New Fly Fisherman

[FishinsMyLife317]

Thanks to everyone who replied for the info. I'm heading out to Sportsman's Warehouse soon to get some flies, tippet material, and leaders. Thanks for the help

[ohiotuber]

I'll throw my 2 cents in as a late addition. I like as an "all-around" leader & tippet to go no heavier than 3X, but what I really prefer is a 5' to 7' furled leader with 2-3' of tippet....I usually go 2lb to 8lb on the tippet (6X to 3X). Furled leaders are wonderful, & they really help with versatility....Just my opinion & experience.
Mike

[Jed]

Another late weigh in -

The advantage to tapered leader is that it makes casting easier. It helps to roll out the last bit of line so the leader doesn't end up in a pile next to the fly. If you use a 3~4 foot leader then regular line would work. I usually use longer than that so I use a tapered leader, not baitcater's mono.

The advantage to tippet is that you can tie it on using 1" of leader and then tie on 1/2 dozen or a dozen flies. Replace the tippet and you've got 1" of leader gone and another batch of flies. IT saves the leader which cost more than the tippet.

As for strength of the leader it depends on fly size, strucutre (you need heavier to pull out of the weeds) and size of fish. 7x just doesn't hold up well against a 10 lb bass.

jed

[brhoff]

Have someone show you how to use the "loop system" for your leader to line connections and changing leaders will be a breeze...a local shop showed me in 10 minutes...best single bit of info. I have come across yet in this sport.

When you buy leaders...get 4-5. Unless your a "natural" you'll thrash leaders in the first season.

S.C. Gills are nothing but fun on a 3wt...nailed one about 11" a couple months ago...they'll hit hare ear nymphs all day long.

[Jack Hise]

Fishin'
Welcome aboard!
I use 4 lb or 6 lb mono for tippet material. 4' to 6' attached to a 7' furled leader that is attached to the flyline with the Castwell knot (Weaver's Bend). I make my leaders from fluorocarbon or tying thread.
Flurocarbon to sink and thread to float. Both have a break strength of 12 lbs and will last for several seasons.
If you pm me your mailing address I'll send you one of each.

[bugman]

yep....what jack said......he sent me 2 of them furled leaders & thats the only kinda leader i use now........knotless tapered leaders tend to get wind knots in them & the tied tapered leaders are bad about tangelin up....

[white43]

I just started using the furled leaders this past year and absolutely love them. Over the years I've probably used a whole bunch of stuff. I'm lazy in a way. Love being uncomplicated, so for most of my fishing over the many, many years of fly casting I've simply matched mono to the fish I've targeted. 2-4 lb. mono when fishing for crappies and gills, 6-8 lb. mono for bass, etc. Now these are my tippets for the furled leaders. Much simpler, much cheaper. Just as effective. And the furled leaders give you a great lay down. BTW, welcome to this fly fishing madness. This is basically where I moved after learning to fish with a cane pole as a kid. Too many knots with baitcasting, and when I started spin fishing was just starting to being introduced to the rural regions of NE MO. I still do some spin but mainly with friends when fishing for channel cats on the river. Otherwise it's mainly fly fishing, as it has been since my youth. Mainly for warmwater. JGW

[Jack Hise]

Fishin
In case you tried to pm me and it came back my mail box is now cleaned out and should recieve messages ok.

[WarrenP]

Welcome to the best fly fishing, fly tying, fly anything web site going! You have received a lot of good advise and I can tell from your response that you are getting a little confused with all the advise that contains terms and words you are not familiar with yet. Lets try this approach and see if it will help. You PM me your home address and I will send you a Furled Leader which will last you a long, long time and then all you will need to add to your rig is the tippet and fly. The Furled leader I will send you will be 9 foot long. You will need to attach it to your fly line either with a loop-to-loop connection or a Castwell Knot. As far as what ""X" tippet to get and use, I would suggest that you just pick up a spool of 4 pound fluorocarbon or 6 pound and make a perfection loop in the end and pull off about 4 to 5 feet of fluorocarbon and then attach your fly. You are just beginning and you will go through a lot of tippet material and purchasing a spool of 4 or 6 pound flurorcarbon will be less costly to you then tippet material. As was stated, everyone will have their own suggestions and the above are mine. I use the 4 or 6 pound fluorocarbon instead of tippet material and I have no problems with it and neither do my trout, bluegill or bass here in Tennessee.

If you want a Furled leader, just PM me your home mailing address and I will make one up and send it to you with instructions on how to attach it to your fly line. You can also contact me anytime by PM and let me know when you are in Tennessee and I will gladly take you out fishing.

[Eight Thumbs]

Hi FML 317,

Welcome to another in-state fisherman. I do a lot of fly fishing for LMB, brim, stripers and hybrids on Lake Hartwell. I also get up to the Chattooga River for a little trout fishing every once in a while. If you ever plan on getting up toward Anderson, give me little advanced notice and we can get together for a fishin.

I like the advice that OhioTuber and several others have given you. A furled leader costs about 12.95 instead of 4 bucks for a standard tapered leader but it's well worth the price. I fish a lot of boat launch areas with tons of sharp rocks and riprap. I tear up at least one tapered leader per fishing session on these obstacles. The furled leaders seems to resist the cuts and abrasions for several months. I carry a couple of spools of 15lb, 12lb, 10lb test and replace three or four feet of tippet regularly. The furled leader turns over big flies well and lasts forever. Try it, you'll like it. 8T