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Thread: LEADERS AND TIPPETS - Eye of the Guide - Jul 30, 2012

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  1. #34
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
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    Palm Bay, Florida/Rock River Wyoming, USA
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    In the defense of the nail knot, here's the last sentence in one of the many places where you can find Lefty's description, "then trim the tag end flush with the coils." That by itself eliminates the hang up on the guides problem mentioned. I trim both the tag end of the leader plus the tag end of the line "flush," as he says. That being so I generally only use it on the stream preferring a whipped loop, or the no knot, super glue, connection that Joni mentions when I have time and tools. I also firmly believe that trying to catalog the multitude of situations where folks choose leaders, tippets and such is nicely summed up with her statement about seats and butts.

    By the way have any of you tried tying a needle knot in or an intermediate, clear sink line? Or for that matter a nail knot? I found the braided loop or a whipped loop to be the solution for it's lack of core.

     
    Above I read, "Drag is caused by the leader / tippet pulling or pushing a fly off course of a fully natural drift of that fly with the current. The thickness of the leader / tippet has nothing to do with that happening." Interesting statement but it does seem to fly in the face of physics. Drag is due to the water interacting with the tippet/leader/line combo. Big heavy material, much drag, very light material less drag, thicker material, much more drag, thinner material, much less drag. Am I missing something? A fly line and leader butt is thick by design and thinner tippet is one way of reducing drag based on diameter alone. Another reason for longer tippets is to allow or to create some deliberate slack where the leader doesn't lay out straight but rather allows or causes the tippet to lie down curved, etc thereby allowing the tippet a longer float before it straightens and produces drag. Finer tippet, by the way, is harder for the fish to sense and see, but again that's nothing but physics talking!


    As for FC, again physics to the rescue, it is more dense and more closely matches the optic properties of the water so reason tells us that it might just give a slight edge when it come to a fish seeing it, not to mention the other factors mentioned above such as it's sinkabilty. Other reasons folks, "remember butts and seats," use it is for it's abrasion resistance. Add all this together and it?s easy to see why many Tarpon anglers like a Shock Tippet made of 60-120lb FC.

    As for the Perfection Loop--it has it's place but beware as it's pitifully weak and not to be used with your class tippet, or as most folks say your "tippet" as it weakens it this immensely. The Improved Clinch is almost in this same boat rating at around 60-70% of tippet strength when you could be getting 90-100% with another knot.

    Finally getting to the x factor, the Orvis chart gives recommendations and remember, "butts and seats," and it is a good chart and certainly you can deviate but my bet is that it's close to spot on given that folks ranging from Lefty Kreh, to Ritz, McLaine and many other experts with hundreds of years experience is where that chart comes from. Say you use the Trilene Knot for most of your tying the fly on. How small a hook eye can you get your tippet two times through? Good discussion folks and the article was certainly a bit of meat to chew on!
    Last edited by Chuck S; 08-10-2012 at 03:25 AM.
    Good Fishing,

    Chuck S (der Aulte Jaeger)

    "I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved"

    http://fishing-folks.blogspot.com/

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