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Thread: Best Color for Dry Fly Leaders?

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  1. #1
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    Default Best Color for Dry Fly Leaders?

    What do you think? Does the color matter? If it does matter, how do you get the color leader you want?

    Allan

  2. #2
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    I use Rio Powerflex leaders/tippet; doesn't appear to have any color. Freestone, pocketwater, tailwater, spring creek - the fish don't seem to care.

    Regards,
    Scott

  3. #3
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    To me, dry flying means no color at all for the tippet.

    In fact, to inject a subject that was recently discussed on another thread, I prefer to use fluorocarbon tippet on most of my dry flies, except those insanely small pesky flies, like Tricos and such. All of my dry fly leaders are tapered mono, either Rio or Frog Hair but as I said, I prefer to tie on fluorocarbon tippet.

    Larry ---sagefisher---

  4. #4
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    The question as I read it was about leader color, not tippet.
    I use fire orange flurled leaders, only for all my dry fly fishing.
    For nymph fishin, I prefer fluorocarbon flurled leaders I make from 2 lb.
    It is clear but I should care less about color.
    While looking to buy a new fly line while out in NY at a FI with the late
    JC & LF, as I was having a problem making a choice of color. I asked JC and he said,
    pick one you can see easily if you want to look over your shoulder to see how
    your back cast is doing, the fish should care less.
    So, for until someone can prove to me that the fish care, I use my orange flurled leaders
    for dry fly fishin. I do manage to catch a respectable number of fish.

    Denny

  5. #5
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    I am with Denny on this one. I use an Electric Yellow furled leader 99% of the time when dry fly fishing. The other 1% it is Electric Orange or some other bright color that I am testing. If bright leaders spooked fish they would be belly up in the streams from starving to death.

    Brad
    "A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her."
    -W.C. Fields

  6. #6
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    My opinion is that for nymphing a highly visible butt section of the leader can help as an "indicator," but for dry fly fishing leaders should be "invisible." When dry fly fishing, the point of reference for a strike is the fly and not the leader. When one needs to "see" the leader, for example when fishing fishing flies IN the film, the greased leader technique is the method of choice.

    While a high viz leader may not put off all the fish, I think it spooks some fish especially when you happen to cast over a fish or if it floats over a fish. If you can see it better for your backcast, the fish can see it better in the air. The sad truth is that you will never know about the fish that you spook.

    Would a turkey hunter use a fluorescent shotgun or deer hunter a day glow rifle? Why use a high viz leader which will be part of your tackle that is closest to your quarry other than the fly itself?

    To those that say that the color of a leader floating over a fish does not matter because the leader is a "shadow," I reply a leader is translucent and the fish see the color quite well.

    Read The Angler as Predator or listen to Gary Borger's recent podcast http://www.askaboutflyfishing.com/
    Regards,

    Silver

    "Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought"..........Szent-Gyorgy

  7. #7

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    I use a 5.5' two-tone Olive furled uni-thread leader pretty much exclusively for trout. Works perfectly on even the most techinical of streams for me. My tippet is clear FC.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Silver Creek View Post
    My opinion is that for nymphing a highly visible butt section of the leader can help as an "indicator," but for dry fly fishing leaders should be "invisible."
    I think Silver Creek covered this perfectly and I do exactly what he suggested. I use a yellow Amnesia butt leader for nymph fishing and an Airflo poly leader for dry fly fishing. The only thing I'd added is that when fishing very small, low floating, hard to see flies, I sometimes add a small dab of strike putty to the tippet a couple feet ahead of the fly.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Denny View Post
    The question as I read it was about leader color, not tippet.
    The reason I mentioned tippet is because my leader rarely stays intact very long, either due to fly changes or break-offs, so I have to add tippet.

    Regards,
    Scott

  10. #10
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    Then there is the fact that some people tie the fly directly to the leader and do that until they have used a foot or so of leader, then they start using tippet. Personally I always use tippet, but that is just me. Larry ---sagefisher---

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