Q: I've been fishing a sinking-tip line and big streamers this spring, and at the end of each retrieve, I struggle to get the heavy tip out of the water to re-cast. What's the best way to do this?
—Geoff from Little Rock, AR (via the Ask MidCurrent form)
A: Fishing with sinking-tip lines allows you to target fish that hold deep in heavy currents, but this approach often introduces a significant challenge: lifting the line out of the water efficiently and safely. A standard overhead pickup—a swift lift and backcast—may work fine with floating lines. However, with sinking-tips or full-sinking lines and weighted streamers, this method becomes a recipe for frustration. That’s where the roll-cast pickup becomes your best friend. It's a smooth, powerful, and safer way to bring your fly into the air and get it back into the strike zone with precision.
Unlike floating lines, sinking setups act like anchors. This creates two major problems: the water’s grip on the line makes it physically difficult to lift, and the sunken fly can become snagged on underwater rocks or sticks.
Read the full answer here
