tippet/leader question

[miamisson]

teach me, i need to learn.....

have read several articles that hinted at the idea that the tippet/leader used when dry fly fishing should not float, seems to me if it sinks, it would pull the fly under or at least make it float funny....

sooooooo

my question(s)is A)should it float or not and B) how does one accopmlish the answer to part A of this question?

------------------
one more cast and i'll leave......well maybe one just one more

[PeteM]

It sounds like the opposite to me. When dry fly fishing, I will usually use straight mono which floats. Flurocarbon sinks and so I limit the use of that to nymphs and streamers.

Also, match the tippet size to the size of the fly to get the fly to turnover. (Don't use 7x tippet and a heavily weighted streamer).

Pete

Good question- Bad answer:

Different authors and 'experts' have made good arguments for both floating and sunken tippets/leaders. Therefore, I don't think there is a pat answer.

Allan

[Bill Blake]

Lots of different thoughts on the matter. Keep in mind, you don't have to have the whole leader sink.

Here is what I've found. I will grease my leader and tippet down to about the last 6". It has worked on the very selective fish on the South Platte and the Fryingpan. There isn't enough "weight" on that 6" to drag down even a small fly. I've tried the ungreased leader thing and I have to say that I am not a fan of it.

[DavidInMD]

I think it comes down to how fancy you want to get and how spooky the fish are. As JC says, floating leader helps casting a bit, and as you noted, the sinking leader/tippet will tend to pull the fly under during drag/retrieve.

On calm water, I can see a floating tippet, so I figure the fish can too. It and/or its dimple in the surface can cause a shadow. Probably only matters to the spookiest/most-experienced fish.

But I have only invested in fluorocarbon tippet so far, so just tie a piece of that on the end of a floating leader. Just cut back the leader and make more of it fluorocarbon for those popular trout streams.