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New Fly Fisherman
I was recommended to this forum by a fellow angler and it looks like I came to the right place. I'm new to fly fishing so bear with me if my questions have been answered on here a lot before. For Christmas, I pulled the trigger on a fly rod and reel. I also have backing and fly line. I will be fishing for bass and bream in South Carolina. My question is what I should do about a leader. Should I buy a tapered leader or can I just use normal mono line like I use on my baitcaster? Is the taper necessary if I am just fishing for bass and bream? I was also told that I won't need a tippet and that I can just use some sort of clip (?) to change flies. I will be fishing mostly ponds and the fish are not leader shy, if that makes any difference. None of my advice was given by experts so your opinions would be greatly appreciated.
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Re: New Fly Fisherman
First off, Fish'in, WELCOME TO FAOL!
GREAT, bunch of folks here and if you CAN'T learn it, here, then it can't be learned!
Second, be sure to remember that everyone's given opinion on these boards, is EXACTLY THAT........... their OWN opinions, it's not the gospel!!
Also, there are no "experts" in the sport of fly fishing. Period. (remember, what I said, about everyone's OWN opinion? Well, that's one of mine!)
But, what I am saying is........ there's no real "experts", only those that have done a particular thing, or two, more times than the next person and may have learned some ins and outs, because of that, that the rest of us yet, need to learn.
Your questions are probably going to receive a ton of varied and different answers, so if anything conflicts or confuses you, ask away!! Such as, in my own opinion, I'd suggest you use a one piece, knotless, leader which has the tippet section already drawn into the length of the mono. (either a 7' or 9' leader, depending on water, fish species, wind and size/weight of fly as well as the weight of your rod and line).
Also, personally, I'd stay AWAY FROM those "fly-snap on wire clips", and instead, learn a few basic knots. To me, there's enough that can go haywire with fly gear, without adding to something else to it! I, Guess, that they're okay by some standards, when fishing the larger streamers and hair bugs, but I still don't like them, myself.
But, then too......... (this is where that; "Non-expert- but-more experience" thing comes into play).........
But, I'm going to concede to those, here, that regularly fish in the area you'll be going to as I'm a West Coaster and have very little experience fishing in South Carolina. Bass, yes, I fish for them a great deal, here in Oregon, but still you may get better advice from our southern states contingent!
Anyway, welcome aboard and NEVER feel afraid to jump right into any and all, conversations!! Also, snoop all over this site. These boards, although our "center for exchanging thoughts, knowledge and ideas... is but a small part of what's offered, here, on FAOL!
Full Nets, Paul :lol:
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Re: New Fly Fisherman
First off, Welcome to the BB!
There are about as many opinions on this as fly rods, so I'll throw out mine.
What weight rod do you have?
Now I would suggest a 7 1/2 Foot tapered leader, that tapers down to about a 3-4x. Maybe 2x since you mentioned bass and depending on cover, But that is really heavy for bluegill.
Now you will need tippet, , so that when casting and you get a wind knot(overhand knot caused by casting), it happens in the tippet so that you can just cut off the tippet and re-tie. there is many other reasons as well but you get the idea.
I have tried the rings you mentioned and actually ended up casting the flies off because the rings loosened up!
Anyways, I highly recommend that you read the beginners 101 section that can be found in the features as well as the warmwater and panfish sections, that are also found in the features section on the home page.
Good luck!
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Re: New Fly Fisherman
I've been fishing for bass and bream all summer. I used a tapered leader(Scientific Angler L2L Reconnect....love them!) with 2X tippet. It works just fine. Bass and bream aren't line skiddish so you can use about anything. I will use 5-6X for bream to give them a sporting chance but most places I fish you are as likely to hook up a bass as a bream so I keep that in mind.
I know you didn't ask but bass like wooley buggers especially 'eyed' wooley buggers. Bream seem to love about anything with legs.
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Re: New Fly Fisherman
I agree with Chris. I generally use a 7 1/2-foot, tapered leader going down to a 3x with a spool each of 4x and 5x tippet material. The 5x tippet allows me to easily attach a dropper fly. Get a nail knot tool and learn how to tie that knot, a surgeon's knot (I prefer triple rather than a double for that) and maybe a couple of other knots. Use the surgeon's knot to add tippet material to your leader. Then, as you use different flies, you use up the tippet and only use up the leader when you add more tippet. This makes the leader last longer, which is a great convenience. Note that my nail knots look horrible, but they hold as tight as granny's garters. I prefer a tapered leader because, for those of us who are less than stellar casters, the more knots involved in the leader, the more wind knots involved in my leader. :( And another thing, my wind knots do NOT confine themselves to mere overhand knots. Oh no! Mine come in a variety and complexity that is almost Gordonian. Still, I love this hobby and I think that you are going to have a ball. Welcome aboard!
Ed
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Re: New Fly Fisherman
Hey welcome Fishinsyourlife,
Tons of info here to get you started, and folks here are very helpful so feel free to post questions as they come up.
