Leader twist

I cast small poppers (No. 10 and No. 12) on 2- and 3-weight rods. My problem is that my light leaders get twisted terribly in no time at all.

Any suggestions?

It may be blasphemy to say this but if you tie the smallest ball bearing swivel you can find onto the end of your leader then tie on a short length of heavy tippet, the swivel should take care of the problem.

Larry :shock:

Hey Sage,

How light and long are you using? Twisting often means either the tippet is too light, or the leader is too long, or both. I try and match tippet to fly size regardless of line weight using:

Fly size divided by 3 = X tippet

So a size 12 divided by 3 = 4x, a size 10 = 4x or 3x. Works for flies, but since poppers are so much more air resistant I?d probably go 3x for both size 10 and 12, and shorten the leader so overall length is 2? shorter than rod length (7? leader on a 9? rod). That should do it, hopefully, but if you?re still having problems, you may need to lengthen the proportion of the butt section to help with controlling twist.

Good luck, catching them on top is a blast.

peregrines

A shorter and/or heavier leader is usually the answer. The critters you generally throw poppers at usually aren't that leader shy as long as the bug is still acting naturally on the water. Changing to a less air resistant bug (i.e., a slider or gurgler) instead of the flat faced popper will often make the difference, too.

Yep, the leader's your trouble. I've had the same trouble with plastic headed poppers and besides changing to a stronger leader I tied some tiny deerhair divers and decided I liked those better than foam.

No twists at all. I love tying with hair so it was a win/win for me. You might just like a stiffer or stronger leader. Also, if you tied the poppers yourself, try to get them tied/balanced so they won't propellor on you if you can. I know, that can be a bugger...

I like deerhair because it seems to give me much less trouble.

Jeremy.

I really appreciate your advice. Thanks!