.... when, where, and why ??

My fly angling is almost entirely on medium to higher gradient freestone streams and rivers. That generally means lots of action and not a lot of finesse. Tippets 3-4' long fished off thread furled leaders are pretty much the norm for dry flies, which for months on end are large, as in salmonflies, golden stones, hoppers, and October caddis. Smaller dries for midges, BWO's, PMDs, drakes, March browns, smaller caddis, etc. simply call for a lighter, not longer, tippet.

Leaders / tippets for nymphing the same streams and rivers range from 3' to 8' depending on current speed and depth. Often no more than the appropriate length of 2X mono is needed. The other end of the spectrum might be 18" of 5X to trail a midge larva or pupa off a Griffith Gnat.

Recognizing that I generally fish only a small slice of the big pie that is fly angling, and that I will encounter other situations along the way, I'm curious about when long leaders and fine tippets are necessary. I have some impressions, but I prefer not to establish any particular direction for responses.

Hopefully, there will be lots of experiences and opinions offered, that will benefit not only experienced anglers who might fish particular types of creeks, streams, and rivers, but also the inexperienced anglers who visit here in their quest for information that will help them improve their fly angling experience.

John