Check out the Beginning Fly Fishing link from the main page on the left margin and follow it to the Fly Fishing 101 section for a lot of helpful info if you haven't found it already.
As for leaders, you?ve gotten good advice, a knotless tapered leader is the way to go, 7 ? feet would probably be fine. The tapered leader will help to lay your fly out after the cast. If you used straight mono, your fly would probably collapse in a heap of fishing line. The ?X? designation refers to the thickness of the leader material of the tippet end that you attach to your fly--- the lower the number X the thicker (and stronger) the line. Basically you?ll want to match the X to the size of the hook of the fly you?re using. Thicker, stronger for bigger bass flies- 2x and thinner, lighter 3X, 4X or even 5X for panfish. To get a rough idea, divide fly hook size by 3 to get the ?X? size to use?. For example a size 6 bass fly divided by 3 = 2X. Small panfish popper size 10 poppers or 12 foam spider divided by 3 = 3X and 4X . A good compromise would be to buy a 7 ?? 2X for bass, and a couple of spools of tippet material in 3X and 4X for panfish--- just tie on 2 ? or so of the lighter tippet to the end of the 2X bass leader for panfish flies.
I?m sure the guys in the warm water forum could help you out with suggesting specific flies but you can?t go wrong with some size 8 black and olive bead head woolly buggers, some size 6 poppers and maybe a weedless fly like a Dahlberg Diver or two for bass. Some panfish poppers size 10 and foam spiders size 12 and maybe an inexpensive dial-a-fly assortment for panfish and you should be good to go.
Good luck!
peregrines
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Re: New Fly Fisherman
'S like gettin' a new motorcycle. Ya gotta take it out & play with it! You & only you know your stengths & limitations. It's not a graded exercise. Do what works for YOU. Take a class or some "free" advice (worth what you pay for it). Go out & enjoy
Tight lines
Shortcaster
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Re: New Fly Fisherman
I appreciate all the responses. I have a 5 weight. I'm not sure I completely get it. Like suggested, I'm probably going to get a 7.5 foot 2X leader. Like Big Bad Wulff said, I am gonna be as likely to hook up with a bass as I am with a bream in some ponds. Is there a "median" tippet strength that I could get, or would I be better off getting two spools of tippet, one for when I'm targeting bass and one for when I'm targeting bream? If the two tippet strength method is better, what strengths should I get (one for bass, one for bream but I'll probably catch bass on it too)? Also, is tippet strength measured the same as leader strength (2X, 3X, etc)? I think those are all the questions I can manage right now. Thanks for help
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Re: New Fly Fisherman
You stated earlier that you use a baitcaster, well aply that knewledge to your fly fishing. With baitcasting or spinning, if your going to use a smaller lure you'll need to downsize your line wieght. The same goes for fly fishing, the smaller the fly means the smaller tippet you'll what to use. Heavier tippets will cause smaller flies float or sink incorrectly. I feel lighters better, it also gives the fish a fighting chance. As long as you learn something every time you go out, and then aply it the next time, you'll do just fine.
Remember to have FUN! Don't let snapped lines and wind knots get to you, it happens to everyone.
Good Luck!
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Re: New Fly Fisherman
Yup tippet X = leader X. The only difference is that the tippet is the same diameter throughout its length, but the leader is tapered from thick at the butt (where it?s connected to the fly line) and thinner at the end. The X of the leader refers to the thin end. As stated in the post above, ideally tippet/leader X is designed to correspond to fly size. Here?s a chart, but you can fudge a little up or down on hook sizes for each:
http://hipwader.com/2003/tippet-to-fly-size-chart
A good compromise for both bass and panfish would be a 7 ? foot leader tapered to 2X. Buy spools of 2x and 3x tippet as well and add about 2 feet or so with a blood knot of one or the other depending on the size of the flies you?re throwing. This way as you change flies or get wind knots from casting you?ll be clipping off tippet instead of the tapered leader, and you can add more tippet as you need it. Otherwise you?ll be cutting the tapered leader back and eventually you?ll have a hard time getting the leader through the small eye of panfish flies.
For big bass, weeds, big flies size 2-10, and size 6 bass poppers = 2X.
Use 3X for panfish, small bass, size 10 panfish poppers, and flies size 6- 14 (you can attach it to a short length of 2X tippet above without cutting back to the leader if you have it on already). The 3X tippet would probably be the best all around for both unless you?re throwing big stuff like bass poppers in 6, bigger flies like Divers and stuff in 2 and 4, or heavily weighted flies like clousers or beadhead woolly buggers.
At the risk of complicating things?. many guys swear by furled leaders. They are basically a thin rope made from very thin strands of thread or mono that are woven into a taper. Most have a small ring on the end to attach tippet with a simple clinch knot. They?re hard to find in stores, and can be expensive ($15), but maybe someone on the main or warm water board that makes them could tie one up for you for a couple of bucks. They work great and make the whole thing a lot easier, just buy a couple of spools of different size X tippet (2X and 3X to start, and 1X and/or 4X if needed down the road), and attach short lengths to the ring as needed without messing around with blood knots.
hope this helps...
peregrines