favorite fly line to leader connection?

[okflyfisher]

What is your favorite leader to fly line connection?

[sagefisher]

Loop to loop. If the fly line does not have a loop then I tie on a very stout and short leader butt section and form a loop for the leader. If the leader has no loop then I tie a Perfection Loop on the butt end.

Larry ---sagefisher---

[narcodog]

I use a short, 6ins, of 12lb Maxum or amnesia with a nail knot then a perfection loop and then the leader is loop to loop. I use furled leaders 99.9% of the time.

[James Smith]

I'm with Sagefisher on this one all the way. If the line I buy doesn't have a loop, I make one by whip finishing a thread wrap and giving it a coat of Goop or some other water resistant adhesive. This makes changing leaders on the water a snap and most of the time the loop lasts the entire life of the flyline. On the rare occasion when a flyline cracks right behind the loop ( usually after 2-3 seasons of use), then I simply make another loop. This has worked great for me for the past 15+ years.

Jim Smith

[okflyfisher]

I have used whipped loops and of course factory loops for loop to loop connections for a long time. However on a recent trip for trout nymphing a deep slow run i needed a leader longer that my fly rod to effectively catch fish . About 1/3 of the time after landing a fish my fly line loop would get hung up in the tip top when trying to get my flies back in the water. i am also interested in trying French/ Spanish nymphing this coming year which use leaders much longer than the rod so i am really interested in the strongest line leader connection that goes in and out of the guides like it is not there.

[Chuck441]

The Dave Whitlock Zap-A-Gap splice:

https://books.google.com/books?id=gE...age&q=whitlock leader splice&f=false

Chuck

[Kaboom1]

Castwell Knot is my first choice. Loop to Loop would be second.

Brad

[okflyfisher]

i often use a castwell knot for my local warm water fishing. Our local waters are fairly stained so i generally use less expensive lines and my leaders are shorter than rod length. it may go through the guides fine i just have not used it with long leaders. I have also used the castwell knot to bail a friend or two out when their line leader connection failed on a trip

[DaleW]

Over the years I've tried different connections and knots for attaching the backing to the reel, the line backing to the flyline and the flyline to the leader. Today I'm with the loop to loop crowd, and that's with making a loop at the end of the fly line. Depending on the butt end dia of the leader, I'll use either a perfection loop or a simple overhand loop.

[Chuck441]

The OP wanted a connection that would slide through the tip guide w/o hanging up. I use loop-to-loop connections a lot but, for a totally seamless connection, the Whitlock splice in my link works super well.

Chuck