How long of a tippet do you use?

[John_N]

That's pretty much what I use all the time to my point fly (5x to the top dropper). Of course, I'm usually trying for a dead drift, even when fishing down. I can't remember ever breaking off a fish on the take.

I'd rather have finer tippet to the point so that if I hang that fly up on something, I only lose one fly instead of two.

I basically do that same thing when I dead drift a multi-nymph rig, for the same reason. Definitely something to be said for only breaking off the point fly if there's a snag. I don't dead drift soft hackles very often, though I probably should do so more often. I'm used to swinging them, which elicits some vicious strikes and has always prompted me to be a little more conservative on tippet strength.