JC’s article got me to thinking about
leaders again. I know, bad idea.G But
I was wondering, what is a typical leader
set up for the warmwater fly fisherman?
Do the tannic stained waters make a
difference. Due to the shorter distances
I find myself casting in the cover, I often
find about 7’ is as much leader as I care
to use. I admit that it’s not uncommon for
me to just nip off about 7 feet of 6 or 8
pound trilene and tie it to my line with a
nailess knot and I’m good to go. I’ve
tried several furled leaders and experienced
problems with fine grass getting caught up
in it. I’ve also tried knotted leaders and
still experience the grass problems on the
knots. I do sometimes use a straight taper
in early spring when the water is fairly
clear, but still only about 7’ of length.
Just wondering whats working for other
warm water fishers. Warm regards, Jim
I usually start with a 7 1/2 foot tapered leader (sometimes 9’ depends on what I got) and then after I use the first 12 - 18 inches I start adding tippet until I get too many wind knots, then the process starts over.
The last leader I used started as a 7 1/2 foot 3x leader and I have been adding 2x tippet all year. Before that I had a 4x that I ‘used’ more of (so it got fairly heavy) before I started adding the 2x tippet.
Once in a while I will also add some 4x or 5x to the end if I need to use a smaller fly or get deeper.
Don
Good question Jim, I look forward to other’s answers.
When I got back into flyfishing I almost gagged when I saw what leaders cost. (I still have some leader packages with a $.59 price tag on them.) I started then to tie my own leaders. I use about 4 feet of 17 lb. test Big Game mono and 3 feet of 10 lb. test clear Stren and to that I tie my tippet which is real tippet material for top water or 4 lb flouro for nymphs. All knots are surgeons knots. I realize that Bluegills and Bass are less picky about these things and this has worked for me.
I also realize that this spring when I try to lose my Bluegill moniker and try to catch my first trout on a flyrod I will have to bite the bullet and buy some tapered leaders.
Clint
I feel closer to HIM when I’m fishing.
[This message has been edited by Bluegill Budd (edited 13 December 2005).]
I agree. Weeds and trash in the water down here in freshwater is no fun with knotted or looped leaders (I use looped leaders for the brine though). I have used about 9 feet of straight 8lb. test mono that does work for me in a pinch. But I usually use a 5 foot 12lb. butt section down to a 4 foot 8lb. tippet section to give me a 9 foot knotted mono tapered leader. I use the smallest knots I can get away with and it works pretty good (not much if any weeds or trash). The Nailless Nail Knot from butt to fly line and an Albright Special from butt to tippet. Duncan Loop from tippet to fly. I get better fly turnover with this leader and it hasn’t failed me yet unless it was old mono or if I didn’t tie the knots right. I like to use Berkley mono because it has less stretch. I have had good luck with this leader in dark or stained water so it doesn’t seem to bother the fish.
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
[This message has been edited by dixieangler (edited 13 December 2005).]
my “usual” leader - 4X, 7 1/2’ SA tapered leader. When I replace old leader I cut tippet off back 18" from the end and retie. As I loose tippet by changing flies I add a new section. When the overall leader length gets down to 7’ from adding tippets I mike it and tie in a transition section 1X smaller of about 6-9", tippet of 4X 18" long and start all over again. Repeat as needed altho it’s usually the end of the season B4 this happens. New season, new leader. By cutting and retying tippet at the start I always have a “marker” of when to replace tippet. If I need 6X for some reason I tie on a 12-14" section to the 4X. If I want to fish deeper with floating line I extend the 4X tippet a coupla of feet or add a coupla of feet of 6X. This gives me a 9 1/2’ leader.
I do most of my fishing on lakes from a boat. My leaders are pretty basic. For Texoma it is usually about 3 or 4 feet of 20 lb mono with another 3 or 4 ft of 12 lb mono tied to it. If I’m targeting bluegill I may drop down to 10 lb mono instead of the 12 lb.
On the lakes such as Fork that are heavily timbered and have a lot of vegetation, I just use about 6 ft or so of either 20 lb or maybe 12 lb straight mono.
Maybe I’m just being lazy, but these simple leaders have been working for me for bass and Stripers. However, if I go trout fishing, I use a lot smaller leaders.
Just started playing with furled leaders and like them very much, so far. I use 5’ for my shorter rods, closer work, and 7’ for distance. All have 2-3’ of tippet added.
3 feet of either 4.5 pound tippet or 7 pound depending on targeted fish and fly weights…tied onto 3 feet of 14 pound Vanish flouro- the photochromic line…attached to flyline. Since my fish aren’t spooky I just cast for accuracy and don’t worry about feathersoft presentation and don’t really worry with extra sections or more knots to tie. And then just retie new tippet when the existing one gets too short.
In Alaska- I do use SA tapered leaders of the strongest kind- usually 10 -12 pound test with the weighted fly attached directly to it.
