am sure the silk will fray, or decompose in some way or another from casting and fishing or even age. It begs the question as i am a guy who adds essie to his tinsel tags wether a coat would help the loop?

Will repeat tomorrow after the soak, i am interested too!

 

[Flyfishin'jam]

Alrighty! So soaked gut is a lot more limp, somewhat swollen? Other than that not too much difference in appearance, except being wet.



I did the same test, after the 17lb i was starting to think i might need to pull out the 80lb and attach this to the balcony railing but i finally broke the silk with the 20lb!



Perhaps it has been weakened from the testing, i know the line probably cut into the loop a bit, but it did break after a 24hr soak and 20lb. Conclude as you may

 

[fish0n4evr]

Way to come-through.
Good stuff Jam.

 

[kova1385]

I would be confident fishing that!! IMO, other than the cool factor of gut, there is no benefit to using it. that gut looks fresh and really good. I know my old stuff is completely unuseable while dry, nice to see yours holds up.