switch rod from your hand.
On medium to larger size rivers I prefer fifteen foot tips that can be looped to the front of a floating or intermediate head. Larger rivers offer the greater challenges of depth and heavier flows. Tapered tips with sink rates varying from three inches per second (Type 3) to eight inches per second (Type 8) will cover a range waters. I find that Type 6 to Type 8 are most useful on the handful of Great Lakes rivers I fish that typically run near or above 1,000 cubic feet per second.
Keep in mind that speed of the water will always have an impact on how fast the tip and fly actually sink. Mending may be required to get the fly to the proper depth in moderate to faster flow. Fifteen foot tapered tips are versatile and can be delivered with a longer head requiring less stripping for the next cast or with a Skagit head when there is restricted room for a casting loop or when using a heavily weighted fly. A weighted fly will assist in cutting through heavy surface currents. I love laying out a long line on big water. The ensuing swing on some pools seems to last for minutes. My mind focuses on how the fly is swinging – is it at the right depth? Is it moving at the right speed? Hours just melt away when covering big water but the anticipation of the next grab fuels one cast after the next.