Steve
[This message has been edited by featherchucker (edited 14 December 2005).]
For my bass bug 8wt my leaders are about 8-9’ with 40lb butt to 30 to 15 to 10 to turn over those wind resistant deer hair bugs. For my 6 wt streamer rod I have a full sinking line on it and use a 5-6’ 2 piece leader of 30 to 10 or 6 depending on what I am fishing for. For my 3 wt nymphing rod I use an 8’ leader with 30 to 15 to 6. All connections are made using blood knots and when the diameter differences are really extreme I double up the thinner diameter line for the knot.
I am really not to picky about my leader length just as long as it can get my fly out past my flyline. As for knots picking up debris usually if my knots pick up crap my fly also does so I end up having to clean my fly off any way. I don’t like the tapered leaders just because I am always changing flies or shortening or lengthening my leader and tapered leaders are expensive to buy one or two for every trip.
Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick
I have tied up my leaders since I got started fly fishing as a kid. I used to tie up 6 or 7 section leaders because that was what my limited selection of books suggested.
Now for warm water fishing I generally tie
a simple 3 section leader with the butt comprising about 60% of the total lenght. For trout I generally buy a knotless leader on my first trip of the year. By the end of the year I will still be using the same leader with whatever section or tippet I have had to add.
Even if you don’t tie your own leaders you need to be able to tie the appropriate knots so you can handle whatever situation comes up on the water.
I ordered Kathy Scott’s DVD on making furled leaders and changed her formula so the end result would make a longer furled leader which fits my style of fishing better. I believe her formula makes a leader about 5’ 6" long and I changed the formula so that mine come out 7’ 3" long if they are made from kevlar or 6/0 thread and 7’ 1" long if they are made from 4lb. fluorocarbon or regular mono. To this I tie about 3’ of tippet which will be 4lb test fluorocarbon. The turn over is great and no knots to get caught on anything plus they are strong. I nymph fish 99% of the time, so a floating leader is not my concern. If you have ever thought about making your own furled leaders, I would highly recommend Kathy Scott’s DVD! It is very good and you will be making furled leaders within 30 minutes of viewing it! It is an excellant DVD and making furled is a lot of fun.
Hatch, I’ve been doing what you’re doing ever since we’ve had mono. Just drop it down to whatever you’re fishing for. I go the leader/tippet thing on my rare trout expeditions, and basically so I can tie on those puny flies they like to tie and use. JGW
I appreciate your input. Some good
stuff here.G Using JC’s figure 8 knot,
I assembled several different leaders today
using different weight mono. I found that
first off, it was very easy to assemble the
leaders using that knot. The knot seems to
have very good strength. Of the different
combinations I tried, 4’ of 14# mono at the
base, 2 feet of 8# mono in the center, and
two feet of 5# tippet are working pretty
darned well for me. I felt that I was not
working as hard getting my fly to roll out
and was getting a more gentle presentation.
I want to try some different sized and type
flies on it but it really does seem to make
an appreciable difference. I went down to
my little pond and cast for quite a while
today making comparisons. Didn’t leave
until my teeth started chattering.G I’m
definitly going to pick up some better
quality materials and get a bit more serious
with my leaders. I appreciate everyones
input. Warm regards, Jim
p.s. I forgot to mention that I was tying
this leader for use on a 3 wt.
[This message has been edited by Jim Hatch (edited 14 December 2005).]
Jim,
Often we start much longer so’s we can “cross” a hole in the weeds. Usually after awhile though, it is 7’ or less.
We use a two stage furl, but the tippet (single section) is long. So we’re probably cancelling any advantage the furled stuff would give us…?
I use the knotless tapered leaders most of the time. Most are 9ft because that is usually what I find at a store. I have had no problems turning a bass bug over with these leaders. I have tried to tie my own leaders but I can’t get the 25lb plus line to straiten out.
For trout, I usually buy a 7 1/2’ leader in 3X, then tie in a 1 1/2 to 2’ section of 5X to make a 9-10 foot leader. For panfishing, I buy the same 7 1/2’ leader in 3X, and fish it as is until I shorten it by about 1 1/2 feet, then tie in a section of 3X tippet with perfection loops. I can often get in a complete season with one leader. I also furl my own leaders, and play with turnover and delicacy of delivery. There is no better leader for good turnover than the furled leader.
Jim… My basic leader is 6’9" to which I about 15" of tippet (6’9" + 15" = 8 foot)
I tie a 5 section leader and add 1 section tippet:
36" of 25# Maxima
18" of 20#
9" of 12#
9" of 8# (mics out at about .011 (0X)
9" of 5# (mics out at about 2x
15" of tippet attached with loop-to-loop, using 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x depending on situation, brings total length to about 8’
Exceptions: If I need to use 4x or 5x I might use 24" of tippet instead of 15". (FYI, This longer length of tippet (or maybe 36") is what I would use for trout thereby giving me a 9-10 foot leader, but for warmwater I like the 8 length.
