Leader Question?

[Weasel]

How many of you folks tie your own leaders? I have been buying tapered leaders, but I was thinking that tying my own could save me a little money. I noticed on on of the large sporting good companies a kit made by frog hair, I've been looking on the sponsers sites for a similar kit, but haven't found one yet.

Is there a beifit to tying your own? Or should I just stick with the premade tapered ones?

Thanks for your advice in advance!!!!

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Brad

[fcch]

Weasel,

(prepare yourself for many answers)

I tye my own for a few reasons:

• Saves money (I meet people every single day on my home waters who don't have an appropriate leader, so I end up giving away about 2 leaders per day).[/*:m:b0a60]
• I get STIFF leaders with fine tippets (I throw BIG flies and need/prefer leaders with a stiff butt... without going to Salt water leaders, I can tye my own)[/*:m:b0a60]
• I like LONG leaders so I can get them the way I like the (my leaders are typically about 2x - 2.5x the length of the rod, ... so the leader on my 10 ft #8 is 22-25 ft long ...old habits die hard[/*:m:b0a60]

Some will say the knots will scare the fish.... could be, but not on my waters.

Some say you should use furled leaders, ... I can't say, ... never tried 'em

I use all Maxima for mine in Brown (yellowish tinge to the water here.)

There are some formulas around here somewhere ... also

Furled leaders: [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/readerscast/rc185.html:b0a60]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/readerscast/rc185.html[/url:b0a60]

Leader Fix
By James Castwell: [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/cst/cst051401.html:b0a60]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/cst/cst051401.html[/url:b0a60]

Fly Fishing 101, Part 6
Leaders and Tippets: [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/begin/101/part6.html:b0a60]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/begin/101/part6.html[/url:b0a60]

Performance By Design (Climax): [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/about/climax/index.html:b0a60]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/about/climax/index.html[/url:b0a60]

Hope this helps



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Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:b0a60]http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/[/url:b0a60]

Dear Weasel,

I fish about 50/50 with hand tied and store bought leaders. When I fish for smallmouth or other cool/warmwater fish I almost always use hand tied leaders.

If all you are going to do is tie 9' 5X leaders then you probably will have a hard time saving any money with a leader tying kit. But if you use different lengths and strengths of leaders you can save money with a kit once you tie about a dozen leaders.

A good kit will cost you about $ 35.00, and you may want to add a nail knot tool for another $ 10.00. It's not necessary, but it makes things easier when you are tying a bunch of leaders up.

Like Chris above, I like the brown Maxima Chameleon for bulk of my leaders, going to Orvis SS or Climax for the last two sections when tying leaders of 4X or smaller.

If I am permitted to put a plug in for a fly shop that i have dealt with for 25 years I will suggest that you visit [url=http://www.flyfishersparadise.com.:83481]www.flyfishersparadise.com.[/url:83481] They have a leader tying kit available for $ 32.95 that will get you started. It includes Maxima for butt sections and Climax for tippets, as well a a handy booklet of leader formulae.

You will find that many leaders of the same length are similar in construction with the exception of the tippet section. I often find it handy to tie several leaders and leave off the last two sections. When I get onstream I can finish the leaders to the desired tippet strength.

Another advantage of building your own leaders is that once you get a handle on tapers and proportions you will be able to rebuild leaders along the stream with little difficulty. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I have leaders on reels that are almost 3 years old. I just rebuild them when they get out of proportion. I usually only have to rebuild the final 3 feet or so.

Regards,
Tim Murphy

Dear JC,

Not to get too far off the subject but when I first started dealing with them their store was in the upstairs of the old Post Office in Lemont, PA.

It was so small that if two people were inside and another wanted to enter that person would have to wait until one of the other two folks left to make room.

They have certainly come a long way. There is something really neat about being 45 years old and dealing with the same people who got you started in this sport when you were 18.

Regards,
Tim Murphy