Oh Canada, there's your problem

Chris - If there is one thing I have stressed while helping the newbie fly fisher, it's Check Your Fly Often. Your story about the leader VS the hook brings back a lot of memories. In my younger days I remember casting a size 6 Purple Joe to some cruising Silver's on Puget Sound only to have a magnificant Salmon bang the fly, a nano second later...gone. You got it, the hook had broken of more than likly from a backcast brushing against a barnacle incrusted stone. Not only checkng for a broken hook but you have to check to nmake sure the hook is sharp. I scrape the hook against a finger nail, it it digs in..I am still in business or even still give the point a going over with my little sharpening stone. Thanks again for the great advice, Jonezee

Jonezee,

I've seen a few heart breakers on broken flies.

Mona was a Guide here for a while. She cast to a +30 lb salmon and the big Hen just INHALED her #6 Bomber. The salmon dashed across the run, turned, puller out +150ft of backing ,... and then leapt.

The fly, leader and line came looping back.

On inspection, .. we saw that the point was broken off :shock: on her hook.

In reality, Mona didn't really think the big salmon would rise, so she was a bit hurried.

Just goes to show, .. on many waters, ANY cast could connect to the fish of a life time!

When we do downstream presentations, we'll check the lead and fly often. Either can become abraded by rocks.

Folks will soemtimes notice that when I strip in the line to check or change the fly, the line than leader gets pulled through my fingers, ... then when I get to the leader, I pull the last 5-8 feet through my teeth.

This is my way of feeling the lighter part of the leader for nicks and cuts.