Could a lot of you pls post how long a leader you use…and how long a tippet with it? Meaning just how long is your leader tippet combo? Are you using 9’ leaders with 6’ of tippet? Or perhaps 7’ leaders with 3’ of tippet?
In your stillwaters, rivers, and most importantly streams…how are you rigging up your leader tippet on the end of your fly line? Meaning lengths…wondering how much leader I need plus tippet to fish for trout…and not spook them.
i use store bought leaders in the 9 foot length straight out of the package. if i remember, i’ll add a length of tippet to facilitate fly changes and to preserve the original leader. alot of times i forget to do this and just start fishing. theres no commandment to add tippet.
for streamer fishing, my leader may be as short a 6 feet long, level mono.
for panfishing, i’m cheap so i buy the 6 foot long cabelas leader in the 4 pack and add tippet.
Gemrod,
The length of both the leader and tippet varies depending upon how I am fishing and where I am fishing.
For dry flying, I almost always start with a 9 foot tapered leader, Rio brand, their trout series. That will vary from a 5X up to a 2X. I prefer to also have a fluorocarbon tippet, so I will add on 2 feet of that, usually in the same ?X? size. If I am going to be fishing with a dropper then the dropper will always be at least one ?X? size lighter than the leader. My dry fly rod that I usually use is a Sage VPS Light, a 9 foot 5 weight, so I try not to exceed 11 feet if leader if possible.
I do have some 12 foot leaders that I will use when fishing small dries on calm water, but most of my fishing is on rivers and that usually is not required.
If I am casting heavy streamers, then I usually use a 4 or 5 foot length of Maxima in the 6 to 8 pound range, sometimes 10 pound. If the water is really clear, I will also add a 2 foot piece of heavy fluorocarbon tippet, but usually when fishing with big streamers, the fish I am targeting are not leader shy, they are predators and are quick to take the fly.
When I am nymphing in a river with a strike indicator I will usually start with the Rio tapered leader down to the first fly. I may use a 7 foot or a 9 foot mono leader, depending upon the depth of the river. Many of the rivers that I fish in WA and MT are deep enough for a 9 foot leader. I prefer to add a 2 foot section of fluorocarbon to the end of the leader, so that is why I sometimes use the 7 foot mono. If any split shot has to be used, I always attach it to the mono right at the knot where you tie on the fluorocarbon. I don?t like to use split shot on fluorocarbon. The heavier top fly is tied to the first piece of fluorocarbon tippet, then a dropper is tied onto the first fly, using a lighter strength of fluorocarbon tippet, usually 18 inches to 2 feet below the first fly. My nymphing rods are Sage XP or Z-Axis 11 foot 6 weights so I can handle the extra length of the long leaders.
Larry —sagefisher—
When I was coming up, I remember someone telling me that your leader should be just about the length of your rod and the tippet section of this leader be should about 18"
Simplistic, but a good rule of thumb
I hand tie my leaders and will use leaders from 4’ to over 14’, but most of the time the length of rod rule still applies
I start with a 9 ft 5X commercial tapered leader. If I have to go longer. I’ll cut it back longer sections of the interval sizes. I like tippets to be 30 - 36 inches at the start and I replace tippet if it gets under 20 inches. I routinely fish 9 ft or longer leaders even on my local streams with 8 ft 4 wt rods. Out west on the Madison I’ll go to 12 ft leaders with a 10 ft rod.
On Hebgen I’ll fish leaders from 13 to 15 ft. With the cruising gulpers it is hard to tell where they will be next and you need the fly far away from the line to prevent the line falling near the fish you are after. If your line gets near a fish on the cast you will see the wake of fin spash of the fish when it spooks and then you know to lenthen your leader.
I think that is a good rule but the best rule I think is use the longest leader you can control.
Leader length is a function of water clarity and fish spookiness for me in most cases. I use as short as I can but most always at least a 7.5 ft leader/tippet combined. Anytime I’m fishing wets, nymphs or streamers, I’m down to the shorter leader except when fishing deeper stillwaters and then I’ve gone to as long as 15 ft or greater, mostly tippet, little casting involved. I average 9 ft with tippet in most cases and try to keep that tippet at an average of 24 inches mol. When I put on a fresh piece it’s 3-4 ft and then clipped back with use. For most streamer fishing I go to the 7.5 ft total but could even use shorter as many fishing streamers go as short as 3 ft.
Rio, Cortland, and others use a formula for their commercially tapered leaders that range
in proportions from 50%-25%-25% to 60%-20%-20% for the Butt, Midsection and tippet. (recalling way back so may be off a tad) You can measure a new one and get an approxiation as the tippet is level as is much of the butt with the taper being in the midsection for the most part.
On stillwater for instance where leaders can get quite long, especially the tippet:
As Brian Chan indicates: “A floating line being used for chironomid larva and pupa fishing may have a 16 ft. long tapered leader to which more tippet material can be added to fish deeper water. 9 and 12 ft long tapered leaders are generally used with full sinking lines.”
Ive stopped messing with the tapered leader…
I just grab a spool of Maxima Mono… and works just as well…
they make it in sizes… 2lb to over 50.
I use 6 or 8lb almost always…
but I also do alot of night fishing but even during the day… I still catch a good number
if your going to use a size 20 (or smaller)… 2lb would work great.
This may have already been mentioned and I missed it:
I adjust (shortening or lengthening) the tippet when using a dry fly for trout based on how the fly is falling to the surface. I want the dry fly to gently fall as a natural would do, and I want the tippet/leader to lie in gentle S curves on the surface, so that the fly does not drag immediately.
I have the greatest challenge in getting these outcomes when fishing #18 and smaller dries. Of course when I get down to a #22 I can rarely see the fly anyway, so the issue is moot.
I tend to start with a 7.5’ store-bought leader (3x, usually, which is heavier than I usually fish), add a couple feet of tippet for the top fly, and a dropper if I so desire. I do, however, occasionally make that longer if I need to drop down a tippet size or two. I would say that most times I am running 9-10 feet of tippet.
That gets interesting when I am using a short rod, too.
If I’m tying my own, I’ll generally use a 10 foot leader including 2’ of tippet.
If I get lazy, I’ll buy a storebought 7.5’, cut off a few inches, tie a figure-8 loop at the end, and then attach about 20" of tippet (again with a loop).
I’m sure there are places that you need to go longer than 10’ all-in, but I haven’t been to them yet.
If nymphing, I’ll leave everything the same but keep the tippet at about 8".
I rarely streamer fish.
For warmwater fishing I use a 6 ft furled leader with about 18" - 24" as the tippet.
For trout fishing (usually nymph), I use a 7.5’ tapered leader, about 18" of tippet down to the 1st fly, 18" of leader down to the 2nd fly and about 15" to the third (last fly).
JR
Like others I have been using leaders right out of the package. I have read some articles regarding tying you own leaders. Ross Mueller in WI ties his own that finish somewhere to around 8 1/2’ @ 3x. To that, he loops on 18" to 36" of 5x or 6x tippet. I read that John Wilson who guides down in AR takes a store bought leader, ties a perfection loop to the end and loops his tippet. I have experimented trying these methods with goof success. By looping your tippet you pretty much can use a leader for quite some time.
With that said, I intend to fish with threaded furled leaders next year. From what I’ve read all you cab loop 18" to 36" of tippet. Kathy Scott told me she usually adds a 3" to 4" pice of 3x to the end of her leaders and adds the tippet to that.