The vast majority of western fly lines sold to anglers are floating western fly lines. While Tenkara fly fishing is considerably different than western fly fishing, for stillwater Tenkara anglers there is still a need for a floating tapered traditional Tenkara fly line. Rather than fool around with the fly fishing industry's and aftermarket line floating enhancement treatments, it would far easier and more efficient if Daniel were to make and market a lighter than water Tenkara fly line for us to use. The available treatments fail terribly in their attempts to make the heavier than water tapered and level Tenkara lines float.

Polypropylene yarns and dubbing materials are available for fly tying. Polypropylene has a specific gravity of 0.905 as compared to Kevlar's 1.44 to 1.50 range specific gravity and fluorocarbon fishing line's 1.75 to 1.90 specific gravity ranges. The same line making technologies would still be used to make polypropylene Tenkara lines so it seems it is just a simple matter of substituting in a different line making material. Blue Ribbon Flies is bringing out a couple of floating Tenkara fly lines made out of cut up Simms 000 fly lines and Tenkara USA bringing out true Tenkara weight floating Tenkara fly lines would give Daniel and Tenkara USA another opportunity to be on the cutting edge of modern Tenkara fly fishing technology. To be sure the lighter than water Tenkara fly lines will not cast as easily as the heavier than water lines do, but where you want to fish a floating fly pattern with out motion on stillwater for an extended period of time and not have a sinking line pull your fly under the water, a floating Tenkara fly line would be well worth the additional casting effort.

Here is some additional information on some of polypropylene's qualities and its attributes:

Frequently Asked Questions
___________________________________________________________________________________


Why does polypropylene float and repel water?


Mainly because of three reasons:

1. Surface tension:
polypropylene: 29 dynes / cm2
water: 72 dynes / cm2

There are several scientific characteristics of meltblown polypropylene that cause it to repel water and float. First there is the surface energy of water (72 dynes/cm2) versus polypropylene (29 dynes/cm2). A dyne is a metric unit of force. This large difference is what causes polypropylene to be water repellent or hydrophobic. The surface energy of salt water is between 60-65 dynes/ cm2 and will make the meltblown polypropylene slightly less repellent.

2. Density:
polypropylene: specific gravity of 0.9
water: specific gravity of 1
sea water: specific gravity of >1

Then there is the specific gravity as defined as the density of polypropylene relative to the density of fresh water. The specific gravity of fresh water is 1,0 and the specific gravity of polypropylene is 0.9. This simply means that polypropylene is lighter than water and will float. Salt water's density is higher than the density of fresh water. In salt water the meltblown polypropylene will be even more buoyant.

3. The amount of air between the fibers:

The "pronounced buoyancy" of meltblown polypropylene is a result not only of the surface energy and the specific gravity but also of the air that is trapped between the fibers of the sorbent. The fiber packing is so dense that the surface energy of the sorbent will not allow water to replace the air that naturally exists between the fibers, thus the sorbent will not become water-logged. The net result is that an oil sorbent will float indefinitely.

The only thing that may cause polypropylene to float lower than the water line is the presence of a contaminant such as a surfactant or emulsifier in the water. Such contaminants might include soap, detergent, alcohol or chemical dispersant. The presence of these surfactant materials would cause the oil to be at least partially soluble in the surrounding water and would change the surface energy enough to allow water to penetrate between the fibers. The polypropylene will not sink (as to the bottom) but it can hold some water in the presence of the surfactants.

For the polypropylene to sink to the bottom, it would need to be weighted (sand, rock, debris, or heavier than water type liquid) to offset the buoyancy of polypropylene. In open water conditions, polypropylene will float indefinitely, even if fully saturated with oil.

There was a discussion on the flymph forum about this. Just use string that builders use to make line marks.

When I first started down the path that led me to tenkara, back while I was still playing around with crappie poles and had not yet discovered the simplicity and effectiveness of level lines, I bought a huge (industrial size) spool of polypropylene thread and furled a line from it.

Casting it was like trying to throw a piece of tissue paper. All wind resistance, no density. I think I used it twice. It did float nicely, though. I'll give you that.

One of the forum members sent me samples of floating nylon mono - the kind used my centerpin anglers to get extremely long drifts. Very much the same result. I could cast it only a little bit beyond the end of my rod tip.

Another gentleman, not a tenkara angler, sent me samples of something that might have merit, but I haven't had a chance to get out and test it.

Personally, I do not think a furled polypro line would be a commercial success. It would float well but you couldn't cast it.

From what I have read there is a high degree of control possible over the limpness/stiffness profile of polypropylene in the manufacturing processes. The weight difference would still be an issue for fishing lines but then that is a constant problem with all floating fly lines compared to sinking lines. You can't beat lead core line for casting distance and sinking abilities, but it sure would make a terrible Tenkara fly line.

I have seen boats that have both folding and rigid hulls that were made out of polypropylene, and I was given the opportunity to try to damage the hull material of one boat with a hammer, I couldn't make a mark on the hull as hard as I tried. It is also used for piping, pump housings, restroom stall partitions and many other rigid structures. Polypropylene can be made as rigid or limp as you need it to be. Some experimenting would have to be done to find the right texture for optimum line casting ability, but the problems do not appear to be insurmountable in making a floating fly line to me.