Seaquar Tippet

[fishdog54]

ducksterman,

At 4X, Seaguar & Enrico are almost neck and neck, 7.0 & 6.9 lbs. respectively. From 5X to 9X, Enrico really pulls away from the pack. For me, 5x thru 9x is where critical stuff happens. All 3x and above tippet material makers have a breaking strength that serves my purpose. YMMV. I do like to stay with the same brand for consistency or I will use a stiffer material (Maxima) for the butt section. It depends on what I am trying to achieve. You do have to watch the breaking strengths if mixing brands because your tippet could be stronger than the material used half way up the leader. I still don't see the need to buy fluorocarbon tippet material in the smaller diameters, unless your trying to get very small flies to sink faster without adding weight. Are there really significant advantages to justify the cost? Thanks.

Best regards, Dave S.

[flyguy66]

in very light tippets, the advantages of fluorocarbon will become obvious in the following situations:

1. bright light + clear water + sub-surface fishing. Fluoro allows you to use about 1X bigger than what you usually would due to its reduced buoyancy and (usually) improved pliability. This allows the fly to sink faster and behave far more naturally while still attached to a higher test strength than with nylon.

2. tiny nymphs, soft hackles, and emergers. Fluoro simply allows better natural movement of the fly when compared to nylon. It's increased abrasion resistance also reduces those types of break-offs.

3. sub-surface fishing in slow-moving or still water that is clear. Again, the suppleness of fluorocarbon tippet allows the fly to move far more realistically in the water. The fish are getting a longer "look" at your offering. Every little bit counts when trying to fool wary fish in slow-moving or still water situations.

[fishdog54]

Thanks fishguy66 - food for thought!

Best regards, Dave S.

[Marco]

I generally buy "ACME" everything . I assure all it works better for me than for Wile E. Coyote. It's not that I can't afford the name brand stuff, it's because I , after 40+ years of beating the waters to a froth with reasonable success, have NEVER been able to attribute THAT success to ANYTHING but my skill.

Mark
PS: My statement may be blunt but true.

[fishdog54]

Marco,

I see your point! I seem to recall doing quite well on catching trout etc., back in my early teens on rods that could not hold a candle to even the most inexpensive graphite rods ($19 - $25?) of today. Leader material could not measure up either by todays standards - but we did very well, thank you! Sometimes I think the new fangled stuff can make you "lazy", so to speak. I suppose there are pros & cons to every new product and we could discuss it till we're blue in the face. (which can be fun!) You can visit a busy stretch of stream where some folks are using the latest and greatest(?), and some are using those wooden stick thingys or brown glass Fenwicks, and Everyones catching fish! I use them all, from time to time, so what this means to me is that it can't be so much the equipment, as it is the skill by which you use that equipment? Besides, if i"m not catching fish, it's can't be me! I blame it on those gigantic stone heads with the weird hats, that are on Easter Island. What other explanation could there be! LOL!!! If I'm getting too far off topic here, reel me back in. But you better use fluoro, cuz I can see that mono stuff! Ha!

Best regards, Dave S.

[ducksterman]

Speaking of seeing I'm going to start a new thread re: seeing furled fluoro.

[lastchance]

I fish with a few guys that use fluoro all the time and I catch fish right along with them. Whether it's nymphing or throwing dry flies I see no difference in catch rate. Until someone can prove to me I can catch more fish using fluoro I'll stick with the cheaper stuff. I can't justify paying that kind of money. I can afford it, but the price is just crazy. Some guys like it and that's fine with me. To each his own.

[flyguy66]

I generally buy "ACME" everything . I assure all it works better for me than for Wile E. Coyote. It's not that I can't afford the name brand stuff, it's because I , after 40+ years of beating the waters to a froth with reasonable success, have NEVER been able to attribute THAT success to ANYTHING but my skill.

Mark
PS: My statement may be blunt but true.

Marco,

I could not attribute fishing success to any particular piece of tackle, either. No way. But am I aware of some subtle differences...some minor advantages here and there...in the hands of a skilled angler, all other things being equal when using this vs. that? Of course! Sure we all caught fish just fine on the older stuff, and still can on the cheap stuff. You bet. But I also know that I can catch a FEW more now and then by using fluorocarbon tippet instead of nylon, I can stay a lot more comfortable wearing some of the modern boots and waders than the old rubber or canvas 3-ply, and I can see the small dry fly a bit better in certain water and light conditions using that dayglo poly yarn for a wing or post vs. calf fur.

lastchance,

I am one of the most value-conscious cheapskates you will ever meet until I have proven to myself over a comparatively LONG period of time that something is worth more (and I can afford it). I'm not trying to convince you, but you may want to give it a really long test run with one particular light size of tippet when fishing something like soft hackles or midges in really clear water situations. It takes time to really neutralize a lot of the variables. And comparing your catch rate to that of other people really does no good at all. There are WAY too many X factors in that equation! The right way to go about investigating is to fish for awhile with nylon and then for awhile with fluoro (say 30 minutes of each) in the same general well-known waters, same time of day, same day, same flies, etc. to minimize the other factors of variability and get a side-by-side comparison that you can sense without distortion. If you do give it a whirl, be aware that you have to take a bit of extra care tying knots in fluoro. They will slip more readily if not tied properly. And you need to wet fluoro before tightening any knot. It often takes folks a bit of trial and error to adjust to fluorocarbon tippet because of this. But if you never fish flies smaller than say a 16, you'll probably never notice the difference.

[Troutfisher]

IMHO, the bottom line in comparing tippet material is its measured diameter and how well it holds the knots I tie. In the past, I have measured diameters with a micrometer and found those having the greatest listed breaking strength were oftentimes larger in diameter. Both Puglisi and Maxima material were consistently oversize if my memory serves me right. Everybody ties knots differently, and uses different knots, and when we are astream we are not tying knots under laboratory conditions. Take some time during non-fishing times to experiment with different knots and how strong they are in the material you use. For fly knots, the best way to do this is to tie a hook on each end of a 16" strand of leader material using different knots and jerk-pull this while securely holding the hooks. Two nails and a pair of work gloves help with the holding process.